The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Oklahoma
No. 12 Women’s Tennis wins 5-2 against No. 20 Oklahoma
03.10.2023 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns win their Big 12 Conference opener in impressive fashion to improve to 10-2 on the year.
AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 12 University of Texas Women's Tennis team claimed a 5-2 win against No. 20 Oklahoma (9-6, 0-1 Big 12) in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams on Friday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns claimed the doubles point and won four-of-six singles matches to move to 10-2 on the season.
Texas grabbed an early 1-0 advantage by earning a hard-fought doubles point. OU's No. 32-ranked tandem of twin sisters Carmen and Ivana Corley posted a 6-4 victory on court 1 against UT's No. 27-ranked pair of junior Charlotte Chavatipon and sophomore Sabina Zeynalova. Chavatipon and Zeynalova dropped to 5-1 in dual-match doubles action this spring.
The duo of junior Taisiya Pachkaleva and freshman Nicole Rivkin responded with a 6-3 win on court 3 over Julia Garcia Ruiz and Dana Guzman. Pachaleva and Rivkin raced to a 4-0 lead and cruised to victory to improve to 7-2 in dual-match play. The tandem of freshman Nicole Khirin and graduate Marlee Zein clinched the doubles point for the Longhorns with a come-from-behind 7-5 victory on court 2 against OU's No. 8-ranked pair of Layne Sleeth and Alexandra Pisareva. Sleeth and Pisareva jumped out to a 5-2 advantage, but Khirin and Zein rattled off five-straight games to complete the comeback. Tied at 5-5, Khirin and Zein claimed a service break on a deuce point and then served out the match at-love in the following game.
The Longhorns quickly clinched the overall dual-match victory with a trio of dominant singles wins. Junior Malaika Rapolu earned a 6-0, 6-3 win on court 5 against Emma Staker to improve to 7-3 in dual-match singles play this spring. Trailing 3-2 in her second set, Rapolu won four-straight games to close out her match.
Khirin followed with a 6-4, 6-1 victory on court 1 over Sleeth to increase UT's advantage to 3-0. Tied at 3-3 in her opening set, Khirin won three of the next four games to take the first set. Leading 2-1 in the second, Khirin won four-straight games to finish out her victory. Pachkaleva provided the clinching point with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court 4 against Pisareva. Pachkaleva jumped out to a 4-2 lead in her opening set and built a 5-1 cushion in her second set while moving to 8-1 in dual-match singles action this season.
Playing out the remaining singles matches, No. 101 Zeynalova claimed a 6-3, 6-4 victory on court 3 over No. 97 Carmen Corley to give the Longhorns a 5-0 lead. Trailing 4-3 in her second set, Zeynalova claimed three-straight games to finish out her win and improve to 7-1 in dual-match singles play.
No. 86 Guzman earned a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory on court 2 over No. 58 Chavatipon, and Garcia Ruiz capped the afternoon with a 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8) win on court 6 against Rivkin.
Texas returns to the courts when it hosts No. 34 Oklahoma State on Sunday, March 12. First serve is set for 12 p.m. Central at the Texas Tennis Center.
#12 Texas 5, #20 Oklahoma 2
Singles – Order of finish (5, 1, 4, 3, 2, 6)
- Nicole Khirin (UT) def. Layne Sleeth (OU), 6-4, 6-1
- #86 Dana Guzman (OU) def. #58 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
- #101 Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. #97 Carmen Corley (OU), 6-3, 6-4
- Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Alexandra Pisareva (OU), 6-3, 6-2
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Emma Staker (OU), 6-0, 6-3
- Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU) def. Nicole Rivkin (UT), 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (10-8)
Doubles – Order of finish (1, 3, 2)
- #32 Carmen Corley/Ivana Corley (OU) def. #27 Charlote Chavatipon/Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 6-4
- Marlee Zein/Nicole Khirin (UT) def. #8 Layne Sleeth/Alexandra Pisareva (OU), 7-5
- Nicole Rivkin/Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Julia Garcia Ruiz/Dana Guzman (OU), 6-3
Players Mentioned
