The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Kansas State
No. 4 Women’s Tennis preview: No. 52 K-State
04.09.2022 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns conclude their home regular-season schedule against K-State on Sunday (Noon CT).
No. 4 TEXAS (15-4, 6-1 Big 12) vs. No. 52 K-State (9-10, 1-6 Big 12)
When: Sunday, April 10 (12 p.m. CT)
Where: Texas Tennis Center (Austin, Texas)
Television: Longhorn Network (Kris Budden, play-by-play; Jon Wiegand, analyst)
WatchESPN stream: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
Team Rankings: Texas is No. 4 in the latest ITA Collegiate Division I team national rankings (April 6). UT 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: Four UT players are included in the current ITA national Top 125 singles rankings (April 6): Peyton Stearns (No. 3), Kylie Collins (No. 38), Sabina Zeynalova (No. 68) and Malaika Rapolu (No. 101). Two pairs of Longhorns are also tabbed in the current ITA national Top 80 doubles rankings (April 6): Peyton Stearns/Allura Zamarripa (No. 11) and Charlotte Chavatipon/Kylie Collins (No. 32).
Strength of Schedule: The Longhorns have faced nationally-ranked opponents in 12 of their last 14 dual matches entering Sunday's match vs. No. 52 K-State, including nine foes who were in the Top 25 at the time of the match. UT began the stretch with a 4-1 win against No. 10 USC, a 4-1 loss to No. 8 Oklahoma (now No. 2) and a 4-2 victory against No. 4 Cal at the ITA Indoor Nationals. The gauntlet continued with a 4-3 defeat to No. 4 NC State (now No. 3) in Austin. The Longhorns then traveled to the Bay Area and suffered a 5-2 loss at Stanford (currently No. 17) before recording a 4-3 victory at No. 6 Cal. UT registered a 4-0 sweep at No. 32 UCF (March 6), a 4-1 win at No. 34 Texas Tech (March 11) and a 6-1 victory at No. 20 Iowa State (March 20). Two weeks ago, the Longhorns earned a 4-1 win at No. 11 Oklahoma State (March 25) before dropping a hard-fought 4-3 decision at No. 3 Oklahoma (March 27). UT added a 7-0 sweep against No. 25 Kansas on Friday (April 8). Texas is 9-4 against ITA nationally-ranked opponents this season.
Home Success at the TTC: The Longhorns are in their fifth year at the Texas Tennis Center. UT has registered a 46-4 mark in dual matches at the TTC, including a perfect 17-0 record in Big 12 regular-season matches. During its inaugural season in 2018, Texas went 13-0 at home (5-0 in Big 12 play). The Longhorns went 8-2 at the TTC in 2019 (3-0 Big 12) and 7-1 in the shortened 2020 season (2-0 Big 12). UT posted a perfect 13-0 mark at the TTC in 2021 (5-0 Big 12) and is 5-1 (2-0 Big 12) this season.
Stearns is Sensational: Sophomore Peyton Stearns has posted an 18-1 overall mark in singles this spring, including a 15-1 record on court 1 in dual-match play. Stearns is No. 3 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (April 6). She earned a 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. Her only singles defeat this season came in a 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 6-2 loss to No. 18 Connie Ma of Stanford (Feb. 25). She has registered a 9-1 mark against nationally-ranked opponents in the 2022 spring season. 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.
Stearns earns Back-to-Back Big 12 Honors: Peyton Stearns earned consecutive Big 12 Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week accolades on March 22 and March 29. This marked the second and third weekly conference honors of her career, as she previously claimed the accolade on Feb. 2, 2021 during her freshman season. Stearns posted a combined 4-0 mark in singles and doubles while leading the Longhorns to road wins at West Virginia (March 18) and No. 20 Iowa State (March 20). During the 7-0 sweep at WVU, she paired with Allura Zamarripa at No. 2 doubles and earned a 6-2 win over Momoko Nagato and Kendall Kovick. Stearns then rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory on court 1 in singles against Kovick. In the 6-1 win at No. 20 Iowa State, she again paired with Allura Zamarripa at No. 2 doubles and claimed a 6-2 victory over the No. 55 duo of Sofia Cabezas and Miska Kadleckova. Stearns also added a 6-2, 6-4 win on court 1 in singles against No. 67 Thasaporn Naklo. The following week, she also posted a combined 4-0 mark in singles and doubles with all four victories coming against Top 50 nationally-ranked opponents. In the 4-1 win at No. 11 Oklahoma State (March 25), Stearns paired with Allura Zamarripa at No. 1 doubles and earned a 6-2 victory over No. 14 Lisa Marie Rioux and Ayumi Miyamoto. She returned in singles and clinched the overall dual-match win with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-3 victory on court 1 against No. 42 Lisa Marie Rioux. In the 4-3 loss at No. 3 Oklahoma (March 27), she paired with Allura Zamarripa at No. 1 doubles and claimed a 7-5 win over No. 4 Carmen Corley and Ivana Corley. Stearns then added a 6-4, 6-3 victory on court 1 in singles against No. 19 Layne Sleeth.
