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NC State
No. 11 Women's Tennis preview: No. 19 NC State
01.30.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns host the Wolfpack in a top-20 match-up at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center on Friday.
No. 11 Women's Tennis preview: No. 19 NC State
Team Records: Texas (2-1, 0-0 SEC), NC State (2-2, 0-0 ACC)
When: Friday, January 31, 2025
Where: Weller Indoor Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
Live Video: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch
Updated Statistics
Notes
-NC State Series: Tied, 2-2
Texas and NC State are tied, 2-2, in records dating back to 1978, however all four meetings have come in the last five years, and all have been ranked match-ups with three top-10 contests. The Longhorns took the first two, including a 4-3 win in Atlanta in 2020, and a 4-0 sweep in the NCAA Semifinals in Orlando in 2021 on the way to a National Championship. The Wolfpack then won both parts of a home and home, first emerging from a 4-3 match in Austin at the Texas Tennis Center, and then 5-2 in Raleigh.
2023: #7 NC State 5, #11 Texas 2, Raleigh, N.C.
2022: #4 NC State 4, #3 Texas 3, Austin, Texas
2021: #2 Texas 4, #6 NC State 0, Orlando, Fla., NCAA Semifinals
2020: #7 Texas 4, #8 NC State 3, Atlanta, Ga.
Last Three Meetings
#7 NC State 5, #11 Texas 2
Monday, April 10, 2023
Raleigh, N.C. • Isenhour Tennis Center
Singles – Order of Finish (2,4,1,3,6,5)
1. #18 Diana Shnaider (NCST) def. #115 Nicole Khirin (UT), 6-3, 7-5
2. #13 Alana Smith (NCST) def. #99 Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 6-2, 6-0
3. #28 Amelia Rajecki (NCST) def. #74 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)
4. #65 Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT), 6-2, 6-3
5. Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Gina Dittmann (NCST), 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)
6. Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Sophie Abrams (NCST), 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6)
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1)
#10 Diana Shnaider/Alana Smith (NCST) def. #51 Charlotte Chavatipon/Sabina Zeynalova (UT), 7-5
#54 Nicole Khirin/Marlee Zein (UT) vs. #11 Nell Miller/Amelia Rajecki, 5-6, unf.
Sophie Abrams/Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT), 6-1
#4 NC State 4, #3 Texas 3
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Austin, Texas • Texas Tennis Center
Singles – Order of Finish (4,3,5,6,2,1)
1. #42 Peyton Stearns (UT) def. #12 Jaeda Daniel (NCST), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
2. #40 Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. #26 Kylie Collins (UT), 6-3, 6-4
3. #124 Priska Nugroho (NCST) def. Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-2, 6-1
4. Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Nell Miller (NCST), 6-0, 6-1
5. Sophie Abrams (NCST) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT), 6-4, 6-3
6. Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Amelia Rajecki (NCST), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2)
1. Kylie Collins/Sabina Zeynalova (UT) vs. #35 Jaeda Daniel/Nell Miller (NCST), 3-4, unf.
2. Amelia Rajecki/Abigail Rencheli (NCST) def. Peyton Stearns/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT), 6-1
3. #56 Priska Nugroho/Sara Nayar (NCST) def. Vivian Ovrootsky/Bella Zamarripa (UT), 6-1
#2 Texas 4, #6 NC State 0
Friday, May 21, 2021
Orlando, Fla. • USTA National Campus • NCAA Semifinals
Singles – Order of Finish (1,4,6)
#37 Peyton Stearns (UT) def. #6 Anna Rogers (NCST), 6-1, 6-2
#35 Anna Turati (UT) vs. #23 Alana Smith (NCST), 6-2, 4-3, unf.
#62 Lulu Sun (UT) vs. Adriana Reami (NCST), 6-3, 4-5, unf.
#76 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Jaeda Daniel (NCST), 6-3, 6-2
#72 Kylie Collins (UT) vs. #82 Abigail Rencheli (NCST), 6-5, 5-5, unf.
Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Lexi Keberle (NCST), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles – Order of finish (1,3)
#19 Kylie Collins/Lulu Sun (UT) def. #12 Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (NCST), 6-4
Fernanda Labraña/Anna Turati (UT) vs. #5 Jaeda Daniel/Adriana Reami (NCST), 4-5, unf.
#47 Peyton Stearns/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. #42 Abigail Rencheli/Amelia Rajecki (NCST), 6-4
-ITA Team Rankings
Just like last season, Texas was ranked No. 7 in the ITA preseason coaches poll, which was released January 6, however after falling in the season opener at USC, fell to No. 12, but rose to No. 11 after winning the ITA Kickoff Weekend regional title. 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
NC State
Singles
No. 55 Gabia Paskauskas
Doubles
No. 5 Maddy Zampardo/Gabriella Broadfoot
No. 60 Kristina Paskauskas/Jasmine Conway
-Back to the ITA Indoors
Texas won the championship of the ITA Kickoff Weekend Austin Regional with a 4-3 comeback win over Baylor at the Texas Tennis Center on Jan. 25. With the win, the Longhorns advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the eighth-straight year with this year's tournament taking place from February 7-10 in Evanston and Champaign, Ill. After Baylor won the doubles point and the first singles match at No. 3 for a 2-0 lead, Texas ran off three-straight singles victories by Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6, Carmen Herea at No. 5 and Sabina Zeynalova at No. 1. The Bears then evened the score with a win at No. 4 before Eszter Meri clinched the victory in a third-set tiebreaker at No. 2. Prior to that, Texas swept Maryland, 4-0, on Jan. 24. 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 Carmen Herea at No. 5, who clinched the overall match.
-So close in LA
Texas came up just short, 4-3, at No. 17 USC in Los Angeles on January 17 in the 2025 season opener, however they earned three individual wins against top-50 opponents. The ranked wins were led by a top-10 doubles victory for senior Sabina Zeynalova and Ashton Bowers over the No. 7 pair of Grace Piper and Lily Fairclough at No. 1. Meanwhile, Zeynalova also defeated No. 37 Piper at No. 1 singles, and Eszter Meri topped No. 45 Emma Charney at No. 2 singles. The other singles win came from Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6 singles. Despite the win at No. 1 doubles, USC had taken the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, and then collected singles wins at Nos. 5, 3 and 4 to clinch the overall match.
-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 190-47 (.802) mark in his time at Texas. During his 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has tallied a 321-108 (.748) 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.
-Year eight at the Texas Tennis Center
Texas is in its eighth year at the Texas Tennis Center with a 73-7 (.913) overall record, including a 2-0 record this season. Last year, the Longhorns posted a 10-1 mark with wins over No. 12 Auburn and No. 15 Oklahoma, and the only loss being 4-3 to No. 1 Oklahoma State. Last season, the Longhorns were 11-2, highlighted by a 6-1 win over No. 6 Iowa State. The season before that, the Longhorns posted a 9-1 record with the only losses coming in a 4-3 decision to No. 4 NC State. Texas went undefeated in 2021 with a 13-0 mark, which included a 7-0 sweep over No. 7 Baylor. In a shortened season in 2020, UT recorded a 7-1 record with the only defeat being 4-3 to No. 12 Stanford. The Longhorns finished 2019 at 8-2, with a pair of wins over top-20 foes Florida State and Kansas, while their only defeats were also to top-20 opponents in Pepperdine and Texas A&M. During its inaugural season, Texas registered another undefeated 13-0 season, including winning the 2018 Big 12 Tournament and logging top-15 wins over No. 6 Stanford, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 14 Texas Tech.
Players Mentioned
