The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Denver
Women’s Tennis Preview: Denver (Blue Gray Tennis Classic)
02.23.2017 | Women's Tennis
Longhorns take on Denver in the first of three matches at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic.
WHAT: Texas resumes dual-match play after a two-week break and takes on Denver in the first round of the eight-team Blue Gray Tennis Classic.
WHEN/WHERE
Texas (2-2) vs. Denver (4-1)
Friday, Feb. 24 – 9 a.m. CT
Montgomery, Alabama
More information: www.BlueGrayTennis.com
Texas will play the Denver match in its entirety on Friday, and the Horns will play the doubles point of their second team match Friday (opponent TBD) and the singles portion on Saturday. UT will contest a third dual match on Saturday following the second match's completion of singles.
Top seed Texas Tech, Utah, Alabama, Tulsa, Tulane and Auburn join Texas and Denver at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic.
ITA NATIONAL RANKINGS (as of Feb. 21, Texas players)
Singles
39. Bianca Turati
69. Neda Koprcina
Doubles
35. Petra Granic/Dani Wagland
LAST TIME OUT
Texas dealt Miami a 5-2 defeat on Feb. 11 in Austin.
HORNS UP IN LATEST ITA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
After making her ITA rankings debut two weeks ago, Texas freshman Bianca Turati vaulted nearly 50 spots up the ITA singles rankings to No. 39 on the strength of her performance against Miami. Turati knocked off Miami's sixth-ranked Sinead Lohan in the Horns' 5-2 win over the Hurricanes.
Turati won her first seven collegiate matches across the end of the fall season and the first event of the spring season the National Collegiate Tennis Classic. She made her collegiate debut last November and went unbeaten in three matches at the Kitty Harrison Invitational.
Last month, the Big 12 Conference announced Turati as one of the league's Women's Tennis Players of the Week.
Turati won four matches, defeated an ITA top-75 opponent and was selected as a co-champion of the women's singles draw at the aforementioned NCTC event.
Texas senior Neda Koprcina moved from No. 79 to No. 69 in the ITA singles rankings, and the doubles duo of freshman Petra Granic and Dani Wagland moved from No. 53 to No. 35.
MORE ON THE LONGHORNS
Second-year Texas head coach Howard Joffe returns five veterans from the 2015-16 squad that reached the round of 16 (third round) at the NCAA Championships and ranked No. 20 in the final ITA team poll.
All-Big 12 senior Neda Koprcina totaled a 21-2 dual-match record – including a 14-1 mark at No. 2 singles – last season as a junior. Koprcina clinched the Longhorns' 4-2 upset win at ninth-seeded Duke in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Championships.
Junior Dani Wagland posted 12 dual-match wins last season including a team-best eight wins at No. 3 singles. Katie Poluta joined the Longhorns last season from South Africa and totaled a 12-8 dual-match record. Her classmate Daniella Roldan added eight dual-match singles wins, and Chelsea Crovetti chipped in three singles victories.
UT welcomes four newcomers in the form of Anna and Bianca Turati of Italy, Petra Granic of Croatia and Madison Cleff of Colleyville, Texas.
Granic won her first tournament title in September when she secured the Flight 2A event at the Rice Invitational in Houston.
Players Mentioned
