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NC State
No. 11 Women’s Tennis prevails over No. 19 NC State, 4-3
01.31.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns topped the Wolf Pack in a third-set tiebreaker of the final singles match.
Austin – No. 11 Texas Women's Tennis prevailed, 4-3, over No. 19 NC State on Friday at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. For the second time in a week, Longhorns came away with a victory after securing a third-set tiebreaker in the final singles match, which they also did against Baylor last Saturday.
After NC State took the doubles point in a tiebreaker of the final match at No. 1, Texas answered with the first two singles wins by senior Sabina Zeynaolva at No. 1 and freshman No. 44 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 5. The Wolf Pack retook the lead with wins at Nos. 2 and 4, but the Longhorns captured the last two matches, first by freshman No. 28 Carmen Herea at No. 3, and this time, junior No. 95 Vivian Ovrootsky did the honors with the clinch at No. 6.
In Ovrootsky's match, she downed Jasmine Conway in a match that featured a pair of tiebreakers, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4). In the first set, it was Conway who broke first for a 4-2 lead, but Ovrootsky used consecutive deuce-point wins to start a 4-0 run for the set. In the second, Conway again broke first, this time on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead that she consolidated to 3-0. Ovrootsky had a chance to get the break back later in the set on a deuce point, but Conway held for 5-2. Two games later, Ovrootsky did get the break as part of a 3-0 run to tie it. The next two games then stayed on serve to the first tiebreaker. There Ovrootsky turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead, but Conway came back with four unanswered for the set. In the third, Ovrootsky broke on a deuce point for 2-0, and although Conway broke back and held to even it, Ovrootsky went on a 3-0 run for 5-2. However, Conway responded with her own 3-0 run to tie it and appeared to be on her way to another break for the lead, but Ovrootsky erased a 15-40 deficit to hold. After Conway also held for the tiebreaker, Ovrootsky took command in that frame with a 3-0 run for a 4-1 lead that she wouldn't relinquish. She extended it to 6-2 before eventually securing it, 7-4, to send her teammates streaming on to her court.
Just prior to that, Herea had knotted the overall score at 3-3 with a 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-2 win over Kristina Paskauskas. Paskauskas broke on a deuce point to start the match, but Herea got the break back for 3-3 and then consolidated for a 4-3 lead. Paskauskas then held on a deuce point and broke to retake the lead, 5-4, but Herea broke back to even it. The last two games were then on serve to a tiebreaker. There, Paskauskas got out to a 2-0 lead, but Herea rallied with three straight points. Herea then pushed out to leads of 5-3 and 6-4 when the players alternated two-point runs to Herea's win. The second set then belonged to Paskauskas, who started and finished with 3-0 runs, but in the third set, it was Herea who jumped out to a 4-0 lead with three of those games going to deuce. Paskauskas responded to those with back-to-back deuce point wins for a break and hold, but Herea held and broke for the win.
Texas had held a 2-1 lead before NC picked up three-set wins at Nos. 2 and 4 where freshman Eszter Meri fell to Maddy Zampardo, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, and freshman Salma Drugdova was downed by Gabriella Broadfoot, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, respectively.
In Meri's match, Zampardo opened on a 4-0 run that was completed with consecutive deuce-point wins. Meri held for 4-1 and had a chance to get within 4-2, but Zampardo held on a deuce point and then broke for the set. In the second, the first three games were all breaks until Meri held on a deuce point for a 3-1 lead. Zampardo also held at deuce, and the next three games were on serve until Meri broke on a deuce point to send it to a third set. That would be a back and forth frame with both players holding their first service games, but three-straight breaks left Zampardo with a 3-2 lead that she consolidated to 4-2. Meri rallied to tie it once again, but Zampardo claimed the last two games for the win.
In Drugdova's match, despite three deuce points, the first set stayed on serve until Broadfoot broke for a 5-3 lead and held for the set. The first four games of the second set were then all breaks until Drugdova held for 3-2 to start a 4-0 run to the win that she capped with a deuce-point break. Similar to the first set, the third stayed on serve almost the whole way. With there having already been four deuce points and Drugdova leading, 5-4, Broadfoot took three-straight deuce points to hold, break and hold for the win to give NC State a 3-2 lead.
The Longhorns had taken the lead when Anazagasty-Pursoo defeated Mia Slama, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5. Anazagasty-Pursoo opened the match with a break and then held at deuce for a 2-0 lead. She then broke again for 5-2, and although Slama broke back for 5-3, the last two game were on serve for Anazagasty-Pursoo's win. In the second set, Anazagasty-Pursoo broke first for a 2-1 lead that she consolidated to 3-1 on a deuce point. Anazagasty-Pursoo later broke again for 5-2 before serving out the match.
It had been Zeynalova who got Texas on the board first with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Anna Zyryanova. Zeynalova broke and held to start with a 2-0 lead, and although Zyryanova got the break back for 2-2, Zeynalova went on a 4-0 run with a pair of deuce-point breaks to win the set. In the second, she moved out to a 3-0 lead with two breaks and a deuce-point hold. Zyryanova regained one of the breaks for 3-1, but Zeynalova broke right back on a deuce point and finished the match on another 3-0 run.
Earlier, the doubles point had also come down to a tiebreaker in the final match. In that one, Zeynalova and freshman Ashton Bowers came up just short to the No. 5 duo of Broadfoot and Zampardo, 7-6 (1), at No. 1. Texas broke to open the match, but NC State went on a 4-0, including a deuce-point break for 3-1. That 4-1 lead maintained to 5-2 when the Longhorns fought back with their own 4-0 run that included three-deuce point wins, capped by one to break for a 6-5 lead. However, the Wolf Pack broke back to force the tiebreaker where they pushed out to a 3-0 lead on the way to the 7-1 final.
Texas had evened the doubles point with a 6-3 win by Herea and Drugdova over Zyryanova and Slama at No. 2. The Longhorns sandwiched the match with breaks in the first and last game, including a deuce-point win for the match.
NC State had been first off the doubles courts with its own 6-3 win by No. 60 Conway and Paskauskas over Anazagasty-Pursoo and Meri at No. 3. The Wolf Pack secured the only break of the match in the second game for a 2-0 lead en route to the win.
Texas returns to the court against Abilene Christian on Sunday, February 2, at 12 p.m. CT at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center.
#11 Texas 4, #19 NC State 3
Singles – Order of Finish (1,5,2,4,3,6)
1. Sabina Zeynalova (TEX) def. Anna Zyryanova (NCST) 6-2, 6-1
2. Maddy Zampardo (NCST) def. Eszter Meri (TEX) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
3. Carmen Herea (TEX) def. Kristina Paskauskas (NCST) 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-2
4. Gabriella Broadfoot (NCST) def. Salma Drugdova (TEX) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
5. Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) def. Mia Slama (NCST) 6-4, 6-2
6. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) def. Jasmine Conway (NCST) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4)
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2,1)
1. #5 Gabriella Broadfoot/Maddy Zampardo (NCST) def. Sabina Zeynalova/Ashton Bowers (TEX) 7-6 (7-1)
2. Carmen Herea/Salma Drugdova (TEX) def. Anna Zyryanova/Mia Slama (NCST) 6-3
3. #60 Jasmine Conway/Kristina Paskauskas (NCST) def. Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo/Eszter Meri (TEX) 6-3
Players Mentioned
