The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
North Texas
No. 3 Women’s Tennis sweeps North Texas, 7-0
01.17.2021 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns win their 2021 dual-match season opener and will host SMU on Monday (1 p.m. CT).
AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 3 University of Texas women's tennis team (1-0) opened its 2021 dual-match season with a 7-0 sweep of North Texas (0-1) on Sunday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center. UT's lineup in both doubles and singles on Sunday featured four freshmen.
The Longhorns grabbed a 1-0 lead by quickly claiming the doubles point. The No. 48-ranked duo of seniors Anna Turati and Fernanda Labraña jumped to a 5-0 lead and cruised to a 6-1 win on court 2 against Saki Oyama and Sophia Hummel. The freshman pair of Peyton Stearns and Charlotte Chavatipon clinched the point with an impressive 6-2 victory on court 3 over Kexuan Zhou and Maria Ponomareva.
Turati, ranked No. 5 nationally, opened singles action with a 6-0, 6-0 win on court 3 against Hummel. No. 125-ranked Chavatipon followed with a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court 4 over Zhou, and No. 66 Stearns clinched the dual-match win for the Longhorns by posting a 6-2, 6-3 win on court 1 against Nidhi Surapaneni.
The final trio of singles matches all went to three sets. Freshman Lulu Sun, ranked No. 94 nationally, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory on court 2 over Lucie Devier.
Freshman Kylie Collins followed with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win on court 5 against Ponomareva. Collins found herself down 4-3 in the decisive third set, but she rallied to win three-straight games to close out the match.
Labraña closed out the sweep with a thrilling 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 7-5 win on court 6 against Oyama in a match that lasted nearly three hours. After the two players split the first two sets, Oyama raced out to a 4-1 lead in the third. Labraña won two consecutive games to pull within 4-3, but Oyama claimed the next game to take a 5-3 advantage. Labraña then dug deep and ran off four straight games to complete the comeback victory.
Texas returns to action when it hosts SMU (2-0) on Monday, Jan. 18. First serve is set for 1 p.m. Central at the Texas Tennis Center. Due to health and safety protocols, fans are not permitted to attend home matches at this time.
#3 Texas 7, North Texas 0
Singles – Order of finish (3, 4, 1, 2, 5, 6)
- #66 Peyton Stearns (UT) def. Nidhi Surapaneni (UNT), 6-2, 6-3
- #94 Lulu Sun (UT) def. Lucie Devier (UNT), 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
- #5 Anna Turati (UT) def. Sophia Hummel (UNT), 6-0, 6-0
- #125 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Kexuan Zhou (UNT), 6-1, 6-3
- Kylie Collins (UT) def. Maria Ponomareva (UNT), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
- Fernanda Labraña (UT) def. Saki Oyama (UNT), 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 7-5
Doubles – Order of finish (2,3)
- Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT) vs. Nidhi Surapaneni/Lucie Devier (UNT), 5-3
- #48 Fernanda Labraña/Anna Turati (UT) def. Saki Oyama/Sophia Hummel (UNT), 6-1
- Peyton Stearns/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Kexuan Zhou/Maria Ponomareva (UNT), 6-2
