The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NC State
No. 11 Women’s Tennis falls 5-2 at No. 7 NC State
04.10.2023 | Women's Tennis
Rapolu and Rivkin post three-set singles victories for the Longhorns.
RALEIGH, N.C. — The No. 11 University of Texas Women's Tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision at No. 7 NC State on Monday afternoon at the Isenhour Tennis Center. Junior Malaika Rapolu and freshman Nicole Rivkin earned three-set singles victories to pace the Longhorns (17-4).
The Wolfpack (18-4) claimed the doubles point and won the first four singles matches to clinch the overall dual-match victory. The loss snapped UT's streak of seven-straight dual-match wins, including six consecutive against nationally-ranked opponents.
NC State took an early 1-0 advantage after earning the doubles point. The tandem of Sophie Abrams and Abigail Rencheli posted a 6-1 victory on court 3 over Rivkin and junior Taisiya Pachkaleva. After Rivkin and Pachkaleva claimed the opening game, Abrams and Rencheli won six-straight games to close out the match.
The No. 10-ranked pair of Diana Shnaider and Alana Smith clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 win on court 1 against the No. 51-ranked duo of junior Charlotte Chavatipon and sophomore Sabina Zeynalova. Chavatipon and Zeynalova jumped out to a 3-1 lead, before Shnaider and Smith responded by winning back-to-back games to even the match at 3-3. Tied at 5-5, Shnaider and Smith claimed a service break and then held serve on a deciding point in the following game to finish out the victory.
The Wolfpack clinched the overall dual-match victory by recording a trio of straight-set singles wins. No. 13 Smith earned a 6-2, 6-0 victory on court 2 over No. 99 Zeynalova, and No. 65 Rencheli added a 6-2, 6-3 win on court 4 against Pachkaleva to give NC State a 3-0 lead.
No. 18 Shnaider provided the clinching point with a 6-3, 7-5 victory on court 1 over No. 115 freshman Nicole Khirin. Tied at 4-4 in the second set, Shnaider broke Khirin to take a 5-4 lead before Khirin responded with a service break of her own to even the set at 5-5. Shnaider claimed another break to grab a 6-5 advantage and then closed out the match on a deciding point.
Playing out the remaining singles matches, No. 28 Amelia Rajecki earned a 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7) win on court 3 against No. 74 Chavatipon. Tied at 2-2 in her second set, Chavatipon held serve, claimed a service break and held serve again to build a 5-2 cushion. After Rajecki held serve to trim the margin to 5-3, Chavatipon held serve to close out her 6-3 set win. In the third-set super breaker, Chavatipon rallied from a 7-5 deficit to win back-to-back points and even the breaker at 7-7. Rajecki finished off the victory by winning the next three points.
Rapolu got the Longhorns on the board by rallying for a 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6) win on court 6 against Abrams. Tied at 3-3 in her second set, Rapolu won the next three games to earn a 6-3 set victory. Leading 3-2 in the third-set super breaker, Rapolu won four of the next five points to build a 7-3 cushion. Abrams responded by winning back-to-back points to cut the deficit to 7-5. After the two players split the next two points, Rapolu closed out her victory by winning the next two points to improve to 21-7 overall in singles this season, including a 13-4 mark in dual-match play.
Rivkin closed out Monday's action with a 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5) victory on court 5 over Gina Dittmann. Tied at 4-4 in her second set, Rivkin held serve and followed with a service break to close out the 6-4 set win. She raced out to a 5-1 cushion in the third-set super breaker, before Dittman responded by winning four of the next five points to trim the margin to 6-5. Rivkin then finished off the win by earning the next four points to move to 15-5 overall in singles this year, including a 13-4 record in dual-match action.
Texas returns to the court when it hosts No. 42 Baylor in its final regular-season match of the year on Saturday, April 15. First serve is set for 11 a.m. Central at the Texas Tennis Center. With a victory over Baylor, the Longhorns would clinch a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season championship.
#7 NC State 5, #11 Texas 2
Singles – Order of finish (2, 4, 1, 3, 6, 5)
- #18 Diana Shnaider (NCST) def. #115 Nicole Khirin (UT), 6-3, 7-5
- #13 Alana Smith (NCST) def. #99 Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 6-2, 6-0
- #28 Amelia Rajecki (NCST) def. #74 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
- #65 Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT), 6-2, 6-3
- Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Gina Dittmann (NCST), 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Sophie Abrams (NCST), 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
Doubles – Order of finish (3, 1)
- #10 Diana Shnaider/Alana Smith (NCST) def. #51 Charlotte Chavatipon/Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 7-5
- #54 Nicole Khirin/Marlee Zein (UT) vs. #11 Nell Miller/Amelia Rajecki, 5-6, unfinished
- Sophie Abrams/Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT), 6-1
Players Mentioned
