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No. 6 Women’s Tennis defeats No. 12 Auburn, 4-1
02.18.2024 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns rallied with four wins in singles to defeat the Tigers on Sunday afternoon.
Austin – No. 6 Texas Women's Tennis (7-2) claimed a 4-1 victory over No. 12 Auburn (5-4) on Sunday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center. It was the Longhorns' fourth win over a top-12 opponent in their last five matches.
After the Tigers won the doubles point, the Longhorns responded with singles victories from senior Taisiya Pachkaleva at No. 5, senior No. 120 Charlotte Chavatipon at No. 4, junior Sabina Zeynalova at No. 1, and sophomore Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6 for the clinch.
Pachkaleva earned Texas' first win of the match with an efficient 6-1, 6-0 rout over Adeline Flach at No. 5. Flach broke Pachkaleva's serve in the match's opening game, but it proved to be her only win, as Pachkaleva answered with a 12-0 run to take the match, including a deuce-point to start the second set to keep the momentum on her side.
Chavatipon then gave the Horns a 2-1 advantage with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 104 Selin Ovunc at No. 4. Ovunc jumped out to an early 3-1 lead by claiming two games decided by deuce points, breaking for 2-1 and then consolidating in the next game. However, Chavatipon broke back to spark an 8-0 run, which won her the first set and provided a 3-0 lead in the second set. Ovunc managed a 3-0 run of her own to even the set, 3-3, but Chavatipon closed out the match with another 3-0 run which saw the senior claim consecutive deuce points in the match's final two games.
On court 1, Zeynalova earned a top-15 victory by defeating No. 13 Carolyn Ansari, 6-3, 6-3. Ansari opened the match with a hold and a break for 2-0, but Zeynalova strung together three wins for a 3-2 advantage. Ansari broke the sixth game for 3-3, but Zeynalova broke back on a deuce point in the following game to regain the lead. The Texas junior then held for 5-3, an broke on another deuce point to win the first set. At the start of the second, Ansari broke on a deuce point for 1-0, but Zeynalova would break back then hold on a deuce point for 2-1. The next three games were all breaks, providing Zeynalova a 4-2 lead before she held serve for 5-2. The set's remaining two games stayed on serve, earning Zeynalova the win and giving Texas a 3-1 advantage in the contest.
The clinching match for Texas was Ovrootsky's 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 win over Ava Esposito Cogan at NO. 6. The sophomore found herself trailing the first set 3-1 before embarking on a seven-game win streak, which consisted of two deuce-point victories. Ovrootsky's streak earned her a 2-0 lead in the second set, which eventually grew to 5-3, but Cogan put together a 4-0 run to take the second set. The deciding set was all Ovrootsky, as the sophomore jumped out to a commanding 5-0 lead. In the third game of the set, Ovrootsky trailed, 0-40, before she ran off eight-straight points for a deuce-point hold and a break. Cogan the held on a deuce point for 5-1, but Ovrootsky would clinch the match for Texas on serve in the following game.
Both graduate No. 29 Tanya Sasnouskaya and senior No. 36 Malaika Rapolu were in the midst of competitive matches when play ended. Sasnouskaya's match against No. 61 Ariana Arseneault at No. 2 was just two games into the third set when Texas clinched. The first set was highly contested with four games decided by deuce points, of which each player claimed two. Trailing 6-5, Sasnouskaya forced a tiebreaker with a hold for 6-6, and although she took a 6-3 lead in that frame, Arseneault went on a 5-0 run to claim the tiebreaker, 8-6. Similar to the first set, the second also saw each player claim two of the four games decided on deuce point. At 2-2, Sasnouskaya held on deuce point for 3-2, then held her next serve at deuce once again for 4-3. The graduate would close out the set with a break followed by a hold for a 6-3 win. The third set was knotted at one game apiece when play stopped.
At No. 3, Rapolu was in a 6-7 (5), 5-5 match against No. 43 DJ Bennett. In the first set, Rapolu broke for a 2-1 lead, which she extended to 3-1 on serve. Bennett got the break back for 3-3, and the rest of the set stayed stayed on serve with Rapolu forcing a tiebreaker with a deuce-point hold for 6-6. The Texas senior led the tiebreaker 4-2 before Bennett closed on a 5-1 run for a 7-5 win. With Bennett leading 3-1 in the second set, Rapolu held on a deuce-point to narrow Bennett's lead to 3-2. The next four games were on serve, with the fourth being a Rapolu deuce-point win, before Rapolu broke for 5-5.
Earlier in the match, Auburn claimed the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2. The No. 37 duo of Zeynalova and Pachkaleva dropped their match to Arseneault and Bennett, 6-1, at No. 1. The Auburn tandem jumped out to an early 5-0 advantage, which saw them collect three deuce-point breaks in the process. Zeynalova and Pachkaleva managed a break for 5-1, but Arseneault and Bennett broke back in the following game for the win.
At No. 2, Rapolu and Sasnouskaya fell to Ovunc and Ansari, 6-4. The first seven games stayed on serve, with the first two of those being decided by deuce points. Auburn's pair would break for a 5-3 lead, and although Rapolu and Sasnouskaya answered it for 5-4, Ovunc and Ansari managed another break to win the match.
Chavatipon and Ovrootsky's match between Cogan and Flach at No. 3 was then left unfinished with the point clinched. Auburn broke on the match's only deuce point for 3-1, and held serve in the following game for 4-1. The Texas tandem then rattled off three consecutive wins to even it, 4-4. Cogan and Flach ended the Chavatipon and Ovroosky run with a hold for 5-4 just before play stopped.
Up next, Texas will travel to face No. 2 Stanford on Friday, Feb. 23 at 1:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. CT.
#6 Texas 4, #12 Auburn 1
Singles – Order of Finish (5,4,1,6)
1. Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. #13 Carolyn Ansari (AUB) 6-3, 6-3
2. #29 Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) vs. #61 Ariana Arseneault (AUB) 6-7 (6), 6-3, unf.
3. #36 Malaika Rapolu (UT) vs. #43 DJ Bennett (AUB) 6-7 (5-7), 5-5, unf.
4. #120 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. #104 Selin Ovunc (AUB) 6-3, 6-3
5. Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Adeline Flach (AUB) 6-1, 6-0
6. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) def. Ava Esposito Cogan (AUB) 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2)
1. Ariana Arseneault/DJ Bennett (AUB) def. #37 Sabina Zeynalova/Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) 6-1
2. Selin Ovunc/Carolyn Ansari (AUB) def. Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) 6-4
3. Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) vs. Ava Esposito Cogan/Adeline Flach (AUB) 4-5, unf.
Players Mentioned
