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No. 12 Women’s Tennis claims Big 12 Tournament title
04.23.2023 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns rally for a 4-2 victory over No. 14 Oklahoma to secure their third-straight and 13th overall Big 12 Tournament crown.
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The No. 12 University of Texas Women's Tennis team (21-4) rallied for a 4-2 victory against No. 14 Oklahoma (20-9) in the Big 12 Championship final on Sunday evening at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. After dropping the doubles point, the Longhorns collected singles victories from sophomore Sabina Zeynalova, freshman Nicole Khirin, junior Taisiya Pachkaleva and freshman Nicole Rivkin to claim its third-consecutive Big 12 Tournament crown.
Texas, which shared the Big 12 regular-season title with Oklahoma, has now captured the Big 12 tourney championship in four of the last five events and a total of 13 times (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023), with the last four coming under the leadership of head coach Howard Joffe. The Longhorns have amassed a total of 22 conference tournament titles in program history, as UT previously claimed nine Southwest Conference tourney crowns (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996).
Texas will enter the upcoming NCAA Tournament playing its best tennis of the season. The Longhorns have won 11 of their last 12 matches dating back to a 6-1 win at K-State on March 19. Ten of those 11 victories have come against opponents who were nationally ranked, including three top-25 foes.
In Sunday's championship match against the Sooners, Oklahoma took an early 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point. The No. 10-ranked duo of Carmen Corley and Ivana Corley posted a 6-3 win on court 1 over the No. 54-ranked pair of junior Charlotte Chavatipon and Zeynalova. Trailing 3-2, Chavatipon and Zeynalova earned a service break to even the score at 3-3. The Corley sisters responded with a service break and won the next two games to close out the victory.
The Sooners clinched the doubles point when Julia Garcia Ruiz and Dana Guzman registered a 6-2 victory on court 3 against the tandem of Khirin and junior Malaika Rapolu. Tied at 2-2, Garcia Ruiz and Guzman won four-straight games to finish off the win.
The Longhorns registered a pair of straight-set wins to open singles play and take a 2-1 advantage. No. 108 Zeynalova posted a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory on court 3 over No. 120 Carmen Corley. Trailing 2-1 in her opening set, Zeynalova earned a service break to even the score and then won four-straight games to close out the set. She jumped out to a 4-1 cushion in the second set and cruised to her win to improve to 15-4 in dual-match singles play this spring.
No. 92 Khirin followed with an impressive 6-2, 6-3 win on court 1 against No. 52 Layne Sleeth. Khirin was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, as she posted a 3-0 singles record on court 1 during UT's three victories in Lawrence. After Sleeth won the first game of the opening set, Khirin won the next four games to build a 4-1 cushion. Sleeth earned a service break to trim the score to 4-2, but Khirin responded with a service break of her own and held serve to take the first set, 6-2. Khirin jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but Sleeth answered by winning three-straight games to cut the deficit to 4-3. Khirin held serve in the following game and then finished off the victory with a service break to move to 13-5 in dual-match singles action.
The Sooners evened the overall match score at 2-2 when No. 93 Guzman posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory on court 2 over No. 97 Chavatipon. All three of the remaining singles matches went to a deciding third set, after Oklahoma had won the opening set in each of the three contests.
The Longhorns grabbed a 3-2 advantage when Pachkaleva rallied for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win on court 4 against Alexandra Pisareva. Tied at 5-5 in the opening set, Pisareva held serve and then earned a service break on a deciding point to win the first set. Pachkaleva claimed a service break in the opening game of the second set and jumped out to a 4-1 lead. After Pisareva earned a service break to trim the margin to 4-2, Pachkaleva responded with a service break and held serve to close out the set and even the match. Tied at 1-1 in the third set, Pachkaleva claimed a service break and held serve to build a 3-1 cushion. Pisareva held serve in the following game to make it 3-2, but Pachkaleva held serve, earned another service break and then held serve at-love to finish off the win and move to 15-5 in dual-match singles play this spring.
Rivkin clinched the dual-match victory and the tournament championship with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory on court 5 over Garcia Ruiz. Tied at 3-3 in the opening set, Garcia Ruiz earned a service break and then held serve to gain a 5-3 advantage. After Rivkin held serve to make it 5-4, Garcia Ruiz held serve on a deciding point to claim the first set. Tied at 2-2 in the second set, Rivkin won three-straight games to build a 5-2 cushion. Garcia Ruiz held serve and then earned a service break to trim the score to 5-4, but Rivkin answered with a service break of her own to close out the second set. Tied at 3-3 in the decisive third set, Rivkin held serve, earned a service break and held serve again to finish off the match and improve to 15-5 in dual-match action this year.
The remaining singles match on court 6 featuring Rapolu against OU's Emma Staker was stopped once Rivkin clinched the overall dual-match victory. Trailing 5-4 in the opening set, Staker earned a service break to even the score before holding serve and claiming another service break to take the first set. Tied at 5-5 in the second set, Rapolu forced a service break and then held her serve to win the set and even the match. Rapolu was up a break and leading 3-2 in the third set when the match was halted.
The NCAA Championship bracket will be unveiled during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Monday, May 1. The show will be streamed online at www.NCAA.com beginning at 5 p.m. Central.
#12 Texas 4, #14 Oklahoma 2
Singles – Order of finish (3, 1, 2, 4, 5)
- #92 Nicole Khirin (UT) def. #52 Layne Sleeth (OU), 6-2, 6-3
- #93 Dana Guzman (OU) def. #97 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-4, 6-4
- #108 Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. #120 Carmen Corley (OU), 6-2, 6-2
- Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Alexandra Pisareva (OU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
- Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) vs. Emma Staker (OU), 5-7, 7-5, 3-2, unfinished
Doubles – Order of finish (1, 3)
- #10 Carmen Corley/Ivana Corley (OU) def. #54 Charlotte Chavatipon/Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 6-3
- Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT) vs. #43 Layne Sleeth/Alexandra Pisareva (OU), 3-5, unfinished
- Julia Garcia Ruiz/Dana Guzman (OU) def. Nicole Khirin/Malaika Rapolu (UT), 6-2
Players Mentioned
