The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#45 Rice
No. 9 Women’s Tennis wins 6-1 at No. 45 Rice
02.24.2019 | Women's Tennis
Longhorns win all six singles matches to improve to 5-2 this spring.
HOUSTON, Texas — The No. 9 University of Texas women's tennis team recorded a 6-1 victory at No. 45 Rice (6-4) on Sunday afternoon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. Texas (5-2) won all six singles matches after dropping the doubles point.
Rice jumped out to a 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. UT's sophomore duo of Bojana Markovic and Fernanda Labraña registered a 6-1 victory against Victoria Smirnova and Anna Bowtell at the No. 3 line. Junior twin sisters Anna Turati and Bianca Turati fell for the first time this spring in dual-match play (4-1) with a 6-2 loss to No. 49 Anastasia Smirnova and Priya Niezgoda at the No. 2 spot.
At the No. 1 line, junior Petra Granic and freshman Tijana Spasojevic fought back from a 4-2 deficit to win three consecutive games and take a 5-4 advantage. Rice's duo of Michaela Haet and Linda Huang responded by winning three straight games to close out a 7-5 win and clinch the doubles point.
The Longhorns quickly gained control of the match with a trio of straight-set wins in singles. Labraña improved to 5-2 this spring in dual-match singles play and evened the match score at 1-1 after a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Bowtell at the No. 4 spot. No. 113 Bianca Turati followed with a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win against No. 66 Haet at No. 1, and No. 41 Anna Turati earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Victoria Smirnova at the No. 2 line.
No. 92 Spasojevic provided the clinching fourth point with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 victory against Huang at the No. 6 spot. No. 100 Markovic followed with a hard-fought 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win against Anastasia Smirnova at the No. 3 line. No. 94 senior Katie Poluta improved to a perfect 4-0 in dual-match singles action this spring and rounded out the afternoon with an impressive 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory against Niezgoda at the No. 5 spot.
The Longhorns return to action when they travel to face No. 4 Stanford on Saturday, March 2 (2 p.m. Central).
#9 Texas 6, #45 Rice 1
Singles – Order of finish (4-1-2-6-3-5)
- #113 Bianca Turati (UT) def. #66 Michaela Haet (Rice), 6-0, 6-3
- #41 Anna Turati (UT) def. Victoria Smirnova (Rice), 6-2, 6-3
- #100 Bojana Markovic (UT) def. Anastasia Smirnova (Rice), 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
- Fernanda Labraña (UT) def. Anna Bowtell (Rice), 6-2, 6-2
- #94 Katie Poluta (UT) def. Priya Niezgoda (Rice), 7-5, 3-6, 7-5
- #92 Tijana Spasojevic (UT) def. Linda Huang (Rice), 6-0, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles – Order of finish (3-2-1)
- Michaela Haet/Linda Huang (Rice) def. Tijana Spasojevic/Petra Granic (UT), 7-5
- Victoria Smirnova/Priya Niezgoda (Rice) def. Anna Turati/Bianca Turati (UT), 6-2
- Bojana Markovic/Fernanda Labraña (UT) def. Anastasia Smirnova/Anna Bowtell (Rice), 6-1
Players Mentioned
