The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Stanford
No. 5 Women’s Tennis preview: at Stanford and at No. 6 Cal
02.24.2022 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns travel to the Bay Area to face perennial powers Stanford on Friday (2 p.m. CT) and Cal on Sunday (2 p.m. CT).
No. 5 TEXAS (7-2) at No. 64 Stanford (4-1)
When: Friday, Feb. 25 (2 p.m. CT/Noon PT)
Where: Taube Tennis Center (Stanford, Calif.)
Live Video: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
No. 5 TEXAS (7-2) at No. 6 Cal (6-4)
When: Sunday, Feb. 27 (2 p.m. CT/Noon PT)
Where: Hellman Tennis Center (Berkeley, Calif.)
Live Video: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
Team Rankings: Texas is No. 5 in the latest ITA Collegiate Division I team national rankings (Feb. 23). UT had held the top spot in the national rankings for five consecutive polls prior to moving to No. 3 on Feb. 16. UT earned the No. 1 spot in last year's final poll and was ranked No. 1 in each of the first four weekly polls this season, beginning on Jan. 5. Texas has finished each of the last four years in the Top 10 of the final national polls (No. 6 in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020 and No. 1 in 2021).
Individual Rankings: Three UT players are included in the current ITA national Top 125 singles rankings (Feb. 23): Peyton Stearns (No. 4), Kylie Collins (No. 40) and Malaika Rapolu (No. 83). A pair of Longhorns are also tabbed in the current ITA national Top 60 doubles rankings (Feb. 23): Charlotte Chavatipon and Kylie Collins (No. 36).
Strength of Schedule: Friday's match at Stanford (widely considered a top-15 team despite the ITA's current national ranking of No. 64) and Sunday's match at No. 6 Cal will mark the fifth and sixth straight matches against Top-15 nationally-ranked opponents for the Longhorns. UT began this current stretch with a 4-1 win against No. 10 USC, a 4-1 loss to No. 8 Oklahoma (now No. 3) and a 4-2 victory against Cal at the ITA Indoor Nationals. It continued with a 4-3 defeat to No. 4 NC State (now No. 2) last Sunday in Austin.
ITA Indoor Nationals in Review: Texas posted a 2-1 mark at the recent ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 11-14 in Madison, Wis. The Longhorns earned a 4-1 win over No. 10 USC (Feb. 11) in the Round of 16 before falling 4-1 to No. 8 Oklahoma (Feb. 12) in the quarterfinals. In a consolation bracket, Texas bounced back to post a 4-2 victory against No. 4 California (Feb. 13).
Stearns on ITA Indoor Nationals All-Tournament Team: Peyton Stearns was named to the ITA Indoor National Team Championships All-Tournament Team at No. 1 singles. Stearns registered a perfect 3-0 mark at No. 1 singles during the event. She opened play with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over the nation's top-ranked singles player, Erin Cayetano (USC) in the Round of 16. Stearns then earned a 6-3, 7-5 victory against No. 15 Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma in the quarterfinals. During the consolation bracket match against Cal, Stearns added a 6-1, 1-6, 6-0 win over Haley Giavara.
Stearns is Sensational: Sophomore Peyton Stearns is off to a solid start in the 2022 dual-match season. She has posted a perfect 11-0 overall mark in singles this year, including an 8-0 record on court 1 in dual-match play. Stearns is ranked No. 4 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (Feb. 23). She recently earned a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory on court 1 against No. 12 Jaeda Daniel of NC State (Feb. 20). It marked Stearns' second win against Daniel this spring, as she also posted a 6-4, 6-3 win at the Miami Spring Invite on Jan. 15. She also has teamed with Charlotte Chavatipon for a 5-2 overall mark in doubles, including a 4-2 record in dual-match action. Stearns earned ITA singles All-America honors as a freshman in 2021, completing the year with an 18-8 overall singles record including a 13-4 mark in dual-match play at the No. 1 singles spot. She was tabbed No. 13 in the final ITA singles national rankings last season. Stearns was named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2021 NCAA Women's Team Championship and the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
The Case for Collins: Sophomore Kylie Collins has posted a 16-5 overall singles record this season, including a 4-2 mark on court 2 in dual-match play. She also has paired with Sabina Zeynalova for a 3-3 mark in doubles on court 1 in dual-match action. Collins is ranked No. 40 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (Feb. 23). In the fall, she won the ITA Texas Regional singles title (Oct. 15-18) with three victories against ranked opponents during her run. As a freshman in 2021, Collins earned ITA doubles All-America honors with partner Lulu Sun. The duo became the first pair of ITA All-American in doubles at UT since Cristina Moros and Sandy Sureephong in 1998. Collins and Sun advanced to the finals of the 2021 NCAA Doubles Championship and were No. 5 in the final ITA doubles national rankings. The duo concluded the year at 26-5 overall (22-4 in dual-match play) and became the first UT pair to reach the NCAA Doubles final since Moros and Farley Taylor in 1996.
