The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Kansas State
No. 14 Women’s Tennis wins 6-1 at K-State
03.18.2023 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns swept the doubles point and took five-of-six singles matches to improve to 11-3 on the year.
MANHATTAN, Kan. — The No. 14 University of Texas Women's Tennis team earned a 6-1 victory at Kansas State (2-13, 0-3 Big 12) on Friday evening at the Body First Tennis Center. The Longhorns swept the doubles point and won five-of-six singles matches to improve to 11-3 overall on the year and 2-1 in Big 12 Conference play.
Texas grabbed an early 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point. The No. 27-ranked duo of junior Charlotte Chavatipon and sophomore Sabina Zeynalova posted a 6-1 victory on court 2 against the pair of Florentine Dekkers and Farhat Quamar. Chavatipon and Zeynalova jumped out to a 3-0 cushion en route to closing out their win and improving to 6-2 this spring in dual-match doubles play.
The pair of freshman Nicole Khirin and graduate Marlee Zein clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court 1 over Vanesa Suarez and Manami Ukita. Facing a 4-3 deficit, Khirin and Zein rattled off three-straight games to finish out their victory and move to 4-0 in dual-match doubles action.
The Longhorns quickly earned a second point in singles when No. 58 Chavatipon posted a 6-3 first-set win on court 2 and her opponent, Rosanna Maffei, retired prior to the start of the second set. Chavatipon moved to 9-3 in dual-match singles play with the victory. Khirin followed with a 6-4, 6-2 victory on court 1 against Dekkers to give the Longhorns a 3-0 cushion. Khirin improved to 5-2 this spring in dual-match singles action on court 1.
K-State claimed its only team point of the evening when Suarez posted a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win on court 3 over No. 101 Zeynalova. Junior Malaika Rapolu then clinched the overall dual-match victory for the Longhorns with a 6-2, 6-4 win on court 4 against Ukita. Trailing 4-3 in her second set, Rapolu rallied to take three-straight games and finish off her victory.
Playing out the remaining pair of singles matches, No. 91 Zein tallied a 6-4, 7-5 win on court 5 against Quamar. Zein overcame a 4-3 deficit in her opening set to win three-straight games and close out a 6-4 first-set victory. Trailing 5-2 in her second set, Zein won five-consecutive games to finish her win and move to 4-1 in dual-match singles play this spring. Freshman Nicole Rivkin concluded Friday's action with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory on court 6 over Rozalia Gruszczynska. Leading 3-2 in her opening set, Rivkin won nine-straight games to finish off her victory.
Texas is back in action when it travels to face No. 19 Kansas on Sunday, March 19. First serve is set for 12 p.m. Central at the Jayhawks Tennis Center in Lawrence.
#14 Texas 6, Kansas State 1
Singles – Order of finish (2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6)
- Nicole Khirin (UT) def. Florentine Dekkers (KSU), 6-4, 6-2
- #58 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Rosanna Maffei (KSU), 6-3, retired
- Vanesa Suarez (KSU) def. #101 Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Manami Ukita (KSU), 6-2, 6-4
- #91 Marlee Zein (UT) def. Farhat Quamar (KSU), 6-4, 7-5
- Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Rozalia Gruszczynska (KSU), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles – Order of finish (2, 1)
- Nicole Khirin/Marlee Zein (UT) def. Vanesa Suarez/Manami Ukita (KSU), 6-4
- #27 Charlotte Chavatipon/Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Florentine Dekkers/Farhat Quamar (KSU), 6-1
- Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT) vs. Rozalia Gruszczynska/Rosanna Maffei (KSU), 4-3, unfinished
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Players Mentioned
