The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa
No. 3 Women’s Tennis sweeps Iowa, 4-0
01.23.2021 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns advance at the ITA Kickoff to face No. 23 Baylor at Noon CT on Sunday at the Texas Tennis Center.
AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 3 University of Texas women's tennis team earned a 4-0 sweep against Iowa (0-1) in the opening round of the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Kickoff Weekend on Saturday morning at the Texas Tennis Center. With the victory, the Longhorns (3-0) advance to the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match on Sunday, Jan. 24 against No. 23 Baylor (12 p.m. Central) at the Texas Tennis Center.
Baylor (4-0) advanced to Sunday's championship match with a 4-2 win against No. 20 Arizona State (1-1) on Saturday. Arizona State and Iowa will meet in Sunday's consolation match at 12 p.m. Central.
Texas took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. The No. 48-ranked duo of seniors Anna Turati and Fernanda Labraña improved to 3-0 in dual-match play this spring with a 6-0 shutout on court 2 against Elise van Heuvelen and Michelle Bacalla. Tied at 1-1 on court 3, the freshman pair of Charlotte Chavatipon and Peyton Stearns won five straight games to close out its match against Danielle Bauers and Samantha Gilas and clinch the doubles point.
The Longhorns closed out the match by quickly earning three straight-set wins in singles play. No. 94-ranked freshman Lulu Sun improved to 3-0 in dual-match play this spring with an impressive 6-1, 6-0 victory on court 3 against Vipasha Mehra.
No. 125-ranked freshman Charlotte Chavatipon ran her overall season singles mark to a perfect 6-0, earning a 6-2, 6-2 victory on court 4 over Gilas. Tied at 2-2 in the opening set, Chavatipon won the final four games and then rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the second set to win her match. Freshman Malaika Rapolu closed out the team victory with 6-2, 6-0 win on court 6 against Bacalla. Rapolu improved to 9-1 in singles play on the season, including a 2-0 mark in dual-match action.
The three remaining singles matches featuring Stearns, Turati and freshman Kylie Collins were stopped after Rapolu's win.
Due to health and safety protocols, fans are not permitted to attend home matches at this time.
#3 Texas 4, Iowa 0
Singles – Order of finish (3, 4, 6)
- #66 Peyton Stearns (UT) vs. #97 Alexa Noel (Iowa), 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
- #5 Anna Turati (UT) vs. Elise van Heuvelen (Iowa), 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
- #94 Lulu Sun (UT) def. Vipasha Mehra (Iowa), 6-1, 6-0
- #125 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Samantha Gilas (Iowa), 6-2, 6-2
- Kylie Collins (UT) vs. Samantha Mannix (Iowa), 1-6, 6-0, 1-1, unfinished
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Michelle Bacalla (Iowa), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles – Order of finish (2, 3)
- Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT) vs. Alexa Noel/Samantha Mannix (Iowa), 3-3, unfinished
- #48 Fernanda Labraña/Anna Turati (UT) def. Elise van Heuvelen/Michelle Bacalla (Iowa), 6-0
- Charlotte Chavatipon/Peyton Stearns (UT) def. Danielle Bauers/Samantha Gilas (Iowa), 6-1
Players Mentioned
