The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
No. 2 Women’s Tennis defeats No. 23 Oklahoma, 4-2
04.24.2021 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns advance to the Big 12 Championship match against No. 8 Baylor on Sunday (1 p.m. CT).
WACO, Texas — The No. 2 University of Texas women's tennis team posted a 4-2 victory against No. 23 Oklahoma (15-6) in the Big 12 Championship semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center on the campus of Baylor University. The Longhorns won their 17th consecutive dual match and improved to 24-1 on the year.
Texas registered its 14th victory against a Top-50 opponent this year, including its seventh over a Top-25 foe. UT also completed a three-match sweep of the Sooners during the 2021 season. The Longhorns earned a 4-3 win at Oklahoma (Jan. 30), a 7-0 victory in Austin (Mar. 21) and the 4-2 win in Waco today.
The Sooners gained a 1-0 advantage after claiming the doubles point. It marked just the third time in UT's first 25 matches that the Longhorns did not win the doubles point.
The No. 42-ranked duo of freshmen Peyton Stearns and Charlotte Chavatipon earned a 6-2 victory on court 3 against Dana Guzman and Kianah Motosono. Stearns and Chavatiopon jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Guzman and Motosono won back-to-back games to pull within 3-2. Stearns and Chavatipon responded by winning three-straight games to close out their 10th consecutive win and move to 12-1 in dual-match doubles play this spring.
The No. 17-ranked tandem of freshmen Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun dropped a 6-4 decision on court 1 against the No. 25-ranked pair of Carmen Corley and Ivana Corley. The No. 86-ranked duo of seniors Anna Turati and Fernanda Labraña dropped their first dual-match of the season (13-1) with a 6-4 loss on court 2 to Camila Romero and Martina Capurro. Tied at 4-4, the Sooners' pair won the next two games to close out the match and clinch the doubles point.
The Longhorns immediately responded on the singles courts by recording three straight-set wins to take control of the match. No. 68 Sun started the rally with a 6-2, 6-4 victory on court 3 against No. 87 Ivana Corley. Sun raced out to a 4-1 lead in both sets while improving to 18-2 in dual-match singles play this spring.
No. 53 Collins followed with a 6-3, 6-1 win on court 5 over Motosono to give the Longhorns a 2-1 lead. Leading 4-3 in the opening set, Collins won eight of the next nine games to finish out her match and move to 15-2 in dual-match singles action.
No. 75 Chavatipon added a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court 4 against Capurro. Leading 4-3 in her opening set, Chavatipon won back-to-back games to close out the first-set win. Tied at 2-2 in the second set, she won three-straight games to build a 5-2 cushion before splitting the next two games to finish her win and improve to 22-1 overall in singles this season, including a 19-1 mark in dual-match play.
Oklahoma's No. 73 Carmen Corley answered with a 6-3, 7-5 win on court 1 over No. 28 Stearns to pull the Sooners to within 3-2.
Freshman Malaika Rapolu delivered the clinching point with her 7-5, 6-2 victory on court 6 against Marcelina Podlinska. Rapolu trailed 5-2 in the opening set but rallied to win five-straight games to earn a 7-5 set victory. Leading 3-2 in the second set, she closed out her win and the overall dual-match victory by winning three-consecutive games and moved to 23-2 overall in singles this season, including a 16-1 mark in dual-match singles play.
The remaining singles match featuring No. 29 Turati (court 2) was stopped once Rapolu clinched her win.
UT will face tourney host and No. 8 Baylor in the championship match of the Big 12 Tennis Championship on Sunday, April 25. First serve for Sunday's match is set for 1 p.m. CT on the Grandstand courts at the Hurd Tennis Center.
#2 Texas 4, #23 Oklahoma 2
Singles – Order of finish (3, 5, 4, 1, 6)
- #73 Carmen Corley (OU) def. #28 Peyton Stearns (UT), 6-3, 7-5
- #29 Anna Turati (UT) vs. #80 Dana Guzman (OU), 6-7 (7-1), 0-1, unfinished
- #68 Lulu Sun (UT) def. #87 Ivana Corley (OU), 6-2, 6-4
- #75 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Martina Capurro (OU), 6-3, 6-3
- #53 Kylie Collins (UT) def. Kianah Motosono (OU), 6-3, 6-1
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Marcelina Podlinska (OU), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles – Order of finish (3, 1, 2)
- #25 Carmen Corley/Ivana Corley (OU) def. #17 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT), 6-4
- Martina Capurro/Camila Romero (OU) def. #86 Fernanda Labraña/Anna Turati (UT), 6-4
- #42 Peyton Stearns/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Kianah Motosono/Dana Guzman (OU), 6-2
Players Mentioned
