The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
15k Hilton Head
Bianca Turati advances to singles final at ITF Hilton Head pro event
09.29.2018 | Women's Tennis
Junior All-American rallies for three-set win against Justina Mikulskyte (Lithuania) in Saturday’s semifinal match.
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — University of Texas junior All-American Bianca Turati rallied for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory against Justina Mikulskyte (Lithuania) on Saturday in the semifinals at the ITF (International Tennis Federation) pro circuit event at Van Der Meet Shipyard Racquet Club. One day after winning her three-set quarterfinal match in three hours and 16 minutes, Turati outlasted Mikulskyte in Saturday's contest that spanned three hours and 14 minutes on the court in addition to a pair of weather delays.
Turati will face WTA-ranked No. 601 Michaela Bayerlova (Czech Republic) in Sunday's championship match at 9 a.m. CT. Turati will be looking to claim her third ITF pro circuit title this year, as she previously claimed back-to-back singles titles in August at the 15k events in Biella, Italy and Sezze, Italy.
Turati jumped out to a 3-1 cushion in the opening set of Saturday's match, before Mikulskyte responded by winning the next three games to take a 4-3 lead. Tied at 5-5, Mikulskyte held serve and then broke Turati to close out the set.
Tied at 1-1 in the second set, Turati gained momentum in the third game by breaking Mikulskyte and cruised through the next four games to tie the match at one set apiece.
Mikulskyte broke Turati and held her serve to build a 2-0 cushion in the final set. Turati responded by winning the next four games to take a 4-2 lead. Mikulskyte again broke Turati to pull within 4-3. After a second weather delay of the afternoon, Turati answered with a service break to build a 5-3 cushion. Mikulskyte broke Turati to trim the margin to 5-4, but Turati claimed her ninth service break of the match to seal the victory.
Turati is No. 1 in the Oracle/ITA preseason women's collegiate national singles rankings. The 2018 Big 12 Conference Player of the Year posted a 28-4 overall singles mark and ended her sophomore season at No. 3 in the final Oracle/ITA Division I singles rankings. Turati spent nearly three months atop the ITA women's single rankings and produced a 16-2 dual-match record for the Longhorns at the No. 1 singles position in 2018. She became the first UT player to top the ITA singles rankings since Kelly Pace in 1995.
To follow action at the ITF Hilton Head tournament, visit the tourney web site. Fans are also encouraged to follow UT's official Twitter (@TexasWTN) for results and additional information.
Players Mentioned
