The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
05.27.2021 | Women's Tennis
Freshman duo rally for three-set victory in semifinals and look to become the first UT pair to win the NCAA doubles title in program history on Friday.
ORLANDO, Fla. — The University of Texas freshman duo of Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8) victory against No. 21 Rosie Johanson and Emma Navarro from Virginia on Thursday evening in the semifinals 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, are the first Texas pair to reach the NCAA doubles final since Cristina Moros and Farley Taylor advanced to the title match in 1996. Collins and Sun will look to become the first UT pair to win an NCAA doubles championship in program history on Friday.
Tied at 3-3 and on serve in the opening set, Johanson and Navarro broke Collins and Sun to grab a 4-3 lead. The Texas duo immediately answered with a service break on a deciding point to even the set at 4-4. Johanson and Navarro broke Collins and Sun in the following game and then held serve to close out the 6-4 first-set win.
Collins and Sun raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. The Virginia duo held serve on a deciding point, earned a service break and held serve again on another deciding point to even the set at 5-5. Collins and Sun held serve in the following game and then broke Johanson and Navarro at love to post a 7-5 second-set victory.
Playing a 10-point super tiebreaker as the third set, Johanson and Navarro jumped out to a 6-2 advantage. The Longhorns won back-to-back points, but Johanson and Navarro claimed the following point to make it 7-4. Collins and Sun reeled off four straight points to take an 8-7 advantage, before the Virginia duo won the next point to even the breaker at 8-8. Collins and Sun held serve on the following point, and the Cavaliers hit a volley wide on match point.
Collins and Sun improved to 26-4 overall in doubles this year, including a 13-3 mark against nationally-ranked opponents. The duo has now won 11 consecutive doubles matches.
Collins and Sun will face the No. 4-ranked tandem of Makenna Jones and Elizabeth Scotty from North Carolina in Friday's final. The match will start following the conclusion of the NCAA singles title match that begins at 11 a.m. Central (Noon Eastern).
NCAA Women's Doubles Championship
Semifinals – May 27
#19 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT) def. #21 Rosie Johanson/Emma Navarro (UVA), 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8)