Charlotte's Web: Sophomore Charlotte Chavatipon has registered an 8-6 overall singles record, including a 4-4 mark in dual-match play this season. Chavatipon clinched the overall dual-match win against No. 4 Cal at the ITA Indoor Nationals with a 6-3, 7-5 victory on court 4 over Julia Rosenqvist. She also has teamed with Peyton Stearns for a 5-2 overall mark in doubles, including a 4-2 record in dual-match action. As a freshman last year, Chavatipon posted a 28-1 overall record in singles, including a 25-1 mark in dual-match play, and earned spots on the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team at both No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles (with Stearns).
Mighty Malaika: Sophomore Malaika Rapolu has registered a 10-5 overall singles record, including a 3-1 mark in dual-match play this season. She earned an impressive 7-5, 6-2 win on court 6 against NC State's Amelia Rajecki (Feb. 20). Rapolu is ranked No. 83 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (Feb. 23). She claimed a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win against No. 5 Georgia Drummy of Duke during the Debbie Southern Furman Fall Classic in Greenville, S.C. (Sept. 17). As a freshman in 2021, Rapolu posted a 26-3 overall record in singles, including a 19-2 mark in dual-match play, and was named the Big 12 individual champion at No. 6 singles with a 6-0 mark on court 6 in league play.
Sabina's Immediate Impact: Sabina Zeynalova enrolled in classes at Texas in January and has quickly made an impact for the Longhorns. Zeynalova is a perfect 6-0 in dual-match singles play and has paired with Kylie Collins for a 3-3 doubles record on court 1 in dual-match action. Zeynalova clinched the home win against No. 25 Baylor (Feb. 2) with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory on court 4 against No. 77 Alicia Herrero LInana. In that win, Zeynalova faced a 4-2 deficit in the second set but responded by claiming four straight games to win the set. Trailing 1-0 in the third set, she ran off six straight games to close out the victory.
Rooting for Ovrootsky: Vivian Ovrootsky also enrolled in classes at Texas in January and has made a significant contribution early in her collegiate career. Ovrootsky is 5-2 in dual-match singles action and has a 3-3 mark in doubles play, pairing with multiple partners.
Big 12 Preseason Favorite: Texas is picked to win the Big 12 Conference title in a preseason vote of the league coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Texas was selected as the preseason Big 12 favorite for a fourth-consecutive year and fifth time in the poll's history. UT was the unanimous favorite among the other head coaches, receiving all nine first-place votes and 81 points in polling for the upcoming 2022 season. Baylor ranked second with 68 points and one first-place vote, while Oklahoma was tabbed third with 66 points. Rounding out the poll in descending order are Oklahoma State (60), Iowa State (48), Texas Tech (39), Kansas (35), TCU (29), Kansas State (24) and West Virginia (9).
Joffe in Year Seven: Head Coach Howard Joffe is in his seventh season leading the UT program. The 2021 ITA Division I Women's National Coach of the Year, Joffe has registered a 122-34 (.782) mark in his previous six years at Texas and a 253-95 (.727) record in 14 previous seasons as a collegiate head coach. He has helped four Longhorns earn a total of five ITA All-America honors in singles (Breaunna Addison in 2016, Bianca Turati in 2018, Anna Turati and Bianca Turati in 2020 and Peyton Stearns in 2021) and one duo earn ITA All-America accolades in doubles (Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun in 2021), while 12 of his UT players have registered a combined 15 All-Big 12 singles and 14 All-Big 12 doubles selections.
Players Mentioned
