The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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No. 3 Women’s Tennis preview: No. 5 Virginia (NCAA Quarterfinals)
05.17.2022 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns will face the Cavaliers on Friday (1 p.m. CT) for a trip to the NCAA semifinals.
No. 3 TEXAS (23-4) vs. No. 5 Virginia (23-5)
When: Friday, May 20 (1 p.m. CT)
Where: Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex (Champaign, Ill.)
Live Video: TennisONE App (download: https://t1.app.link/ncaa2022)
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
Texas in the NCAA Championships: The No. 4 overall seed in the 2022 NCAA Championship, Texas is making its 37th NCAA Championship appearance in program history. The Longhorns have posted a 61-33 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play. Texas has captured NCAA team titles in 1993, 1995 and 2021 and posted NCAA runner-up finishes in 1992 and 2005.
Back in the Quarterfinals, Again: With their victory last Friday at the NCAA Austin Super Regional, the Longhorns earned their 12th appearance in the NCAA Quarterfinals in program history. UT is making its second-straight appearance in the "Elite Eight" under head coach Howard Joffe. Texas has now earned trips to the "Elite Eight" in 1984, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2021 and 2022.
Looking to Advance to the Final Four: Texas is seeking to claim its ninth appearance in the NCAA Semifinals with a win over Virginia on Friday. The Longhorns have made eight previous trips to the 'Final Four' in program history (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005 and 2021).
Team Rankings: Texas is No. 3 in the latest ITA Collegiate Division I team national rankings (May 4). 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 (May 4): Peyton Stearns (No. 2), Kylie Collins (No. 49), Sabina Zeynalova (No. 93) and Malaika Rapolu (No. 95). Two pairs of Longhorns are also tabbed in the current ITA national Top 90 doubles rankings (May 4): Peyton Stearns/Allura Zamarripa (No. 11) and Charlotte Chavatipon/Kylie Collins (No. 67).
Longhorns in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Draws: Peyton Stearns and Kylie Collins were selected to the 64-player singles draw, and the duo of Stearns and Allura Zamarripa was chosen to the 32-team doubles draw at the 2022 NCAA Championships. Stearns will be the No. 2 seed at the NCAA Singles Championship. The NCAA singles and doubles competition will be conducted May 23-28 at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Champaign, Ill., after the conclusion of the team championship.
Peaking at the Right Time: Texas enters Friday's contest playing its best tennis of the season. The Longhorns have won nine straight and 16 of their last 17 matches dating back to a 4-3 victory at then-No. 6 California on Feb. 27. Thirteen of those 16 victories have come against opponents who were nationally ranked, including nine top-25 foes. Texas recorded back-to-back 4-0 sweeps against Ball State and No. 18 Michigan in the NCAA First and Second Rounds and a 4-1 victory over No. 14 Auburn in the NCAA Round of 16.
All-Big 12 Awards: The Longhorns had a total of five players claim spots on the All-Big 12 Conference Awards teams. Peyton Stearns was named the Big 12 Player of the Year, becoming the sixth Longhorn to earn the accolade and first since Bianca Turati in 2018. Stearns joined a group of former UT winners that includes Turati, Breaunna Addison (2014 and 2016), Janet Walker (2000), Sandy Sureephong (1997 and 1998) and Cristina Moros (1997, shared the award with Sureephong). Stearns and Sabina Zeynalova were named to the All-Big 12 singles first team, while Charlotte Chavatipon and Kylie Collins were both tabbed to the All-Big 12 singles second team. Stearns and Allura Zamarripa were selected to the All-Big 12 doubles first team, while the duo of Collins and Chavatipon were chosen to the All-Big 12 doubles second team. Zeynalova also was named to the league's six-person All-Freshman team. In addition, Stearns was named the Big 12 individual champion at No. 1 singles (8-0 in league play), while Zeynalova earned the conference's individual champion honors at No. 3 singles (7-0 in league play).
Big 12 Tournament Champs: Texas claimed the Big 12 tourney title with its 3-0 mark in Fort Worth at the league's postseason tourney (April 22-24). The Longhorns topped No. 34 Iowa State (4-0) in the quarterfinals, No. 11 Oklahoma State (4-1) in the semifinals and No. 2 Oklahoma (4-2) in the championship match. UT captured the Big 12 Tournament championship title for the 12th time in program history (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2021 and 2022). The Longhorns also claimed nine Southwest Conference tourney crowns (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996).
Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Honors: Texas had a league-best four selections to the 2022 Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team. Peyton Stearns, who also earned recognition as the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer, claimed the honor at No. 1 singles, and Kylie Collins received the award at No. 2 singles. Charlotte Chavatipon claimed the honor at No. 4 singles, and Vivian Ovrootsky garnered the accolade at No. 6 singles. The duo of Kylie Collins and Charlotte Chavatipon received the honor at No. 2 doubles.
Success in the Classroom: Texas had four selections on the 2022 Academic All-Big 12 Women's Tennis team. Sophomores Charlotte Chavatipon, Kylie Collins, Malaika Rapolu and Peyton Stearns were each named to the First Team (3.20 or better GPA).
Strength of Schedule: The Longhorns have faced nationally-ranked opponents in 19 of their last 22 dual matches entering Friday's contest, including 14 foes who were in the Top 25 at the time of the match and seven who were in the Top 10. Texas is 16-4 against ITA nationally-ranked opponents this season. UT's four defeats this season have come at the hands of Oklahoma (twice, currently ranked No. 2), NC State (currently No. 6) and Stanford (currently No. 15).
