The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Wake Forest (NCAA Championships First Round)
No. 22 Women’s Tennis edges No. 33 Wake Forest, 4-3 in NCAA Championships opener
05.12.2017 | Women's Tennis
Horns rally from behind and get the clincher from Big 12 Freshman of the Year Bianca Turati.
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 22 Texas (14-8) used singles wins from senior Dani Wagland and freshmen Anna Turati, Petra Granic and Bianca Turati to rally to a 4-3 victory over No. 33 Wake Forest (18-11) Friday in the first round of the NCAA Championships. Texas advances to Saturday's second round and will meet the winner of Friday's South Carolina-North Florida match.
Texas opened the doubles session with a win at the second position, where Granic and sophomore Daniella Roldan dealt Chandler Carter and Courtney Meredith a 6-0 defeat. Wake Forest, however, won the remaining two positions to claim the doubles point and assume a 1-0 lead.
Wagland evened the score for the Longhorns with her 6-2, 6-2 win over Luisa Fernandez at sixth singles. Wake Forest reclaimed the lead by way of Carter's 7-6, 7-6 win over UT's Roldan at fifth singles. Anna Turati evened the tally at two behind her 7-5, 6-2 victory over Samantha Asch at fourth singles.
Wake Forest assumed the lead once more by way of Emma Davis' 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 win over UT's Neda Koprcina at second singles, but Texas finished off the remaining two courts to preserve its 4-3 win. Granic fought back after dropping her first-set tiebreaker to Anna Ulyashchenko at third singles and closed out a 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2 win to even the match and leave the deciding point at first singles.
The 41st-ranked Bianca Turati engaged in a lengthy battle with Wake Forest's 60th-ranked Kimmy Guerin at first singles, where Turati took the first set, 6-3. Guerin returned the favor and stayed in the match with a 6-2 second-set win. Turati rallied from behind in the third set and prevailed 6-3 to close out the Longhorns' 4-3 victory.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Howard Joffe
First and foremost we must acknowledge the considerable skill and fight that was obvious from Wake Forest. For our ladies, the thing that stood out once again was our resilience and tenacity. Also, our freshmen who play in three of the top four spots showed maturity behind their collegiate years by accounting for three of the four wins that got us over the finish line. Dani Wagland also chipped in with a quick and convincing win that helped in the larger context of the dual since we had lost the doubles point. Our ladies need lots of rest this afternoon, and tomorrow we will be ready to fight. If we are fresh, I will look for an excellent performance.
NCAA Championships – First Round (Round of 64)
No. 22 Texas 4, No. 33 Wake Forest 3
Doubles – Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
1 No. 80 Kimmy Guerin/Anna Ulyashchenko (WF) def. Neda Koprcina/Anna Turati (UT), 6-4
2 Petra Granic/Daniella Roldan (UT) def. Chandler Carter/Courtney Meredith (WF), 6-0
3 Emma Davis/Alexis Franco (WF) def. Bianca Turati/Dani Wagland (UT), 6-3
Singles – Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 2, 3, 1
1 No. 41 Bianca Turati (UT) def. No. 60 Kimmy Guerin (WF), 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
2 No. 89 Emma Davis (WF) def. No. 72 Neda Koprcina (UT), 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
3 No. 83 Petra Granic (UT) def. Anna Ulyashchenko (WF), 6-7, 6-2, 6-2
4 Anna Turati (UT) def. Samantha Asch (WF), 7-5, 6-2
5 Chandler Carter (WF) def. Daniella Roldan (UT), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1)
6 Dani Wagland (UT) def. Luisa Fernandez (WF), 6-2, 6-2
Players Mentioned
