The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#1 Stanford
No. 6 Women’s Tennis falls 4-3 to No. 1 Stanford at ITA National Indoors
02.10.2019 | Women's Tennis
Longhorns push defending NCAA Champion to the limit and receive ranked singles wins from Spasojevic, Anna Turati and Poluta.
SEATTLE, Wash. — The No. 6 University of Texas women's tennis team dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to defending NCAA Champion and No. 1 Stanford (5-0) on Sunday afternoon at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in the quarterfinals of the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) National Team Indoor Championships. UT's play was highlighted by individual singles wins against ranked opponents by freshman Tijana Spasojevic, junior Anna Turati and senior Katie Poluta.
The Cardinal, which featured all three of their doubles teams among the Top 31 in the most recent Oracle/ITA national rankings, took a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point. The No. 10 duo of Kimberly Yee and Caroline Lampl broke a 2-2 tie at the No. 1 line and won the final four games en route to a 6-2 decision against UT's sophomore duo of Bojana Markovic and Fernanda Labraña.
The No. 31 tandem of Melissa Lord and Niluka Madurawe rallied from a 5-4 deficit at the No. 3 line to win the final three games and post a 7-5 victory against Poluta and Spasojevic. Anna Turati and junior Bianca Turati were tied 5-5 at the No. 2 spot with the No. 13-ranked duo of Emily Arburthnott and Michaela Gordon when the doubles point was clinched.
In singles play, the Longhorns (4-2) had the daunting task of facing a loaded Cardinal lineup that featured all six individuals among the Top 60 in the most recent Oracle/ITA rankings.
Stanford took a 2-0 lead when No. 57 Lampl defeated No. 101 Markovic (6-1, 6-3) at No. 3 singles. No. 107 Spasojevic got the Longhorns on the board with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 victory against No. 44 Emma Higuchi at the No. 6 spot. Texas then evened the match at 2-2 after No. 49 Anna Turati completed a 6-3, 6-3 win against No. 46 Lord at No. 2 singles.
The Cardinal regained a 3-2 lead when No. 23 Gordon defeated Bianca Turati by 6-4, 6-3 margin at the No. 1 spot. From there, it came down to a pair of three-set matches at the No. 4 and 5 lines.
Poluta rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 win against No. 37 Janice Shin at No. 5 to even the match score at 3-3. After dropping the first set to No. 14 Arburthnott at No. 4 singles by a 6-4 score, Labraña fought back to even the match with a 6-4 win in the second set. Tied 1-1 in the deciding third set, Arburthnott rattled off five straight games to close out the set 6-1 and seal the dual-match victory.
Due to the condensed schedule at the ITA Indoor Nationals after Saturday's matches were cancelled, UT will not have additional matches at the prestigious tournament. The Longhorns return to action when they travel to Houston to face Rice on Sunday, Feb. 24 (11 a.m. Central).
#1 Stanford 4, #6 Texas 3
Singles – Order of finish (3-6-2-1-5-4)
- #23 Michaela Gordon (SU) def. Bianca Turati (UT), 6-4, 6-3
- #49 Anna Turati (UT) def. #46 Melissa Lord (SU), 6-3, 6-3
- #57 Caroline Lampl (SU) def. #101 Bojana Markovic (UT), 6-1, 6-3
- #14 Emily Arbuthnott (SU) def. Fernanda Labraña (UT), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
- Katie Poluta (UT) def. #37 Janice Shin (SU), 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
- #107 Tijana Spasojevic (UT) def. #44 Emma Higuchi (SU), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles – Order of finish (1-3)
- #10 Kimberly Yee/Caroline Lampi (SU) def. Bojana Markovic/Fernanda Labraña (UT), 6-2
- Anna Turati/Bianca Turati (UT) vs. #13 Emily Arburthnott/Michaela Gordon (SU), 5-5, unfinished
- #31 Melissa Lord/Niluka Madurawe (SU) def. Tijana Spasojevic/Katie Poluta (UT), 7-5
Players Mentioned