Stearns is Sensational: Sophomore Peyton Stearns has posted a 25-1 overall mark in singles this spring, including a 22-1 record on court 1 in dual-match play. Stearns is No. 2 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (May 4). 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). Stearns earned a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 19 Kari Miller of Michigan in the NCAA Second Round (May 7) and followed with a 6-1, 6-3 win against No. 34 Selin Ovunc of Auburn in the NCAA Round of 16 (May 13). She has registered a 15-1 mark against nationally-ranked opponents this spring and won 14-consecutive matches. 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 2021 Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Stearns Dominant at Big 12 Tourney: Peyton Stearns was named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Performer after recording a trio of dominant straight-set victories at No. 1 singles. Stearns claimed a 6-4, 6-0 win against No. 61 Thesaporn Naklo of Iowa State in the quarterfinals. She added a 6-0, 6-1 victory over No. 19 Lisa Marie Rioux of Oklahoma State in the semifinals and followed with a 6-0, 6-0 shutout against No. 10 Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma in the final.
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 award 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 25-9 overall singles record this season, including a 13-6 mark on court 2 in dual-match play. Collins is No. 49 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (May 4). 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.
Collins claims Big 12 Weekly Honors: Kylie Collins earned Big 12 Conference Women's Tennis Player of the Week recognition on April 12. This marked the second conference honor of her career, as she previously claimed the accolade on Feb. 9, 2021 during her freshman season. Collins posted a combined 4-0 mark in singles and doubles to lead the Longhorns to a pair of home sweeps against No. 25 Kansas (April 8) and No. 52 K-State (April 10). During the 7-0 win against the Jayhawks, Collins paired with Charlotte Chavatipon at No. 2 doubles and claimed a 6-2 victory over Raphaelle Lacasse and Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez. She returned in singles and tallied a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win on court 2 against Malkia Ngounoue. In the 4-0 sweep over the Wildcats, Collins teamed with Chavatipon at No. 2 doubles and earned a 6-0 shutout over Dinara Alloyarova and Manami Ukita. She returned in singles to clinch the overall dual-match victory for the Longhorns with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court 2 over Karine-Marion Job.
Sabina's Immediate Impact: Freshman Sabina Zeynalova has quickly made an impact for the Longhorns in her initial collegiate campaign. Zeynalova is 20-1 in dual-match singles play this spring, including a 13-1 mark on court 3 and a 6-0 record on court 4. She is No. 93 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (May 4) and owns a 5-1 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). Zeynalova has provided the clinching point in each of UT's first three NCAA tourney matches. She earned a 6-1, 6-1 win on court 3 against Amy Kaplan of Ball State (May 6) and a 6-4, 6-0 victory on court 3 over Nicole Hammond of Michigan (May 7). Zeynalova added a 6-1, 7-5 win on court 3 against No. 114 Carolyn Ansari of Auburn (May 13).
Charlotte's Web: Sophomore Charlotte Chavatipon has tallied a 16-8 mark in singles dual-match play this season, including a 13-3 record on court 4. Chavatipon has taken her game to a different level in the postseason, posting a 5-0 record in singles on court 4 (all five wins in straight sets) and a 5-1 mark in doubles with Kylie Collins on court 2. 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 sports a 26-6 overall doubles record this season, including a 19-4 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 Peyton Stearns).
Rooting for Ovrootsky: Vivian Ovrootsky enrolled in classes at Texas in January and has made a significant contribution early in her collegiate career. Ovrootsky is 12-5 in dual-match singles action, including a 4-0 record on court 6 this spring. 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). She clinched the overall dual-match victory in UT's 4-3 regular-season finale at No. 21 Baylor, rallying for a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 win on court 5 against Anita Sahdiieva.
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. 95 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (May 4). She claimed a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win earlier this fall 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 have earned increased roles in UT's playing rotation this spring. Allura Zamarripa has carded an 8-2 mark in dual-match singles play this spring, including a 5-1 record in Big 12 play. She recorded a 6-1, 6-0 victory on court 5 against Livia Lukacs of Ball State in the NCAA First Round (May 6) and added a 6-4, 6-1 win on court 5 against Yu Chen of Auburn in the NCAA Round of 16 (May 13). Allura Zamarripa also has paired with Peyton Stearns, and the duo has risen to No. 11 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings (May 4). 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 14 of their last 18 matches entering Friday's contest. The duo of Peyton Stearns and Allura Zamarripa have posted a 10-2 record in dual-match doubles play this spring (5-2 on court 1) and are No. 11 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings (May 4). Playing on court 2 until midway through the spring, 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). Stearns and Zamarripa also claimed a 6-3 win over No. 6 Carmen Corley and Ivana Corley of Oklahoma (April 24) in the championship match of the Big 12 tourney. The sophomore tandem of Charlotte Chavatipon and Kylie Collins have registered a 15-3 overall doubles record, including a 10-1 mark in dual-match play this spring (8-1 on court 2). Chavatipon and Collins are No. 67 in the latest ITA national doubles rankings (May 4) and went 5-0 in Big 12 play. The Chavatipon-Collins tandem claimed a 7-6 (9-7) win on court 2 against No. 50 Alexandra Pisareva and Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma (March 27), a 6-0 win on court 2 over No. 75 Mananchaya Sawangkaew and Martina Zerulo of Oklahoma State (April 23) and clinched the doubles point in the Big 12 tourney championship match with a 7-6 (7-5) victory on court 2 against Alexandra Pisareva and Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma (April 24). The freshman pair of Vivian Ovrootsky and Sabina Zeynalova are 5-4 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, he led the Longhorns to the NCAA Championship in 2021, marking the school's first national title in women's tennis since 1995. Joffe has registered a 138-36 (.793) mark in his seven years at Texas and a 269-97 (.735) 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 14 of his UT players have registered a combined 19 All-Big 12 singles and 18 All-Big 12 doubles selections.
Players Mentioned
