The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
04.16.2022 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns conclude the regular season with an 8-1 mark in Big 12 play and 17-4 overall record.
WACO, Texas — The No. 4 University of Texas Women's Tennis team (17-4, 8-1 Big 12) claimed a 4-3 victory against No. 21 Baylor (16-7, 6-3 Big 12) on Saturday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center. The Longhorns concluded the regular season by recording their 11th win against a nationally-ranked opponent this spring.
Baylor claimed an early 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. UT's No. 13-ranked pair of sophomore Peyton Stearns and freshman Allura Zamarripa dropped a 6-3 decision on court 1 to the No. 4-ranked tandem of Alicia Herrero Linana and Mel Krywoj.
The Bears clinched the doubles point when the freshman duo of Vivian Ovrootsky and Sabina Zeynalova fell 6-4 on court 3 to Alina Shcherbinina and Isabella Harvison. Shcherbinina and Harvison jumped out to a 5-1 advantage before Ovrootsky and Zeynalova rallied to win three-straight games, saving a pair of match points when trailing 2-5 to earn a service break on a deuce point and another pair of match points when trailing 3-5 to hold serve on a deuce point. Shcherbinina and Harvison closed out the match in the ensuing game by holding serve.
No. 2 Stearns opened singles action with a 6-1, 6-4 victory on court 1 against Harvison. Stearns won the first five games in her opening set and cruised to a 6-1 win. Harvison jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in the second set, but Stearns rallied to hold serve and then break Harvison on a deuce point to pull to within 4-3. After holding serve to tie the set at 4-4, Stearns broke Harvison again and held serve to finish out the match. She improved to 20-1 overall in singles this year, including a 17-1 mark in dual-match play.
Allura Zamarripa gave the Longhorns a 2-1 lead with a 7-5, 6-3 win on court 6 over Paula Baranano. Baranano built a 4-1 cushion before Zamarripa won back-to-back games to trim the margin to 4-3. After Baranano held serve to make it 5-3, Zamarripa responded by winning the next four games to close out the 7-5 first-set victory. Zamarripa raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Baranano won consecutive games to pull to within 5-3. Zamarripa held serve on a deuce point to finish the match and move to 6-1 in dual-match singles action this spring.
No. 70 Zeynalova increased UT's advantage to 3-1 with a 7-5, 6-3 victory on court 3 against Krywoj. Zeynalova built a 4-1 lead in her opening set, but Krywoj responded by winning four-straight games to grab a 5-4 advantage. Zeynalova held serve on a deuce point to tie the set at 5-5, then claimed a service break and held serve in the following game to close out the 7-5 first-set victory. Krywoj jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set, before Zeynalova earned a service break en route to winning the final five games of the set to finish out the match. Zeynalova improved to a perfect 16-0 in dual-match singles play this spring.
Baylor cut the deficit to 3-2 after Shcherbinina earned a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win on court 4 against No. 113 sophomore Charlotte Chavatipon. Shcherbinina built a 5-1 cushion in the opening set, but Chavatipon won the next three games to trim the margin to 5-4. Shcherbinina held serve to close out her first-set victory. Tied at 4-4 in the second set, Chavatipon held serve and then earned a service break on a deuce point to take the second set. Tied at 1-1 in the third set, Shcherbinina won five-straight games to close out her victory.
Ovrootsky clinched the overall dual-match win for the Longhorns by rallying for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory on court 5 over Anita Sahdiieva. After dropping her opening set and tied at 1-1 in the second set, Ovrootsky earned a service break en route to winning the next five games to claim a 6-1 second-set win. Tied at 3-3 in the third set, Sahdiieva broke Ovrootsky on a deuce point to grab a 4-3 lead. Ovrootsky responded in the ensuing game with a service break on a deuce point to tie the set at 4-4, and she held serve at love to take a 5-4 advantage. Ovrootsky finished out the win with another service break to move to 10-5 in dual-match singles play this spring.
Playing out the remaining singles match, Herrero Linana claimed a 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 1-0 (10-5) victory on court 2 against No. 49 sophomore Kylie Collins. In the first-set tiebreaker, Herrero Linana built a 4-1 advantage before Collins won back-to-back points to trim the margin to 4-3. After trading the next two points, Herrero Linana won back-to-back points to post a 7-4 victory in the breaker. Collins rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to win four straight games and take a 4-3 lead. Tied at 5-5, Collins held serve and followed with a service break to claim the 7-5 set win. With the overall dual-match decided by the time Collins evened the score at one set apiece, the match moved to a third-set super tiebreaker. Collins built a 3-1 cushion but Herrero Linana won the next three points to take a 4-3 advantage. Tied at 4-4, Herrero Linana won six of the next seven points to claim a 10-5 victory in the super tiebreaker.
The Longhorns have earned the No. 2 seed at the upcoming Big 12 Championship on April 21-24 in Fort Worth. Texas will play its quarterfinal match on Friday, April 22 at the Friedman Tennis Center on the campus of TCU. The bracket for the Big 12 Championship will be released by the league office at a later date.
#4 Texas 4, #21 Baylor 3
Doubles – Order of finish (1, 3)
- #4 Alicia Herrero Linana/Mel Krywoj (BU) def. #13 Peyton Stearns/Allura Zamarripa (UT), 6-3
- #79 Charlotte Chavatipon/Kylie Collins (UT) vs. Anita Sahdiieva/Ana Carmen Zamburek (BU), 6-5, unfinished
- Alina Shcherbinina/Isabella Harvison (BU) def. Vivian Ovrootsky/Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 6-4
Singles – Order of finish (1, 6, 3, 4, 5, 2)
- #2 Peyton Stearns (UT) def. Isabella Harvison (BU), 6-1, 6-4
- Alicia Herrero Linana (BU) def. #49 Kylie Collins (UT), 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 1-0 (10-5)
- #70 Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Mel Krywoj (BU), 7-5, 6-3
- Alina Shcherbinina (BU) def. #113 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
- Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) def. Anita Sahdiieva (BU), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
- Allura Zamarripa (UT) def. Paula Baranano (BU), 7-5, 6-3
