The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Harvard
No. 9 Women’s Tennis sweeps Harvard, 4-0, in NCAA Tournament First Round
05.04.2024 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns advanced to the Round of 32 with Saturday’s win over Harvard at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center.
Austin – No. 9 Texas Women's Tennis (22-5, 12-1 Big 12) claimed a 4-0 victory over Harvard (19-5, 5-2 Ivy) on Saturday afternoon at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. It marks the ninth-straight year Texas has reached at least the second round.
After taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, the Longhorns claimed three singles matches with wins from graduate No. 42 Tanya Sasnouskaya at No. 3, sophomore Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 5, and freshman Shachf Lieberman at No. 6.
In doubles, Ovrootsky and senior Charlotte Chavatipon were the first off the court with a 6-2 victory over Natalie Block and Sany Gawande at No. 3. At 1-1, the Texas tandem earned a deuce-point break which fueled a 5-0 run. Block and Gawande managed to hold for 5-2 after that, but Chavatipon and Ovrootsky held on a deuce point in the following game to secure the match.
On court 2, the No. 34 pair of Sasnouskaya and senior Malaika Rapolu earned the doubles point for Texas with a 6-2 win over Charlotte Owensby and Rachel Arbitman. Rapolu and Sasnouskaya opened the match with a 5-0 run before Owensby and Arbitman got on the board with a hold then a break. At 5-2, the Longhorn duo broke back on a deuce point to give Texas a 1-0 lead in the match's overall score.
The No. 19 duo of junior Sabina Zeynalova and senior Taisiya Pachkaleva's match against Stephanie Yakoff and Holly Fischer was then left unfinished at 5-2. The Texas pair opened the match with a deuce point hold for 1-0 and then claimed the match's first break for 3-1, but Yakoff and Fischer broke back on a deuce point for 3-2. However, from there, the Longhorns broke once again, then held for 5-2 right before play ended.
In singles play, Sasnouskaya was the first to finish with an efficient 6-1, 6-0 victory over Owensby at No. 3. Owensby's only win occurred in game three where she managed to hold serve, but Sasnouskaya responded with a deuce-point hold which began a 10-0 to clinch the match. Sasnouskaya held the contest's only two games that were decided on deuce point decisions.
Ovrootsky was next off the singles courts with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kate Kim at No. 5. The match's first five games stayed on serve before Ovrootsky broke for 4-2. From there, the Texas sophomore took the match's next three games to win the first set and lead the second set, 1-0. Kim ended Ovrootsky's 5-0 run with a hold for 1-1, but Ovrootsky responded with another 5-0 run to secure the victory and give Texas a 3-0 overall lead.
The clinching match for Texas was by Lieberman's 6-4, 6-2 win over Gawande at No. 6. Gawande opened with a hold and a deuce-point break for 2-0, which she extended to 3-1, but Lieberman answered with consecutive deuce-point wins to start a 4-0 run to a 5-3 lead. Gawande held in the next game, but Lieberman finished the set on a deuce-point hold. Lieberman broke to begin the second set, but Gawande answered it and then held for a 2-1 lead. However, it was all Lieberman from there as she closed on a 5-0 run for the clinch.
That left three matches unfinished, two of which had Longhorns a game away from winning. In the first of those, No. 20 Rapolu led her contest against Fischer, 6-3, 6-5, at No. 1. In the first set, after Fischer held her opening serve, Rapolu won on consecutive deuce points for a hold and a break. She then consolidated the break for a 3-1 lead, and the next four game stayed on serve, capped by Rapolu holding on a deuce point for 5-3 before she broke to take the set. In the second set, each player broke the other's serve before Rapolu held for a 2-1 lead. She then was the next to break for 4-2, which started a run of four-straight breaks until Fischer held for 5-5. Rapolu then also held again before play stopped.
No. 85 Chavatipon was also one game away from winning, as she led Yakoff, 6-2, 5-4, at No. 2. Chavatipon began on a 3-0 on the strength of consecutive deuce-point wins for a hold and a break. Yakoff held the next game on a deuce point, but Chavatipon claimed the next two for a 5-1 lead. Yakoff kept the set going with a break, but Chavatipon broke back on a deuce point for the win. In the second set, Yakoff picked up the first break, doing so on a deuce point for a 2-1 lead. However, Chavatipon answered the deuce-point break to put it back on serve until Yakoff broke again for a 4-3 lead. Chavatipon again responded to the break to even it and held on a deuce point for a 5-4 lead before play halted.
The remaining match at No. 4 split its first two sets, as No. 122 Pachkaleva and Maxi Duncan were even, 4-6, 7-5. The match's first four games were on serve starting with Pachkaleva, and the last two of those were decided at deuce. The next five games were all breaks, again with the last two decided at deuce, leaving Duncan with a 5-4 lead before she served out the set. More breaks followed in the first two games of the second set until each player held on a deuce point in the following two games. The next four were then on serve until Duncan broke for 5-4, but Pachkaleva closed the set out with a 3-0 run including back-to-back deuce-point wins in the first two of those.
Up next, Texas will face No. 24 Georgia Tech at the Texas Tennis Cener in the Round of 32 on Sunday, May 5, at 1 p.m. CT.
#9 Texas 4, #42 Harvard 0
Singles – Order of Finish (3,2)
1. #20 Malaika Rapolu (TEXAS) vs. Holly Fischer (HAR) 6-3, 6-5, unf.
2. #85 Charlotte Chavatipon (TEXAS) vs. Stephanie Yakoff (HAR) 6-2, 5-4, unf.
3. #42 Tanya Sasnouskaya (TEXAS) def. Charlotte Owensby (HAR) 6-1, 6-0
4. #122 Taisiya Pachkaleva (TEXAS) vs. Maxi Duncan (HAR) 4-6, 7-5, unf.
5. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) def. Kate Kim (HAR) 6-2, 6-1
6. Shachf Lieberman (TEXAS) def. Sany Gawande (HAR) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,5,6)
1. #19 Sabina Zeynalova/Taisiya Pachkaleva (TEXAS) vs. Stephanie Yakoff/Holly Fischer (HAR) 5-2, unf.
2. #34 Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (TEXAS) def. Charlotte Owensby/Rachel Arbitman (HAR) 6-2
3. Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) def. Natalie Block/Sany Gawande (HAR) 6-2
Players Mentioned
