The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
South Florida
No. 21 Women’s Tennis Preview: South Florida, No. 6 Stanford
02.14.2018 | Women's Tennis
Texas welcomes former Longhorn Cristina Moros and her South Florida Bulls before hosting perennial power Stanford.
WHAT: No. 21 Texas (5-4) will contest its first home matches in four weeks when it plays host to South Florida (1-4) and No. 6 Stanford (2-1) this weekend.
With South Florida heading to the Forty Acres, UT welcomes the return of former Longhorn All-American Cristina Moros, now in her second season as the head coach of the Bulls. Moros, who served as a volunteer assistant coach at Texas from 2009-2011, helped Texas to its second NCAA team title in 1995. She was inducted into the UT Athletics Women's Hall of Honor last fall.
Saturday's Texas-Stanford match features two of the sport's traditional powers. Stanford, the NCAA runner-up in 2017 and the NCAA champion in 2016, leads the NCAA with 18 national titles. Texas is tied for third with its two national titles (1993 & 1995).
Both schools have defeated the other in an NCAA title match. The Longhorns knocked off Stanford to win their first NCAA team title in 1993. The Cardinal returned the favor in 2005.
With inclement weather forecasted for this weekend, fans are encouraged to monitor TexasSports.com and Twitter.com/TexasWTN for the latest news on match schedules and locations.
WHEN/WHERE:
South Florida at No. 21 Texas
Friday, Feb. 16 – 1 p.m. CT
Texas Tennis Center (2100 Comal Street)
No. 6 Stanford at No. 21 Texas
Saturday, Feb. 17 – Noon CT
Texas Tennis Center (2100 Comal Street)
Live Scoring: http://sidearmstats.com/texas/wtennis/xlive.htm
Live Video: http://texassports.com/sports/2018/2/8/texas-tennis-center-live-video.aspx
SEASON NOTES
Bianca Turati CLIMBS TO NO. 1
A strong start to the dual-match season has elevated Texas sophomore Bianca Turati from No. 10 to No. 1 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) women's singles rankings. She is the first Longhorn atop the ITA women's singles rankings since Kelly Pace in 1995.
Bianca Turati boasts an 18-2 overall singles record through fall and winter competition. She holds 10 wins over ITA top-100 opponents, with six of those against top-50 foes and two against top-15 opponents. Last November, Turati defeated then-No. 1 Ena Shibahara of UCLA in straight sets.
Bianca Turati's twin sister and fellow Longhorn Anna Turati also reached a career best in the ITA singles rankings. Victorious in her last 11 of her last 12 matches dating back to last October, Anna Turati has climbed all the way to No. 41 nationally in singles after starting the season at No. 125 last September.
Anna Turati holds a 14-2 overall singles record with a 5-1 dual-match mark and three wins over ranked opponents.
UT sophomore Petra Granic ranks 64th in the new ITA singles rankings, and freshman Bojana Markovic makes her ITA rankings debut at the 115th slot.
Bianca Turati TABBED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Big 12 Conference announced Jan. 30 the selection of Texas sophomore Bianca Turati as the league's Women's Tennis Player of the Week. The Longhorns took home their second such honor in the last four weeks. Anna Turati, the twin sister of Bianca, won the same honor on Jan. 16.
Bianca Turati's straight-sets win over California's 27th-ranked Anna Bright was instrumental in the Horns' 4-3 win over the 11th-ranked Golden Bears (Jan. 27). The victory qualified Texas for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships for the first time in four seasons.
Turati has defeated two top-30 opponents in the last three weeks. She is 5-0 in the new year with wins over three ITA top-80 foes. At 15-1 overall this season, Turati's only defeat came at the hands of Duke's seventh-ranked Samantha Harris in the semifinals of the ITA National Fall Championships in November.
Overall, Turati has singles wins over seven top-50 foes with five of those coming against current top-30 opponents and three coming against current top-20 players.
LONGHORNS EARN HIGHEST TEAM RANKING IN FIVE YEARS
Texas garnered its highest team ranking since 2013 and came in at No. 12 last month in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason women's tennis poll. UT moved up one spot in the Jan. 31 rankings release to the 11th spot.
The Longhorns, who return five of six regular singles starters from the 2017 squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Championships, produced their highest team ranking since Jan. 30, 2013, when Texas held the 11th slot. UT joins four other Big 12 schools in the preseason top-25 with Texas Tech at No. 8, Oklahoma State at No. 16, Baylor at No. 20 and TCU at No. 25.
Stanford topped the preseason poll while Vanderbilt ranked second. Florida, Georgia and North Carolina round out the top-five.
In November, Texas placed three student-athletes in the final ITA fall singles and doubles rankings.
At No. 10 in singles, sophomore Bianca Turati registered a career-high singles ranking and became the first Longhorn featured among the top-10 since Breaunna Addison in 2016.
Bianca Turati won her first 10 matches of the fall before sustaining a defeat to Duke's seventh-ranked Samantha Harris in the semifinals of the ITA National Fall Championships. She logged five wins over top-50 opponents, including three victories over top-20 foes.
Her classmate Petra Granic ranked a career-best No. 32 in singles after racking up nine wins in fall tournament competition with four of those victories coming against ITA top-100 opponents.
The aforementioned Anna Turati, the twin sister of Bianca, ranked a No. 87 in singles after putting together a 6-1 fall singles record.
Players Mentioned
