The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Kentucky
No. 15 Women’s Tennis prevails at No. 42 Kentucky, 4-2
03.30.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns earned a split in their pair of weekend road matches with a win over the Wildcats on Sunday.
Lexington, Ky. – No. 15 Texas Women's Tennis prevailed at No. 42 Kentucky, 4-2, on Sunday at the Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, KY.
In a match that moved indoors due to weather and was played on four courts, the Longhorns captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, then followed with singles victories from freshmen No. 54 Eszter Meri at No. 3 and No. 71 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 4 for a 3-0 lead. The Wildcats took the next two singles matches as Nos. 2 and 1, but junior Vivian Ovrootsky then clinched at No. 5 for the 4-2 final.
Texas opened doubles with 6-3 ranked win by the No. 27 duo of Anazagasty-Pursoo and freshman Ashton Bowers over No. 65 Ellie Eades and Lizzy Stevens at No. 1.
After the Longhorns held at deuce for a 3-2 lead, they secured the only break of the match for 4-2 on the way to the win.
The point was then clinched at No. 3 where the pair of Ovrootsky and freshman Carmen Herea defeated Ellie Myers and Julia Zhu, 6-4. The Wildcats broke in the opening game, but the Longhorns broke right back. The next two games were on serve before Kentucky picked up consecutive deuce-point wins to break and hold for a 4-2 lead. However, it was all Texas from there, as Ovrootsky and Herea closed on a 4-0 run, including a deuce-point break for 4-4.
In the remaining match at No. 2, freshmen Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Salma Drugdova were leading their match over Zoe Hammond and Asuncion Jadue, 5-3. Although the Wildcats held the opening game and broke on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead, the Longhorns fought back with a 4-0 run. The last two games were then held with Texas doing so at deuce before play stopped.
In singles, Meri was first off the court with a decisive 6-1, 6-1 win over Stevens at No. 3. Meri began the first set with a 3-0 run, including two breaks. Stevens got a break back on a deuce point for 3-1, but Meri went on a 4-0 run to take the set and begin the second with a deuce-point hold. After Stevens also held, Meri set out on a 5-0 run for the match that include a deuce-point break for 5-1.
Not long after that, Anazagasty-Pursoo extended the overall lead to 3-0 with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Tess Bucher at No. 4. Bucher broke first in the match for a 2-1 lead, but Anazagasty-Pursoo broke right back for 2-2. The players exchanged breaks again when Bucher took a 5-4 lead, but Anazagasty-Pursoo again answered for 5-5. Anazagasty-Pursoo then collected consecutive deuce points in the last two games for the set. In the second, Anazagasty-Pursoo held on a deuce point for a 3-2 lead, which started a 3-0 run for 5-2. Bucher got two games back with a hold and a deuce-point break, but like all of Bucher's breaks in the match, Anazagasty-Pursoo had an immediate answer and broke back to win the match.
Kentucky made it 3-1 overall as No. 20 Herea fell to No. 95 Zhu, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 2. Zhu held on a deuce point and broke to start the match with a 2-0 lead, but Herea broke back and held to even it. Herea was then the next to break for a 4-3 lead, however at that point, Zhu went on a 6-0 run to take the set and then a 3-0 lead in the second. Herea got the second-set break back to get within 3-2, but Zhu broke again on a deuce point and consolidated it for 5-2. Herea fought back with a hold and deuce-point break for 5-4, however Zhu secured one last break for the match.
The Wildcats moved one point closer as No. 73 Bowers was downed in three sets by No. 59 Hammond, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3 at No. 1. Bowers moved out to a 2-0 lead with a deuce-point hold and a break, and Hammond broke back on a deuce point. Those started a string of four-straight breaks until Hammond held for 3-3. Bowers retook the lead with a hold in the next game, but Zhu finished the set on a 3-0 run. The second set stayed on serve all the way to a 4-3 lead for Bowers when she broke for 5-3. Zhu answered the break, and the rest of the set stayed on serve to a tiebreaker. There, Bowers pushed out to a 3-0 lead, and although Zhu got back to within 4-3, Bowers closed it out with another 3-0 run. Bowers broke to begin the third set, but Zhu broke back on a deuce point. Bowers' next two service games also went to deuce, and although she held the first for 2-2, Zhu broke the next one for a 4-2 lead that she consolidated for 5-2. The last two games were then on serve to Zhu's win.
The clinch then came from Ovrootsky, who posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over Jadue at No. 5. In the first set, Ovrootsky broke on a deuce point and held for 2-0. After she held on another deuce point for a 4-2 lead, she broke again for 5-2 and then served out the set. In the second, Ovrootsky broke first for a 4-3 lead and again completed the set on a 3-0 run for the win.
That left one match unfinished at No. 6 where sophomore Shachf Lieberman was leading Myers, 7-5, 1-0, when play halted. Myers began the match with a break, but Lieberman responded with a 3-0 run. After Myers put together her own 3-0 run for a 4-3 lead, Lieberman broke and held for a 5-4 advantage. Two games later, Lieberman held on a deuce point and broke again for the set. She then held her one serve in the second set before the overall match concluded.
The Longhorns (11-9, 5-6 SEC) will next return home to host No. 32 Alabama at 12 p.m. CT on Friday, April 4.
#15 Texas 4, #42 Kentucky 2
Singles – Order of Finish (3,4,2,1,5)
1. #59 Zoe Hammond (UK) def. #73 Ashton Bowers (TEX) 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3
2. #95 Julia Zhu (UK) def. #20 Carmen Herea (TEX) 6-4, 6-4
3. #54 Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Lizzy Stevens (UK) 6-1, 6-1
4. #71 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) def. Tess Bucher (UK) 7-5, 6-4
5. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) def. Asuncion Jadue (UK) 6-2, 6-3
6. Ellie Myers (UK) vs. Shachf Lieberman (TEX) 5-7, 0-1, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3)
1. #27 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo/Ashton Bowers (TEX) def. #65 Ellie Eades/Lizzy Stevens (UK) 6-3
2. Zoe Hammond/Asuncion Jadue (UK) vs. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Salma Drugdova (TEX) 3-5, unfinished
3. Carmen Herea/Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) def. Ellie Myers/Julia Zhu (UK) 6-4
Players Mentioned
