The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Stanford
No. 5 Women’s Tennis falls 5-2 at Stanford
02.25.2022 | Women's Tennis
Freshman Sabina Zeynalova improves to 7-0 in dual-match singles play this spring.
STANFORD, Calif. — The No. 5 University of Texas Women's Tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision at Stanford on Friday afternoon at the Taube Tennis Center. The Longhorns captured the doubles point but the Cardinal responded by winning all four singles matches that went to a third set.
In a match the featured the last two NCAA Championship teams (Stanford in 2019, Texas in 2021), Stanford improved to 5-1 on the year, while Texas fell to 7-3.
Texas jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage by quickly taking the doubles point. Sophomore Charlotte Chavatipon and freshman Vivian Ovrootsky teamed up for just the second time this spring and earned an impressive 6-1 victory on court 3 against Ana Geller and Niluka Madurawe. Sophomore Peyton Stearns and freshman Bella Zamarripa paired together for the first time this spring and clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win on court 2 over Valencia Xu and Alexandra Yepifanova.
The Cardinal evened the match score at 1-1 when Sara Choy tallied a 6-2, 6-0 win on court 6 against No. 83 sophomore Malaika Rapolu. Freshman Sabina Zeynalova gave the Longhorns a 2-1 lead with a 6-3, 6-4 victory on court 4 over India Houghton. Zeynalova jumped out to a 4-1 lead before cruising to a 6-3 opening-set win. She held a 5-2 cushion in the second set before Houghton won back-to-back games to trim the margin to 5-4. Zeynalova held serve to close out the win and improve to 7-0 in dual-match singles play this spring.
All four remaining singles matches advanced to a third set. Stanford tied the overall match score at 2-2 when Angelica Blake closed out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 win on court 3 against Chavatipon. After Chavatipon held serve on a deuce point to even the third set at 4-4, Blake held serve and then broke Chavatipon to finish off her win. The Cardinal took a 3-2 advantage after No. 65 Xu recorded a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 victory on court 5 over Ovrootsky.
Stanford clinched the overall dual-match win when No. 17 Yepifanova rallied for a 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory on court 2 against No. 40 sophomore Kylie Collins. After a dominant first-set win, Collins held a 4-2 lead in the second set before Yepifanova won three-straight games to grab a 5-4 advantage. Collins forced a tiebreaker that Yepifanova claimed by an 8-6 margin. Yepifanova jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third set. Collins won back-to-back games to cut the deficit to 5-4, before Yepifanova held serve to close out the match.
Playing out the match to completion, No. 4 Stearns suffered her first singles loss of the year (11-1) with a 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 6-2 defeat at the hands of No. 18 Connie Ma. After rallying from 4-1 down to force a tiebreaker in the opening set, Stearns held a 5-2 cushion in the breaker. Ma won four-straight points to take a 6-5 lead and eventually closed out a 9-7 win in the breaker. Stearns responded by winning the first four games of the second set en route to a 6-2 set victory. Tied at 2-2 in the third set, Ma closed out the victory by claiming the final four games.
The Longhorns conclude their two-match trip to the Bay Arena when they face No. 6 Cal on Sunday, Feb. 27. First serve is set for 2 p.m. Central (Noon Pacific).
Stanford 5, #5 Texas 2
Singles – Order of finish (6, 4, 3, 5, 2, 1)
- #18 Connie Ma (STAN) def. #4 Peyton Stearns (UT), 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 6-2
- #17 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) def #40 Kylie Collins (UT), 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
- Angelica Blake (STAN) def. Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
- Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. India Houghton (STAN), 6-3, 6-4
- #65 Valencia Xu (STAN) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
- Sara Choy (STAN) def. #83 Malaika Rapolu (UT), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles – Order of finish (3, 2)
- Kylie Collins/Sabina Zeynalova (UT) vs. #21 Angelica Blake/Connie Ma (STAN), 3-5, unfinished
- Peyton Stearns/Bella Zamarripa (UT) def. Valencia Xu/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN), 6-2
- Vivian Ovrootsky/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Ana Geller/Niluka Madurawe (STAN), 6-1
Players Mentioned
