The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Rice
No. 32 Women’s Tennis Preview: No. 41 Rice
03.11.2017 | Women's Tennis
Longhorns return home for final non-conference match against the Owls.
WHAT: No. 32 Texas (5-4) concludes the non-conference portion of its dual-match season on Monday when it welcomes No. 41 Rice (8-3).
WHEN/WHERE
No. 41 Rice (8-3) at No. 32 Texas (5-4)
Monday, March 13 – 3 p.m. CT
Whitaker Tennis Courts
215 W. 51st St.
Austin, TX 78751
MATCH UPDATES: www.Twitter.com/TexasWTN
ITA NATIONAL RANKINGS (as of March 7, Texas players)
Singles
26. Bianca Turati
62. Petra Granic
87. Neda Koprcina
Doubles
52. Petra Granic/Dani Wagland
LAST TIME OUT
Texas split a pair of matches last weekend in Palo Alto, California. The Horns dropped a tight 4-2 decision to host No. 16 Stanford before shutting out Fresno State the following day, 7-0.
HORNS CONTINUE TO RISE IN ITA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Freshman Bianca Turati reached a new career high, and freshman Petra Granic made her first appearance in the latest ITA singles rankings released Tuesday (March 7).
After vaulting to No. 39 last month, Turati moved up to No. 26 in the latest ITA singles rankings. 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.
In January, 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.
Granic was unranked in the previous ITA rankings last month but entered this week's rankings at No. 62 on the strength of her straight-sets win over Stanford's eighth-ranked Melissa Lord last weekend. The freshman from Croatia holds a 14-6 overall record, including an impressive 7-1 mark in dual matches at Nos. 3 and 4 singles.
Senior Neda Koprcina remains in the ITA singles rankings at No. 87.
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
