The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
05.26.2021 | Women's Tennis
Freshman duo become the first Texas doubles pair to reach the NCAA semifinals since 1996.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The University of Texas freshman duo of Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun earned a 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 1-0 (10-5) win against No. 8 Andrea Garcia and Nandini Das of Florida State on Wednesday evening in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championships at the USTA National Campus.
Collins and Sun, No. 19 in the ITA's (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) latest national rankings, become the first Texas pair to reach the NCAA doubles semifinals since Cristina Moros and Farley Taylor advanced to the final in 1996.
After both teams held serve in the first three games of the opening set, Collins and Sun earned a service break at 40-30 to take a 3-1 lead. The Longhorns' duo then rallied from down 30-40 in the following game to hold serve on a deciding point and gain a 4-1 advantage. The two teams held serve over the next four games to give Collins and Sun a 6-3 first-set win.
Tied at 3-3 on serve in the second set, Collins and Sun gained a service break to grab a 4-3 cushion. Garcia and Das responded with a break on a deciding point to even the set at 4-4. With the FSU duo serving at 5-5, Collins and Sun broke at love to take a 6-5 lead. Serving for the match at 40-30 in the following game, Collins and Sun dropped back-to-back match points and the set moved into a tiebreaker. Tied at 1-1 in the breaker, Garcia and Das reeled off four straight points to build a 5-1 cushion and cruised to a 7-2 win.
Playing a 10-point super tiebreaker as the third set, the two teams split the opening two points. Collins and Sun won four straight points to take a 5-1 lead. After Garcia and Das claimed the ensuing point, the Longhorns' duo reeled off three straight points for an 8-2 advantage. FSU's pair won three of the next four points to climb to within 9-5, but Collins put away a volley on the following point to close out the victory.
Collins and Sun improved to 25-4 overall in doubles this year, including a 12-3 mark against nationally-ranked opponents. The duo has now won 10 consecutive doubles matches and moved to a perfect 5-0 against opponents ranked in the Top 10 this season.
Collins and Sun will face the No. 21-ranked tandem of Rosie Johanson and Emma Navarro from Virginia in Thursday's semifinals at 3 p.m. Central (4 p.m. Eastern).
NCAA Women's Doubles Championship
Quarterfinals – May 26
#19 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT) def. #8 Andrea Garcia/Nandini Das (FSU), 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 1-0 (10-5)
