The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Ohio State
No. 2 Women’s Tennis advances to NCAA quarterfinals
05.16.2021 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns earn a 4-1 win on Sunday against No. 16 Ohio State in the NCAA Round of 16.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The No. 2 University of Texas women's tennis team registered a 4-1 victory against No. 16 Ohio State (23-4) in a NCAA Round of 16 match on Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus. With the win, the Longhorns (28-1) advance to the NCAA quarterfinals against No. 7 Florida State (19-5) on Wednesday, May 19 at a time to be determined.
Texas, which won its 21st consecutive dual match, reached the NCAA quarterfinals for the 11th time in program history and first since the 2005 season. UT's 28 dual-match wins are the second-most single-season total in program history, trailing only the 29 set by the 1983-84 team (29-7 record).
UT claimed a 1-0 advantage after winning the doubles point for the 26th time in its first 29 matches. The No. 19-ranked duo of freshmen Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun posted an impressive 6-0 victory on court 1 over the No. 52-ranked tandem of Kolie Allen and Isabelle Boulais. Collins and Sun improved to 19-4 in dual-match doubles play, including a 7-3 mark against nationally-ranked opponents.
The No. 47-ranked pair of freshmen Peyton Stearns and Charlotte Chavatipon clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win on court 3 against No. 80 Luna Dormet and Irina Cantos Siemers. After dropping the opening game, Stearns and Chavatipon won three-straight games to build a 3-1 cushion. Both teams held serve in the following three games, as Dormet and Cantos Siemers pulled to within 4-3. Stearns and Chavatipon held serve at love and then broke Dormet and Cantos Siemers on a deuce point to close out their 13th consecutive victory and improve to 17-2 overall in doubles this year, including a 15-1 mark in dual-match play.
No. 62 Sun opened singles play with a decisive 6-1, 6-1 victory on court 3 over Allen. Leading 2-1 in her opening set, Sun won four straight games to close out her first set. After dropping the opening game of the second set, she won six consecutive games to earn her 14th straight singles victory and move to 20-2 in dual-match singles action this year.
The Buckeyes trimmed the margin to 2-1 after No. 18 Cantos Siemers posted a 6-2, 6-0 win on court 1 against No. 37 Stearns. No. 76 Chavatipon responded with a 6-1, 6-4 victory on court 4 over Lisa Hofbauer. After cruising through her opening set, Chavatipon built a 4-2 cushion in the second set. Hofbauer answered by winning back-to-back games to pull even at 4-4, but Chavatipon held serve and then broke Hofbauer on a deuce point to finish out her 16th consecutive singles win and improve to 26-1 overall in singles this year, including a 23-1 mark in dual-match play.
No. 35 senior Anna Turati sealed the overall dual-match victory with a 6-1, 7-5 win on court 2 against Boulais. Turati took the first set easily and jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the second set. Boulais responded by winning four straight games to claim a 4-3 lead. Turati held serve on a deuce point and broke Boulais to take a 5-4 advantage, but Boulais broke Turati to even the set at 5-5. Turati answered by breaking Boulais at love and then held serve in the following game to close out the win and improve to 18-3 in dual-match singles play this season.
The remaining singles matches featuring No. 72 Collins (court 5) and freshman Malaika Rapolu (court 6) were stopped once Turati clinched her win. Florida State earned its spot in the NCAA quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory on Sunday against No. 10 Texas A&M.
#2 Texas 4, #16 Ohio State 1
Singles – Order of finish (3, 1, 4, 2)
- #18 Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) def. #37 Peyton Stearns (UT), 6-2, 6-0
- #35 Anna Turati (UT) def. Isabelle Boulais (OSU), 6-1, 7-5
- #62 Lulu Sun (UT) def. Kolie Allen (OSU), 6-1, 6-1
- #76 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Lisa Hofbauer (OSU), 6-1, 6-4
- #72 Kylie Collins (UT) vs. Lucia Marzal (OSU), 6-2, 4-6, 2-2, unfinished
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) vs. Luna Dormet (OSU), 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 0-0, unfinished
Doubles – Order of finish (1, 3)
- #19 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT) def. #52 Kolie Allen/Isabelle Boulais (OSU), 6-0
- Fernanda Labraña/Anna Turati (UT) vs. Lucia Marzal/Lisa Hofbauer (OSU), 4-5, unfinished
- #47 Peyton Stearns/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. #80 Luna Dormet/Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU), 6-3
Post-Match Quotes
Texas head coach Howard Joffe:
"Obviously making it to the Elite Eight is definitely a milestone for our program. It speaks volumes to accomplish this feat with such a young team and is great for the future of our program. With respect to today's match, we were dominant in doubles and won four of the six first sets quickly. Then a bit of a malaise set in, and Ohio State fought back. I was pleased that we were able to get over the line. For some of our players to have close battles today in singles will toughen us up for later matches."
Texas senior Anna Turati:
"All of the teams here are very good. I thought I had the match in my hands, but give her (Isabelle Boulais) credit. She fought back. Howard (Coach Joffe) gave me some great feedback during that stretch, and I focused on how I wanted to win for my teammates. I'm super happy with the win. We just want to keep advancing here, and I know our team can't wait to compete again in the quarterfinals."
Players Mentioned
