The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women’s Tennis’ Malaika Rapolu advances to NCAA Singles Championships Round of 32
05.20.2024 | Women's Tennis
Senior Malaika Rapolu moved on to the Round of 32, while graduate Tanya Sasnouskaya’s singles tournament concluded.
Stillwater, Okla. – Texas Women's Tennis senior No. 20 Malaika Rapolu advanced to the NCAA Singles Championships Round of 32 on Monday afternoon at the Greenwood Tennis Center, while graduate No. 42 Tanya Sasnouskaya fell in the Round of 64.
Rapolu defeated Georgia Tech's No. 1 and the nation's No. 38 ranked player, Carol Lee, 6-4, 7-6 (5). The match's first three games were broken, with Lee earning a deuce-point break in the second game, before Rapolu was able to consolidate with a hold, break, then another hold for 5-1. Lee ended Rapolu's 4-0 run with a 3-0 run for 5-4, but the Texas senior responded with another 3-0 run to take the first set and establish a 2-0 lead in the second.
At 1-0 in the second set, the next four games were deuce-point decisions with Rapolu winning three of them for a 4-1 advantage. From there, Lee broke for 4-2, but Rapolu broke back on a deuce point for 5-2. Similar to the first set, Lee answered with a 3-0 run, which saw her break twice, with Rapolu having two match point chances while leading 5-4, but Lee was able to break. Rapolu broke back in the following game to regain her lead, but Lee broke again on a deuce point to commence a tiebreaker. At 2-1 in the tiebreaker, Rapolu collected the first minibreak for 3-1, but Lee earned one herself to narrow her deficit to 4-3. From there, the next four points stayed on serve before Rapolu broke to win the tiebreaker, 7-5.
Up next, Rapolu will face 2 seed No. 2 Amelia Rajecki of NC State in the Round of 32 on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. CT
Sasnouskaya was downed in her match to 8 seed No. 10 Alexa Noel of Miami, 6-2, 7-5. Noel began the match with a 3-0 run that saw her claim consecutive deuce point wins in the opening two games for a break and hold before breaking again. Sasnouskaya ended the run with a deuce-point break of her own and a hold for 3-2, but Noel closed out the first set with another 3-0 run for 6-2.
After the second set's first three games stayed on serve, with Noel's hold being on a deuce point in the second game, Sasnouskaya broke on a deuce point for 3-1 then consolidated it for 4-1. Noel earned the break back two games later for 4-3, then held to cap off a 3-0 run that evened the set. Sasnouskaya ended the streak and regained her lead with a deuce-point hold for 5-4, but Noel closed on another 3-0 run to win the match.
Sasnouskaya awaits her doubles match with Rapolu where the No. 34 ranked tandem will take on No. 17 Victoria Allen and Amelia Bissett of Florida State in the opening Round of 32 on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CT.
2024 NCAA Women's Singles Championships
Singles Round of 64 – Monday, May 20
#20 Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. #38 Carol Lee (GT), 6-4, 7-6 (5)
8 seed #10 Alexa Noel (MIA) def. #42 Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT), 6-2, 7-5
Singles Round of 32 – Tuesday, May 21
#20 Malaika Rapolu (UT) vs. 2 seed #2 Amelia Rajecki (NC State), 9:30 a.m. CT
Doubles Round of 32 – Tuesday, May 21
#34 Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) vs. #17 Victoria Allen/Amelia Bissett (FSU), 5 p.m. CT
Players Mentioned