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.
The Case for Collins: Sophomore Kylie Collins has posted a 22-8 overall singles record this season, including a 10-5 mark on court 2 in dual-match play. Collins is No. 38 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (April 6). 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.
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 15-0 in dual-match singles play, including an 8-0 mark on court 3 and a 6-0 record on court 4. She is No. 68 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (April 6) and owns a 4-0 mark against nationally-ranked opponents. 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. Zeynalova also clinched the dual-match victory at No. 6 Cal (Feb. 27) with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court 3 over Valentina Ivanov. She has claimed impressive straight-set ranked victories against No. 114 Marie Mattel of UCF on March 6 (6-1, 6-3), No. 70 Avelina Sayfetdinova of Texas Tech on March 11 (6-0, 6-0) and No. 56 Ivana Corley of Oklahoma on March 27 (6-4, 6-2).
Charlotte's Web: Sophomore Charlotte Chavatipon has tallied a 10-7 mark in singles dual-match action this spring, including a 7-2 record on court 4. She clinched the overall dual-match win against No. 4 Cal at the ITA Indoor Nationals (Feb. 13) with a 6-3, 7-5 victory on court 4 over Julia Rosenqvist. Chavatipon sport a 20-5 overall doubles record this season, including a 13-3 mark in dual-match play while playing with multiple partners. 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).
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 9-5 in dual-match singles action. She recorded an important 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win on court 6 against Hannah Viller Moeller in the UT's 4-3 victory at No. 6 Cal (Feb. 27). Ovrootsky also posted a dominant 6-3, 6-0 victory on court 4 over No. 104 Oona Orpana of Oklahoma State (March 25).
Mighty Malaika: Sophomore Malaika Rapolu has registered a 13-7 overall singles record, including a 6-3 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 No. 101 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (April 6). 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.
Twin Powers: Freshmen twin sisters Allura Zamarripa and Bella Zamarripa are earning increased roles in UT's playing rotation this spring. Allura Zamarripa has carded a 5-1 mark in dual-match singles play on court 6 this spring, including a 4-1 record in Big 12 play. She also has paired with Peyton Stearns, and the duo has risen to No. 11 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings (April 6). Bella Zamarripa has a 2-1 mark in dual-match singles action, including a 2-0 record on court 6 this spring.
Doubles Improvement: After opening the spring by winning the doubles point in just five of their first nine matches, the Longhorns have started to solidify their doubles lineup and won the doubles point in six-straight and nine of their last 10 matches entering Sunday's match. The duo of Peyton Stearns and Allura Zamarripa have posted a 7-0 record in dual-match doubles play this spring (6-0 in Big 12 play) and are No. 11 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings (April 6). Playing on court 2, the pair claimed a 6-2 victory over No. 55 Sofia Cabezas and Miska Kadleckova of Iowa State (March 20). The tandem moved to court 1 and earned a 6-2 win against No. 14 Lisa Marie Rioux and Ayumi Miyamoto of Oklahoma State (March 25) and followed with a 7-5 victory over No. 4 Carmen Corley and Ivana Corley of Oklahoma (March 27). The sophomore tandem of Charlotte Chavatipon and Kylie Collins have registered a 9-2 overall doubles record, including a 4-0 mark in dual-match play this spring, and are No. 32 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings. The duo is 4-0 in Big 12 play and claimed a 7-6 (9-7) win on court 2 against No. 50 Alexandra Pisareva and Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma (March 27). The freshman pair of Vivian Ovrootsky and Sabina Zeynalova are 3-0 on court 3 this spring in dual-match doubles action.
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 130-36 (.783) mark in his seven years at Texas and a 261-97 (.728) record in 15 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
