The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
San Diego
No. 8 Women’s Tennis sweeps No. 34 San Diego in NCAA Second Round
05.06.2023 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns advance to the NCAA Round of 16 for the third-straight season and 26th time in program history.
AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 8 University of Texas Women's Tennis team (23-4) posted a 4-0 sweep over No. 34 San Diego (13-11) in a NCAA Second Round match on Saturday evening at the Texas Tennis Center. With the win, the Longhorns advance to host No. 9 Pepperdine in the NCAA Round of 16 at 12 p.m. Central on Saturday, May 13 at the Texas Tennis Center.
Texas earned its third consecutive and 26th all-time appearance in the NCAA Round of 16 in program history with Saturday's victory. The Longhorns have now made five trips to the Round of 16 in seven opportunities under head coach Howard Joffe (2016, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023). Pepperdine (20-3) claimed its spot in the NCAA Round of 16 with a 4-1 home win against No. 24 USC on Saturday.
The Longhorns took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point. The tandem of freshman Nicole Khirin and junior Malaika Rapolu earned a 6-3 victory on court 3 over Elizabeth Goldsmith and Filippa Bruu-Syverson. Tied at 1-1, Khirin and Rapolu claimed a service break and then held serve to build a 3-1 cushion. With Khirin and Rapolu leading 4-2, Goldsmith and Bruu-Syverson held serve to pull to within 4-3. Khirin and Rapolu held serve and followed with a service break on a deciding point to close out their win.
The duo of junior Taisiya Pachkaleva and freshman Nicole Rivkin clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court 2 against Claudia De La Heras and Jordyn McBride. Tied at 4-4, Pachkaleva and Rivkin held serve to take a 5-4 advantage and then earned a service break in the following game to move to 18-5 overall in doubles this year, including a 16-5 mark in dual-match action.
The Longhorns registered a trio of straight-set wins in singles at the top three lines to secure the dual-match victory. Sophomore No. 116 Sabina Zeynalova posted an impressive 6-4, 6-1 victory on court 3 over No. 85 Abigail Desiatnikov to give the Longhorns a 2-0 advantage. Zeynalova jumped out to a 5-2 cushion in her opening set, before Desiatnikov rallied to win back-to-back games to cut the deficit to 5-4. Zeynalova held serve in the following game to finish off the 6-4 first-set win. Desiatnikov held serve in the opening game of the second set, but Zeynalova responded to win six-straight games to close out her victory and improve to 17-6 overall in singles this season, including a 16-4 mark in dual-match play.
No. 74 Khirin increased UT's advantage to 3-0 with a 6-0, 7-6 (7-1) win on court 1 against No. 98 Solymar Colling. After posting a shutout in her opening set, Khirin faced a 2-1 deficit in the second set before winning three-straight games to build a 4-2 cushion. Trailing 5-3, Colling claimed back-to-back games to even the set at 5-5, and the set eventually progressed into a tie breaker. Colling won the opening point in the breaker, but Khirin responded by running off seven-straight points to finish off her in and move to 15-5 overall in singles action this year.
Junior No. 95 Charlotte Chavatipon clinched the overall dual-match victory with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court 2 over De Las Heras. Trailing 2-0 in her opening set, Chavatipon won five of the next six games to take a 5-3 lead. De Las Heras held serve to trim the margin to 5-4, but Chavatipon held her serve in the following game to close out the 6-4 first-set victory. Chavatipon raced out to a 5-1 advantage in the second set. After De Las Heras held serve to cut the deficit to 5-2, Chavatipon held her serve to finish off her win and improve to 16-6 in dual-match singles play this season.
The remaining three singles matches featuring Pachkaleva (court 4), Rivkin (court 5) and Rapolu (court 6) were stopped once Chavatipon had clinched the team victory. Rapolu won her opening set and led 5-3 in the second set with a 40-love advantage when the dual-match was halted.
#8 Texas 4, #34 San Diego 0
Singles – Order of finish (3, 1, 2)
- #74 Nicole Khirin (UT) def. #98 Solymar Colling (USD), 6-0, 7-6 (7-1)
- #95 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Claudia De Las Heras (USD), 6-4, 6-2
- #116 Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. #85 Abigail Desiatnikov (USD), 6-4, 6-1
- Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) vs. Elizabeth Goldsmith (USD), 3-6, 4-5, unfinished
- Nicole Rivkin (UT) vs. Jordyn McBride (USD), 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
- Malaika Rapolu (UT) vs. #70 Kailey Evans (USD), 7-5, 5-3, unfinished
Doubles – Order of finish (3, 2)
- #26 Charlotte Chavatipon/Sabina Zeynalova (UT) vs. #80 Solymar Colling/Kailey Evans (USD), 5-6, unfinished
- Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Claudia De Las Heras/Jordyn McBride (USD), 6-4
- Nicole Khirin/Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Elizabeth Goldsmith/Filippa Bruu-Syverson (USD), 6-3
Players Mentioned
