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No. 8 Women’s Tennis Preview: No. 49 Oklahoma and No. 12 Oklahoma State
03.20.2018 | Women's Tennis
Longhorns look to remain unbeaten in conference play.
No. 49 Oklahoma (10-5, 2-0 Big 12) at No. 8 Texas (11-4, 2-0 Big 12)
Friday, March 23 – 5 p.m. CT
Texas Tennis Center – Austin, Texas
Live Video: http://texassports.com/sports/2018/2/8/texas-tennis-center-live-video.aspx
Live Scoring: http://sidearmstats.com/texas/wtennis/xlive.htm
No. 12 Oklahoma State (11-1, 2-0 Big 12) at No. 8 Texas (11-4, 2-0 Big 12)
Sunday, March 25 – Noon CT
Texas Tennis Center – Austin, Texas
Live Video: http://texassports.com/sports/2018/2/8/texas-tennis-center-live-video.aspx
Live Scoring: http://sidearmstats.com/texas/wtennis/xlive.htm
LAST TIME OUT
Texas kicked off conference play last weekend with a couple of big road wins. UT visited No. 17 Kansas and held on for a 4-2 victory in Lawrence. The Longhorns dropped all six first sets at No. 40 Kansas State but seized control of the match and put away a 4-0 win in Manhattan.
LAST MEETINGS AGAINST THE SOONERS AND COWGIRLS
Texas fell to Oklahoma State by a 4-0 count on March 17, 2017 in Stillwater. The Longhorns dealt the Sooners a 4-1 defeat on March 19, 2017 in Norman.
SEASON NOTES
TEXAS CRACKS THE TOP-10
Texas made its first appearance among the top-10 of the ITA women's team rankings since 2012 when the latest rankings were released Tuesday (March 20). UT climbed four spots from No. 12 to No. 8 nationally, which marked the Horns' first top-10 ranking since May 29, 2012, when Texas ranked tenth. It's the highest team ranking for the Texas women since April 17, 2012 when the Longhorns ranked sixth nationally.
STILL THE ONE
Texas sophomore Bianca Turati holds on to the top spot in the ITA national women's singles rankings released Tuesday (March 20). She initially took the top spot on Feb. 7 and became the first Longhorn to ascend to No. 1 since 1995. Turati dropped to No. 4 in the Feb. 21 rankings before moving back to No. 1 on March 6.
Her twin sister Anna Turati moved up another place in the rankings and now holds a career-best No. 33 singles ranking. UT junior Petra Granic ranks 77th nationally in singles and UT junior Katie Poluta ranks 124th nationally. Granic and freshman Bojana Markovic rank 44th in doubles.
GRANIC NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Big 12 Conference announced Tuesday (March 6) the selection of Texas sophomore Petra Granic as the league's Women's Tennis Player of the Week.
Granic clinched UT's 4-0 win over then-No. 11 Ohio State with her straight-sets victory over the Buckeyes' 72nd-ranked Olivia Sneed. It marked Granic's seventh win of the season over a ranked opponent.
In doubles, she teamed with Bojana Markovic at No. 1 to post a second top-15 doubles win in the last month, as the tandem knocked off OSU's 15th-ranked Shiori Fukuda and Anna Sanford to help Texas win the doubles point.
TEXAS TOPS STANFORD
Texas dropped the doubles point but rallied with a vengeance in singles on its way to a 4-2 victory over then-No. 6 Stanford last month at Texas Tennis Center.
The Longhorns knocked off the Cardinal for the first time since 1995, when Texas defeated Stanford in the semifinals of the 1995 NCAA Championships en route to its second NCAA team title. It marked Texas' first win over a top-10 opponent since 2016, when the Horns defeated host No. 9 Duke in the second round of the NCAA Championships.
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 opening weeks of the season. Anna Turati 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.
LONGHORNS EARN HIGHEST TEAM RANKING IN FIVE YEARS
In January, Texas garnered its highest team ranking since 2013 and came in at No. 12 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason women's tennis poll
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.
Players Mentioned
