The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Northwestern
No. 9 Women's Tennis overpowers No. 8 Northwestern, 6-1
03.02.2012 | Women's Tennis
March 2, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas - No. 9 Texas (5-3) won its first match as an ITA top-10 team this season, as the Horns posted a 6-1 victory over No. 8 Northwestern (5-5) on a clear and cool Friday evening at UT's Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
The Longhorns clinched the doubles point and took a 1-0 lead with wins at the first and second doubles slots. UT's Aeriel Ellis and Cierra Gaytan-Leach never trailed at the No. 2 doubles spot before winning the match, 8-4 over the Wildcats' Veronica Corning and Brittany Wowchuk. In the No. 1 doubles match, the freshman-duo of Lina Padegimaite and Noel Scott defeated the fourth-ranked doubles team in the nation, Linda Abu Mushrefova and Nida Hamilton, 8-6.
Krista Damico continued the scoring for Texas by defeating NU's 51st-ranked Brittany Wowchuck 6-2, 6-3, at the second singles slot to give Texas a 2-0 lead. With the victory, Damico improved to 5-1 on the dual-match season, and 3-0 against ranked opponents.
The Longhorns took a commanding 3-0 lead over the Wildcats with a 6-1, 6-3 win by Elizabeth Begley in the No. 6 singles match. The UT sophomore's victory over Hamilton was her fourth consecutive win of the dual-match season and improved her dual-match record to 6-1.
UT's Padegimaite clinched the win for Texas at the fourth singles slot. Padegimaite, who never trailed in either set, defeated Northwestern's Corning by a 6-3, 6-4 count.
Texas pushed its lead to 5-0 with a victory at No. 5 singles. Gaytan-Leach won the first set 6-4, before dropping the second set 5-7 to Northwestern's Abu Mushrefova. Gaytan-Leach finished off Abu Mushrefova 10-7 in a super-tiebreaker and clinched the win with an ace on match point.
Texas earned its sixth point of the night when 30th-ranked Aeriel Ellis defeated 20th-ranked Kate Turvy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 1 singles match. Northwestern earned its only point of the night in a three-hour and one-minute match at No. 3 singles, where the Wildcats' 118th-ranked Belinda Niu edged UT's 87th-ranked Scott, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(2).
The Longhorns came into the match fresh off of a nearly three-week break after competing at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Longhorns moved up six spots in the ITA team poll to No. 8 this week, as UT cracked the top-10 for the first time since 2006.
The Longhorns return to action on Thursday, March 8 at 2 p.m. CT when they host William and Mary. The match is part of a Texas Tennis doubleheader and will be followed by a Men's Tennis match against San Diego at 6 p.m. CT. Both matches will air live on Longhorn Network.
No. 9 Texas 6, No. 8 Northwestern 1
Doubles - Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
1. Padegimaite/Scott (UT) def. #4 Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (NU) 8-6
2. Ellis/Gaytan-Leach (UT) def. Corning/Wowchuk (NU) 8-4
3. Niu/Turvy (NU) def. Damico/Gajic (UT) 8-4
Singles
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 4*, 5, 1, 3
1. #30 Aeriel Ellis (UT) def. #20 Kate Turvy (NU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Krista Damico (UT) def. #51 Brittany Wowchuk (NU) 6-2, 6-3
3. #118 Belinda Niu (NU) def. #87 Noel Scott (UT) 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(2)
4. Lina Padegimaite (UT) def. Veronica Corning (NU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Cierra Gaytan-Leach (UT) def. Linda Abu Mushrefova (NU) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(7)
6. Elizabeth Begley (UT) def. Nida Hamilton (NU) 6-1, 6-3
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Patty Fendick-McCain
On the win: It was our first home match and first outdoor match of the year, and I think we prepared really well for it. The last couple of weeks, the girls have been working really hard on using outdoor shots, higher balls, that sort of thing. They did really well today. I was really proud of the girls, especially with the way we started in the doubles matches. We came out strong, got the doubles point, picked up two really big wins at one and two [doubles]. And, we had some great performances throughout the entire singles matches. We were really close to getting all of them, and it was a little unfortunate for Noel [Scott] that she didn't come away with that one. But everybody did a great job. I'm super proud of them.
On the team's first outdoor night match of the season: It was great. The lights are fantastic. It's great that UT has put in some fantastic lights for us. It's like broad daylight out there. It's a lot of fun, and it created a great atmosphere out here for us. We had a lot of people come out to watch. It was awesome.
On the team's first win as a top-10 ranked team this season: I think it's really just a number at this point in the season. But, it's nice to see that we're playing some top-notch tennis. We're having a lot of fun doing it.
On preparing for the next match: We've got to take it day-by-day. We've got some things we need to work out in practice to get ready for the next one.
