The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas Tech
No. 24 Women’s Tennis Preview: Big 12 Championships
04.26.2016 | Women's Tennis
Sixth-seeded Texas opens the Big 12 Championships on Friday against third-seeded Texas Tech.
WHAT: No. 24 Texas (14-7, 6-3 Big 12) opens postseason play this week at the Big 12 Championships.
Texas finished in a five-way tie for second place in the Big 12 standings. Given that the tied teams had identical records against themselves (2-2) and the rest of the league (4-1), league officials held a draw Sunday evening to determine seeds two through six. Texas, as the last team selected in the draw, received the No. 6 seed.
The sixth-seeded Longhorns earned a first-round bye and will meet third-seeded Texas Tech (21-4, 6-3 Big 12) in Friday's quarterfinals.
WHEN/WHERE
No. 24 Texas vs. No. 17 Texas Tech
Friday, April 29 – 3 p.m. CT
Greenwood Tennis Center
Stillwater, Oklahoma (event hosted by Oklahoma State)
LIVE SCORING: Available at OKState.com
LIVE VIDEO: http://okstate.com/sports/2016/2/22/TENNIS_VIDEO.aspx
Big 12 Championships Central
LAST MEETING AGAINST TEXAS TECH
Texas defeated Texas Tech by a 4-3 margin on April 8 in Lubbock.
BIG 12 SEMIFINALS/FINALS
Saturday, 3 p.m. CT/Sunday, 1 p.m. CT
PRE-TOURNAMENT COMMENTS
Texas head coach Howard Joffe
More than anything, the conference tournament will give our group some challenging competition. Naturally, we are excited and hope to go as far as possible while using the tournament to prepare for the NCAA Championships.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
Texas has won nine Big 12 Championship tournaments, including two of the last four. The Longhorns have reached the finals at the Big 12 Championships a league-leading 16 times in the event's 19-year history.
Texas earned a first-round bye at the 2015 Big 12 Championships in Waco and was eliminated by TCU in the quarterfinals.
ITA Rankings (April 26)
(Texas players only)
Singles
10. Breaunna Addison
121. Neda Koprcina
Doubles
14. Breaunna Addison/Dani Wagland
ADDISON, KOPRCINA FINISH CONFERENCE PLAY UNBLEMISHED
UT senior Breaunna Addison and junior Neda Koprcina progressed through conference play without a loss and became the first Texas tandem to complete the feat since Elizabeth Begley and Lina Padegimaite in 2012.
Addison, who also went undefeated in league play in 2014, posted a 7-0 mark in Big 12 matches at No. 1 singles, while Koprcina totaled an 8-0 league mark primarily at No. 2 singles.
TEXAS ENTERS ITA TOP-25
Road wins over Big 12 Conference foes Texas Tech and TCU elevated Texas into the top-25 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll two weeks ago for the first time this season.
The Longhorns checked in at No. 25 in the April 12 release of the 75-team poll after ranking 35th the week before. Texas made its first appearance in the top-25 of the ITA team rankings since Feb. 10, 2015.
The Longhorns moved up one spot to No. 24 last week on the heels of their wins over West Virginia and Iowa State. Texas remains at No. 24 this week.
ADDISON RECORDS 100TH SINGLES WIN
Two-time All-America senior Breaunna Addison collected her 100th singles win as a Longhorn in Texas' 5-2 win over Northwestern on March 28.
Addison became the first Longhorn to reach 100 singles wins at Texas since All-American Aeriel Ellis completed the feat in 2013. Now up to 105 singles wins, the former Big 12 Player of the Year sports an impressive 33-3 overall singles record heading into the Big 12 Championships, including a 17-1 mark in dual matches at No. 1 singles.
KOPRCINA SOLIDIFIES TOP OF SINGLES LINEUP
Neda Koprcina has teamed with Addison to give Texas a formidable one-two punch at Nos. 1 and 2 singles. The native of Split, Croatia, holds an 18-1 mark in dual matches with a perfect 11-0 mark at No. 2 singles and an 8-0 league record. Koprcina has won her last 11 singles decisions.
MORE ON THE LONGHORNS
First-year head coach Howard Joffe and second-year assistant coach Courtney Dolehide welcome four starters back from the 2015 squad that finished with a No. 37 national ranking.
The 2016 squad holds a 14-7 dual-match record with neutral-site wins over Purdue and Princeton and home wins over Incarnate Word, UTSA, Michigan, Princeton, Pennsylvania, Northwestern, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Iowa State.
UT opened conference play in mid-March and posted a win at Kansas State and added significant road wins earlier this month at Texas Tech and TCU.
Two-time All-America senior Breaunna Addison returns at the top of the singles lineup after earning All-Big 12 honors in singles and doubles last season.
The 2014 Big 12 Player of the Year has qualified for the NCAA Championships' 64-player singles draw each of her three seasons as a Longhorn, and she reached the event's semifinals as a first-semester freshman in 2013.
Sophomore Dani Wagland earned All-Big 12 doubles honors alongside Addison last season and has won eight dual matches this season. Junior Neda Koprcina, a former Big 12 champion at No. 4 singles, is out to a 18-1 start this season in dual matches, where she has split time at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 singles.
UT also returns senior Lana Groenvynck and welcomes newcomers Chelsea Crovetti, Daniella Roldan and Katie Poluta.
Players Mentioned
