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No. 1 Women’s Tennis tops No. 15 Oklahoma, 4-2
02.12.2023 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns earn four wins in singles to defeat the Sooners and conclude play at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
SEATTLE — The No. 1 University of Texas Women's Tennis team (8-1) earned a 4-2 victory over No. 15 Oklahoma (6-5) on Sunday in a consolation match in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at the Nordstrom Tennis Center. The Longhorns dropped the doubles point but rallied to post four wins in singles to claim the victory over the Sooners and conclude their run at the ITA Indoor Nationals with a 2-1 mark.
Oklahoma jumped out to a 1-0 lead by taking the doubles point. The tandem of Julia Garcia Ruiz and Dana Guzman posted a 6-1 victory on court 3 against junior Malaika Rapolu and graduate Marlee Zein. The No. 28-ranked duo of Carmen Corley and Ivana Corley clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 win on court 1 over freshman Nicole Khirin and junior Charlotte Chavatipon.
Texas evened the match score at 1-1 when junior Taisiya Pachkaleva claimed a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court 4 against Garcia Ruiz. Pachkaleva dropped the opening two games of her match but answered by winning 12 of the next 15 games to close out her win. The Sooners grabbed a 2-1 advantage after No. 83 Guzman tallied a 6-0, 6-3 victory on court 3 over junior No. 69 Malaika Rapolu.
Freshman Nicole Rivkin tied the match score at 2-2 with a 6-2, 6-4 win on court 5 against Emma Staker. No. 61 Chavatipon gave the Longhorns a 3-2 lead after a 6-4, 6-3 victory on court 2 over No. 96 Carmen Corley. Leading 4-3 in the second set, Chavatipon held serve on a deuce point and then finished off her win with a service break in the following game.
No. 113 Zein recorded the clinching point by rallying for a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory on court 6 against Alexandra Pisareva. Leading 3-2 in the decisive third set, Zein held serve on a deuce point before claiming a service break to build a 5-2 cushion. Pisareva answered with a service break to cut the margin to 5-3, before Zein closed out the match with a service break on a deuce point.
The remaining singles match featuring Khirin against Layne Sleeth on court 1 was halted when Zein clinched the overall dual-match victory. Khirin held a 3-2 lead in the third set when her match was stopped.
The Longhorns return to the court when they host No. 6 Stanford on Saturday, Feb. 25. First serve is set for 12 p.m. Central at the Texas Tennis Center.
#1 Texas 4, #15 Oklahoma 2
Singles – Order of finish (4, 3, 5, 2, 6)
- Nicole Khirin (UT) vs. Layne Sleeth (OU), 4-6, 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
- #61 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. #96 Carmen Corley (OU), 6-4, 6-3
- #83 Dana Guzman (OU) def. #69 Malaika Rapolu (UT), 6-0, 6-3
- Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU), 6-2, 6-3
- Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Emma Staker (OU), 6-2, 6-4
- #113 Marlee Zein (UT) def. Alexandra Pisareva (OU), 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles – Order of finish (3, 1)
- #28 Carmen Corley/Ivana Corley (OU) def. Nicole Khirin/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-1
- Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT) vs. #16 Layne Sleeth/Alexandra Pisareva (OU), 3-3, unfinished
- Julia Garcia Ruiz/Dana Guzman (OU) def. Malaika Rapolu/Marlee Zein (UT), 6-1
Players Mentioned
