The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
USC
No. 7 Women’s Tennis preview: No. 17 USC
01.16.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns open the 2025 season with a top-20 road match at No. 17 USC in Los Angeles on Friday.
Team Records: Texas (0-0, 0-0 SEC), USC (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten)
When: Friday, January 17, 2025, 12 p.m. PT/2 p.m. CT
Where: David X. Marks Tennis Stadium, Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
Live Video: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch
Note: Live Video and Live Stats go to the same page, the stats are located underneath the video
Notes
-USC Series: USC leads, 17-9
USC leads the all-time series with Texas, 17-9, dating back to 1981, however the Longhorns have won the last two matches, including 6-1 in Austin in 2023, and 4-1 in Madison during ITA Indoors in 2022. The teams had been scheduled to play in Los Angeles last year, but that match was canceled. Prior to that, USC had won the previous 11 meetings dating back to 2003, while Texas had claimed five in a row from 1991-96.
Last Meeting
#1 Texas 6, #24 USC 1
Saturday, February 4, 2023
Weller Indoor Tennis Center • Austin, Texas
Singles – Order of finish (3, 2, 6, 1, 5, 4)
#2 Madison Sieg (USC) def. Nicole Khirin (UT), 6-4, 1-6, 6-0
Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. #24 Eryn Cayetano (USC), 6-4, 6-2
Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. #17 Snow Han (USC), 6-1, 6-0
#85 Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. #96 Naomi Cheong (USC), 4-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4)
Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. #83 Emma Charney (USC), 0-6, 6-3, 6-1
Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Grace Piper (USC), 6-2, 7-5
Doubles – Order of finish (1, 3)
Charlotte Chavatipon/Nicole Khirin (UT) def. Naomi Cheong/Snow Han (USC), 6-1
Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT) vs. #20 Eryn Cayetano/Madison Sieg (USC), 4-4, unfinished
Marlee Zein/Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Grace Piper/Nathalie Rodilosso (USC), 6-3
-ITA Team Rankings
Just like last season, Texas was ranked No. 7 in the ITA preseason coaches poll, which was released January 6. The Longhorns finished the 2023-24 season No. 11, just outside of the Top 10 where they had finished each of the previous six years. UT earned a No. 6 ranking in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020, No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022, and No. 7 in 2023.
-ITA Individual National Rankings
Four UT singles players were included in the latest ITA singles rankings that were released in December following fall play. All four are in the top-100 with three freshmen in the top-65.
Texas
Singles
No. 28 Carmen Herea
No. 44 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo
No. 65 Ashton Bowers
No. 95 Vivian Ovrootsky
Doubles
N/A
USC
Singles
No. 37 Grace Piper
No. 45 Emma Charney
No. 57 Imogen Haddad
Doubles
No. 7 Lily Fairclough/Grace Piper
-Horns host Texas Invite
The Longhorns hosted players from San Diego, Tennessee and Wisconsin at the Texas Invite from January 10-12 in Austin. Day one was forced indoors to the Weller Tennis Center due to weather, but the last two days were able to be held at the Texas Tennis Center. Both freshman Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo and junior Vivian Ovrootsky posted 6-0 records over the three days, playing in the maximum number of three singles matches and three doubles matches and winning them all. Freshman Carmen Herea also posted a top-10 victory over No. 10 Elza Tomase of Tennessee on the second day, while Anazagasty-Pursoo downed No. 19 Catherine Aulia, also of Tennessee. In all, Texas posted a combined 16 singles and doubles wins.
-Joffe in Year 10
Head Coach Howard Joffe is in his 10th season leading the UT program. Under Joffe's leadership, Texas claimed back-to-back NCAA team championships in 2021 and 2022 and has finished each of the last seven years in the top 11 of the final ITA national polls, earning year-end rankings of No. 6 in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020, No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022, No. 7 in 2023 and No. 11 in 2024. The Longhorns also have captured four Big 12 regular-season championships (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023-co) and four Big 12 postseason tournament titles (2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023) in their last seven opportunities in the last six chances (2020 season canceled due to COVID-19).
The 2021 ITA Division I Women's National Coach of the Year, Joffe has registered a 189-46 (.804) mark in his nine completed years at Texas. During his 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has tallied a 320-107 (.749) dual-match record. Peyton Stearns claimed the Honda Sport Award for Tennis and the ITA National Player of the Year in 2022. Joffe has helped six Longhorns earn a total of eight ITA All-America honors in singles (Breaunna Addison in 2016, Bianca Turati in 2018, Anna Turati and Bianca Turati in 2020, Stearns in both 2021 and 2022, Kylie Collins in 2022, and Malaika Rapolu in 2024) and two duos earn ITA All-America accolades in doubles (Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun in 2021 and Stearns and Allura Zamarripa in 2022). Stearns became the first player in program history to win the NCAA Singles Championship in 2022, while Collins and Sun reached the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championship in 2021. In addition, 19 players have registered a combined 26 All-Big 12 singles and 22 All-Big 12 doubles selections in Joffe's tenure in Austin.
-Back from 2024
Texas will have a different look from 2024, but at the same time return five familiar faces. Senior Sabina Zeynalova, who has significant experience at the top of the singles lineup is back after being limited much of last season due to injury. Junior Vivian Ovrootsky also returns after compiling a 27-12 singles record last year and a 26-9 doubles mark. Following Zeynalova's injury, sophomore Shachf Lieberman stepped into the lineup admirably as a true freshman and posted a 7-4 singles record at No. 6, and a 7-5 doubles mark at No. 3. Sophomore Maddy MacNeille, who played in one dual match last season, and redshirt freshman Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz, also return.
-Seven newcomers arrive for their first dual match season on the 40
The Longhorns add seven new faces for 2025 with three of those already earning ITA singles rankings following the fall in freshmen No. 28 Carmen Herea from Bucharest, Romania, No. 44 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo from Westbury, N.Y., and No. 65 Aston Bowers from Alpharetta, Ga. In addition to those, a pair of freshmen from Slovakia in Eszter Meri of Trstena na Ostrove, and Salma Drugdova of Zvolen, are expected to be impact players in the lineup. The Longhorns also added a pair of native Texans in Lucy Schmeil of Austin and Audrey Deatherage of Tyler.
-Fall/Summer Wrap-up
In the first year of the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships being moved to the fall, freshmen Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo and Ashton Bowers both received singles bids. Anazagasty-Pursoo fell to top-30 player Carson Tanguilig of North Carolina in the round of 64, while Bowers was forced to withdraw due to injury. However, prior to that, both reached the singles final of the ITA Texas Regionals with Anazagasty-Pursoo winning the title. Additionally, Vivian Ovrootsky had reached the semifinals to give the Longhorns three out of four in that round, and Ovrootsky won the third-place match. The pairing of Ovrootsky and Bowers also reached the doubles quarterfinals.
Players Mentioned
