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No. 8 Women’s Tennis downs No. 36 BYU, 6-1
04.06.2024 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns celebrated Senior Day by earning their 10th conference win in defeating the Cougars on Saturday afternoon.
Austin – No. 8 Texas Women's Tennis (17-4, 10-1) claimed a 6-1 victory over No. 36 BYU (14-6, 6-5) on Saturday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center. The match marked the regular season home finale and Senior Day with all four seniors coming away with singles wins.
After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, the Longhorns received singles victories from graduate No. 34 Taisiya Pachkaleva at No. 3, senior Taisiya Pachkaleva at No. 4, sophomore Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 5, senior No. 117 Charlotte Chavatipon at No. 2, and senior No. 27 Malaika Rapolu at No. 1.
In doubles, freshman Shachf Lieberman and Pachkaleva were the first to finish with an efficient, 6-1, win over Tina Li and Kara Wheatley at No. 3. Texas opened and closed the match with 3-0 runs, with Li and Wheatley's only win being a hold in the fourth game. At 4-1, the Cougar duo found themselves on the brink of a second hold, but Lieberman and Pachkaleva collected a deuce-point break to extend their lead.
Chavatipon and Ovrootsky then clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Emilee Astle and Madison Smith at No. 2. The match's first three games were all breaks, including the Cougars earning a deuce-point break in the second game. The Longhorns snapped the streak with a hold for 3-1, and the next four games were on serve for 5-3. Chavatipon and Ovrootsky clinched the doubles point for Texas in the following game with a break for the 1-0 lead.
The No. 64 pair of Rapolu and Sasnouskaya led Bobo Huang and Kaavya Sawhney, 5-2, on court 1 when Chavatipon and Ovrootsky clinched the doubles point. The Longhorns had four match-point opportunities in the contest and were sitting on another with a deuce point in the final game when play stopped. The match's last three games had gone to deuce, with each team earning deuce-point breaks for 5-1 and 5-2 before the final game was left unfinished at 40-40.
In singles, No. 34 Sasnouskaya was the first off the court with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Sawhney at No. 3. Sasnouskaya opened the match on an 8-0 run, which provided an early 2-0 advantage in the second set. Sawhney's managed a hold for 2-1, and later was able to stay within 4-3, but Sasnouskaya responded with a hold followed by a deuce-point break to secure the win and give the Texas a 2-0 lead.
Pachkaleva was the next Longhorn to finish with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Wheatley on court 4. The match's first two games were both broken, with Pachkaleva earning a deuce-point break in the second game, before the next seven games stayed on serve. At 5-4, Pachkaleva claimed a break to take the set and spur what would become a 6-0 run to give her a 4-0 lead in the second set. En route to Pachkelava's 4-0 start in the set, the senior earned a deuce-point hold in the first game and a deuce-point break in the fourth game. Wheatley broke back with on a deuce point for 4-1, then held for 4-2 before Pachkaleva closed out the match with another deuce-point hold followed by a break for UT's 3-0 lead.
Ovrootsky clinched the match for Texas with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Astle on court 5. The first set was back and forth with Astle beginning with a break then a deuce-point hold for 2-0. Ovrootsky answered with a deuce-point hold of her own to begin a 5-0 run. Astle battled back with a hold, a deuce-point break on an Ovrootsky set point, and another hold to even it, 5-5. Ovrootsky answered once again, but this time with a hold followed by a break to take the set. Astle broke to start the second set, but Ovrootsky broke back and proceeded to sweep the remaining games.
Not long after, No. 117 Chavatipon defeated Li, 6-2, 6-3, on court 2 to give the Horns a 5-0 lead. Chavatipon began the match with a deuce-point hold which was the first win of a 3-0 run. Li answered with a deuce-point hold and a break for 3-2, but the Texas senior broke on a deuce point for 4-2 to begin another 3-0, which closed out the set. The first three games of the second set were all broken with Li earning a deuce-point break in the third game, before the set's fourth and fifth games were held for a 3-2 advantage for Li. However, from there, it was all Chavatipon as she closed on a 4-0 run during which she had a stretch winning 16 out of 18 points.
The match's overall score became 5-1 when Lieberman fell to Smith in a match that was decided by a superbreaker, 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (7), on court 6. Lieberman earned the match's first break in the fourth game for 3-1, but Smith earned a break of her own on a deuce-point then held to even the first set, 3-3. Lieberman took the next two games for 5-3, but Smith closed it out with a 4-0 run, which saw her claim consecutive deuce points for 5-5 and 6-5 in the process. Smith's streak continued to five games with a deuce-point break to open the second set, but Lieberman stormed back by sweeping the set's remaining games and taking back-to-back deuce points in the sixth and seventh games, leading to a superbreaker. With the score tied at 3-3 in that frame, Li created separation with a 3-0 run for 6-3. Lieberman managed to hold for 6-4, but Li collected a minibreak for 7-4. Lieberman found momentum and evened the breaker, 7-7, with consecutive breaks and a hold, but Li ended the rally with a 3-0 run to win the match.
No. 27 Rapolu put the finishing touches on Texas' 6-1 win with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over No. 105 Huang on court 1. Huang opened the match with a 4-0 run, which saw her claim a deuce-point hold in the third game. Rapolu answered with a resilient 5-0 run of her own for 5-4 to get up a break and serve for the set, but its final three games were broken, with Rapolu earning a deuce-point break for 6-5 and knotting the score at 6-6 to set up a tiebreaker. Trailing the tiebreaker, 4-1, the senior managed to break Huang twice for 4-3 and begin what would become a 6-1 run for a 7-5 win in the tiebreaker. In the second set, the first four games stayed on serve, with Rapolu claiming a deuce-point hold for 2-2. She went on to win the remaining games and finish the match on a 5-0 run.
The Longhorns will conclude the regular season on the road with matches at No. 62 TCU on Friday, April 12 at 3:30 p.m. CT, and No. 35 Baylor on Sunday, Apr. 14 at 1 p.m. CT.
#8 Texas 6, #36 BYU 1
Singles – Order of Finish (3,4,5,2,6,1)
1. #27 Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. #105 Bobo Huang (BYU) 7-6 (5), 6-1
2. #117 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Tina Li (BYU) 6-2, 6-3
3. #34 Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) def. Kaavya Sawhney (BYU) 6-0, 6-3
4. Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Kara Wheatley (BYU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) def. Emilee Astle (BYU) 7-5, 6-1
6. Madison Smith (BYU) def. Shachf Lieberman (UT) 7-5, 1-6, 1-0 (7)
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2)
1. #64 Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) vs. Bobo Huang/Kaavya Sawhney (BYU) 5-2, unf.
2. Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) def. Emilee Astle/Madison Smith (BYU) 6-3
3. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Shachf Lieberman (UT) def. Tina Li/Kara Wheatley (BYU) 6-1
Players Mentioned
