The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Maryland
No. 12 Women’s Tennis sweeps Maryland, 4-0
01.24.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns opened their home slate and the ITA Kickoff Weekend with a win to advance to the regional championship match.
Austin – No. 12 Texas Women's Tennis swept Maryland, 4-0, at the Texas Tennis Center on Friday, winning the 2025 home opener and advancing to the championship match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend Austin Regional. It was the first meeting between the two schools in records dating back to 1978.
The Longhorns took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and continued with singles victories from a trio of freshmen in Eszter Meri at No. 2, Salma Drugdova at No. 4, and No. 28 Carmen Herea at No. 5, who clinched the overall match.
Following doubles, Meri got things going quickly in singles with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Danielle Hack to give Texas a 2-0 lead. After a long opening game, Meri held on a deuce point, starting a 3-0 run after she broke and then held again at deuce. At that point, Hack picked up her only game of the match on another deuce-point hold, and from there, it was all Meri, as she set out on a 9-0 run that included three deuce-point wins in the second set.
Drugdova extended the lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Oliwia Orlinska. She started strong and held at deuce in her first two service games, giving her a 3-0 lead. Orlinska held and broke to put herself on the board for 3-2, but Drugdova switched gears, mounting a 7-0 run to give her the first set and establish a 4-0 lead in the second. She had won the first three games of the second set on deuce points then later went on to win another for 5-1 before serving out the match.
The clinch was provided by Herea with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Tamari Gagoshidze. After losing the first game at deuce, Herea won five-straight games to put her up, 5-1. Gagoshidze picked up one more game on a deuce-point break, but Herea broke back to win the set, 6-2. The second set followed an almost identical scoring pattern to the first, including deuce points in the first and seventh games. The only variation was the sixth game also going to deuce on the way to Herea's win.
The remaining singles matches went unfinished with the Longhorns holding leads on all three courts. Senior Sabina Zeynalova was one game away from a win, leading No. 88 Kallista Liu, 6-2, 5-2. Zeynalova opened on a 3-0 run with a break in the second game. Following that, the next four games were all holds giving Zeynalova a 5-2 lead before she broke again to take the set. The first six games of the second set then all went to deuce with Liu breaking in the first game, and Zeynaolva taking the next three. Liu got one back to get within 3-2, but Zeyanlova grabbed the last of the deuce points for a break and then held for the 5-2 final score.
Freshman No. 65 Ashton Bowers was also closing in on a win, leading Ema Kovacevic, 6-3, 4-2, at No. 3 when play stopped. Like four of her teammates, Bowers pushed out to a 3-0 lead, however she did so with two breaks, including at deuce in the opening game. Kovacevic got one break back for 3-1, but Bowers broke again on a deuce point and consolidated that for 5-1. Kovacevic made a push to get within 5-3 after a deuce-point break, but Bowers answered with another break for the set. In the second, the first three games were on serve and the last three were all breaks with the first of those breaks coming at deuce to give Bowers a 3-1 lead before the 4-2 final.
In the last match, No. 65 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo was leading Aida Eissa, 6-4, 2-3, when play halted. Like Bowers, Anazagasty-Pursoo started with a 3-0 lead that was initiated with a deuce-point break, however Eissa rallied for four straight games, three of which she won on deuce points. Anazagasty-Pursoo was able to fight back and win two deuce points of her own and served out the set, 6-4. The second set was tight, and despite deuce points in its last three games, it stayed on serve throughout.
Earlier in doubles, Drugdova and Herea were first off the court with a 6-1 win over Hack and Orlinska at No. 2. The Terrapins won their opening service game, but it the Longhorns took it from there with a 6-0 run to the finish, capped by a deuce-point break for the win.
Meri and Anazagasty-Pursoo then clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win over Gagoshidze and Diya Challa at No. 3. The Texas duo grabbed an opening break, but Maryland broke back and held for a 2-1 lead. The Longhorns then claimed the next three games for 4-2, and the last four games were all holds, despite the middle two of those being on deuce points, resulting in the Texas win.
In the remaining doubles match, Zeynalova and Bowers were leading over Liu and Kovacevic, 4-3, at No. 1. The Longhorns broke in the opening game on a deuce point, and although the next two games also went to deuce, the rest of the match stayed on serve.
Texas will next play Baylor in the championship match on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at the Texas Tennis Center for the right to advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships.
#12 Texas 4, Maryland 0
Singles – Order of Finish (2,4,5)
1. Sabina Zeynalova (TEX) vs. #88 Kallista Liu (UMD) 6-2, 5-2, unf.
2. Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Danielle Hack (UMD) 6-1, 6-0
3. #65 Ashton Bowers (TEX) vs. Ema Kovacevic (UMD) 6-3, 4-2, unf.
4. Salma Drugdova (TEX) def. Oliwia Orlinska (UMD) 6-2, 6-1
5. #28 Carmen Herea (TEX) def. Tamari Gagoshidze (UMD) 6-2, 6-2
6. #44 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) vs. Aida Eissa (UMD) 6-4, 2-3, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,3)
1. Sabina Zeynalova/Ashton Bowers (TEX) vs. Kallista Liu/Ema Kovacevic (UMD) 4-3, unf.
2. Salma Drugdova/Carmen Herea (TEX) def. Danielle Hack/Oliwia Orlinska (UMD) 6-1
3. Eszter Meri/Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) def. Tamari Gagoshidze/Diya Challa (UMD) 6-4
Players Mentioned
