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No. 10 Women’s Tennis tops No. 4 Georgia, 4-3
02.04.2024 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns clinched at 4-2 and earned their second ranked win in as many days on Sunday at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center.
Austin – No. 10 Texas Women's Tennis (4-1) topped No. 4 Georgia (2-2), 4-3, on Sunday at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. The Longhorns clinched at 4-2 and earned their second ranked win in as many days in a span just over 24 hours.
After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 1, the Longhorns earned singles victories from seniors No. 106 Charlotte Chavatipon at No. 4, No. 45 Malaika Rapolu at No. 3, and Taisiya Pachkaleva at No. 5 to clinch.
In doubles, the tandem of sophomore Vivian Ovrootsky and Chavatipon finished first by taking down Mell Reasco and Alexandra Vecic, 6-1, at No. 3. The Horns forced deuce point on every Georgia serve, with Texas breaking all four. Georgia did manage to break for 5-1, but Texas took the match in the following game.
On court 1, Pachkaleva and junior Sabina Zeynalova claimed the doubles point for Texas by defeating No. 58 Aysegul Mert and Dasha Vidmanova, 6-3. Texas took the match's first break for 4-3 and never looked back. The Longhorn duo held the following game, then broke on a deuce point to cap off a 3-0 run.
Graduate Tanya Sasnouskaya and Rapolu's match at No. 2 between No. 15 Guillermina Grant and Mai Nirundorn was left unfinished due to Texas securing the point. Georgia opened the match on a 3-0 run which saw Grant and Nirundorn break two deuce points. Sasnouskaya and Rapolu responded with a break followed by a hold to narrow the Bulldog lead to 3-2 before the Bulldogs took the next two games before play was stopped.
In singles, court 6 was the first to finish with Ovrootsky falling in her match against No. 108 Nirundorn, 6-4, 6-3. The match's first hold was for a 4-2 advantage for Nirundorn, and from then on both players held serve for the remainder of the set. Nirundorn began the second set with a 3-0 lead before Ovrootsky broke two deuce points in a 3-0 run of her own. However, Nirundorn broke back and finished the match on another 3-0 run.
The Longhorns found themselves trailing the overall match, 2-1, after Sasnouskaya was topped by No. 30 Vidmanova, 6-3, 6-3, on court 2. After two breaks and two holds to open the match, Vidmanova claimed a deuce-point break for 3-2, but Sasnouskaya immediately responded by breaking the following game to even the set. Vidmanova would close out the first set and take the match's next four games before Sasnouskaya held then broke for 2-1 in the second. That break started a four-game streak of breaks before Vidmanova managed to hold for 4-3 and again finish on a 3-0 run.
However, No. 106 Chavatipon evened the overall match at 2-2 with an impressive turnaround in a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 70 Anastasiia Lopata on court 4. The Texas senior found herself in a 5-0 deficit to start the match. Chavatipon managed to hold the sixth game to prolong the first set, but Lopata held serve in the following game for the set. After both players held for 1-1 in the second, Chavatipon would go on to sweep the rest of the set, claiming two deuce-point breaks in the process. In the deciding set, Chavatipon continued her momentum courtesy of a deuce-point break for 2-1 followed by a hold. Lopata held her next serve, but it was all Chavatipon from there, as she closed out the match by taking consecutive deuce points in games six and seven and holding serve for the win.
Texas regained the lead at 3-2 thanks to a 7-6 (6), 7-5 win by No. 45 Rapolu over No. 116 Reasco on court 3. Rapolu created separation with a hold, deuce-point break, then another hold for 5-2, but with Rapolu serving on a deuce point for the set, Reasco broke to begin her streak of three consecutive deuce-point wins, tying the set. Both players held their following serves, setting up a tiebreaker. Rapolu held the tiebreaker's opening serve, then forced a minibreak for a 2-1 lead. The senior held for 4-1, but Reasco went on a 4-0 run for a 5-4 advantage. Rapolu broke back for a 6-5 lead, and while Reasco collect another minibreak, Rapolu claimed the tiebreaker with a hold then a break for 8-6. In the second set, Rapolu opened with a break and a hold for the first two games, but Reasco captured five of the next six to lead, 5-3. However, from there, Rapolu would take the next four games to win the match.
The clinching point for Texas was Pachkaleva's 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Grant on court 5. Grant secured the match's first break for 4-3, but Pachkaleva broke back to tie the set. Grant then broke on a deuce point in the following game and held on a deuce point to take the first set. The first four games of the second set were all holds with Pachkaleva winning a deuce point to open the set. Grant held a deuce point in the fourth game to begin a 3-0 run, but with Grant leading, 4-2, Pachkaleva also held on a deuce point to ignite a 5-0 run that lasted into the first game of the third set. In the final game of the second set, Pachkaleva had broken a deuce point. With the third set even, 1-1, the Texas senior went on another run, this time 4-0, which was capped off by back-to-back deuce points. Grant was able to break then hold to narrow her deficit to 5-3, but Pachkaleva broke the final game to win the match and clinch for Texas.
That left one match on the court where Zeynalova and No. 35 Vecic concluded the contest on court 1. The Texas junior found herself trailing the first set, 5-2, before she stormed back by claiming consecutive deuce points then holding for 5-5. Despite Zeynalova's efforts, Vecic managed to close the first set with a hold followed by a deuce-point break for 7-5. In the second set, Zeynalova held her first two serves and broke Vecic for 2-1 and 4-1 for an early advantage. Both players went on to break the next three games before Zeynalova held serve to win the second set 6-3. In the third, Vecic broke and held on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead. Zeynalova followed a deuce-point hold, and the next two games also stayed on serve until Zeynalova got the break back for 3-3. That would be the first of three-straight breaks until Zeynalova ended the string with a deuce-point hold for 5-4, leading to four-straight holds, despite Zeynalova's next serve also going to deuce. That sent it to a tiebreaker where Vecic grabbed a minibreak to start and held to start 2-0. The next four points alternated until Vecic held both of her serves for 5-2 and extended to 6-2 on Zeynalova's first attempt. Zeynalova got two points back, but Vecic finally secured the match, 7-4.
The Longhorns will next travel to Seattle for play in the ITA National Indoor Championships from Feb. 9-12 with the draws being announced later this week.
#10 Texas 4, #4 Georgia 3
Singles – Order of Finish (6,2,4,3,5,1)
1. #35 Alexandra Vecic (UGA) def. Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
2. #30 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. #20 Tanya Sasnouskaya (TEXAS) 6-3, 6-3
3. #45 Malaika Rapolu (TEXAS) def. #116 Mell Reasco (UGA) 7-6 (6), 7-5
4. #106 Charlotte Chavatipon (TEXAS) def. #70 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Taisiya Pachkaleva (TEXAS) def. Guillermina Grant (UGA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. #108 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1)
1. Sabina Zeynalova/Taisiya Pachkaleva (TEXAS) def. #58 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 6-3
2. Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (TEXAS) vs. #15 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) 2-5, unf.
3. Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) def. Mell Reasco/Alexandra Vecic (UGA) 6-1
Players Mentioned
