The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
South Carolina
No. 14 Women’s Tennis advances to SEC Championship quarterfinals
04.17.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns registered a 4-2 second-round win over No. 23 South Carolina on Thursday and will next face No. 1 Texas A&M on Friday.
Auburn, Ala. – No. 14 Texas Women's Tennis advanced to the SEC Championship quarterfinals with a 4-2 second-round win over No. 23 South Carolina on Thursday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Ala. The Longhorns will next face No. 1 Texas A&M on Friday at 6 p.m. CT.
The match marked the second time this week Texas rallied for four singles victories to defeat South Carolina after dropping the doubles point in both matches. After the Gamecocks claimed doubles with wins at Nos. 3 and No. 1, the Longhorns rallied with singles wins by junior Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6, freshman No. 37 Carmen Herea at No. 2, and freshman No. 61 Eszter Meri at No. 4 for a 3-1 lead. South Carolina picked up one more point at No. 3, but freshman No. 78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo clinched the match at No. 5.
After doubles, Ovrootsky quickly evened the overall match with an efficient 6-1, 6-1 win over Lauren Friedman at No. 6. Ovrootsky opened the match on a 3-0 run with a pair of breaks and deuce-point hold. Friedman got one of the breaks back on a deuce point for 3-1, but Ovrootsky set out on an 8-0 run to take the first set and establish a 5-0 lead in the second, dropping only eight points in those eight games. Friedman picked up one more game on serve, but Ovrootsky served out the next game at love for the match.
Herea then gave Texas a 2-1 lead with a 6-1, 7-5 win over No. 55 Kaitlyn Carnicella at No. 2. Herea jumped out to a 5-0 lead, including a stretch where she won 14 out of 15 points. Carnicella grabbed one game on a deuce-point hold, but Herea served out the set from there. In the second set, Carnicella broke first for a 3-1 lead, but Herea broke back on a deuce point for 3-2. Carnicella broke again and consolidated for 5-2, however Herea produced her second 5-0 run to capture the match. That included staving off a set point for Carnicella on a key deuce-point hold for 5-5.
Meri extended the lead to 3-1 with a decisive 6-2, 6-1 win over Olympe Lancelot at No. 4. Meri began the match by rebounding from a 0-40 deficit in her opening service game to win it on a deuce point. She then broke for 2-0, and even though Lancelot broke back, Meri broke again at deuce and consolidated at love for 4-1. The last three games of the set all went to deuce capped by a break by Meri to secure it. In the second set, Meri moved out to a 5-0 lead, including consecutive deuce-point wins for a hold for 3-0 and a break for 4-0. Lancelot fended off a match point in the next game for a deuce-point hold, but Meri closed it out in the following game.
South Carolina got back within one as freshman No. 92 Ashton Bowers fell to Misa Malkin, 6-2, 7-5, at No. 3. The first three games all went to deuce and all were won by Malkin for two holds and a break. She later broke again at deuce for 5-1, which was the first of three-straight breaks to end the set. In the second, Malkin again broke first for a 3-1 lead that she consolidated for 4-1. Bowers got the break back for 4-3, and even though Malkin broke again on a deuce point for 5-3, Bowers broke and held on a deuce point for 5-5. However, Malkin would win the last two games for the match.
The clinch came from Anazagasty-Pursoo with a 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3 win over Bella Larsson at No. 5. Larsson established a 3-0 lead with a break in the second game, and after she held at deuce for 4-1, Anazagasty-Pursoo went on a 4-0 run for the lead. Larsson evened it with a break in the next game, and the last two games were on serve to the tiebreaker. There, Anazagasty-Pursoo came away with the first mini-break for a 3-2 lead that she increased to 5-3, but Larsson responded with a 4-0 run to win the set. Anazagasty-Pursoo controlled the second set by starting on a 5-0 run, including deuce-point holds for 3-0 and 5-0. Larsson held and broke in the next two games, but Anazagasty-Pursoo broke back for the set. The third stayed on serve until Anazagasty-Pursoo broke at love for a 4-2 lead that she consolidated for 5-2. Larsson held for one more game, but Anazagasty-Pursoo served out at love for the win.
That left one match unfinished where senior No. 56 Sabina Zeynalova was up a break in her third set against No. 13 Sarah Hamner, 7-5, 2-6, 3-1, at No. 1. Hamner broke in the second game for a 2-0 lead, but Zeynalova broke back on a deuce point, held and broke again for a 3-2 lead. The next two games were then deuce-point breaks for 4-3, and although Hamner retook the lead with break and a deuce-point hold, Zeynalova closed on a 3-0 run, winning the last two games at deuce. The first three games of the second set were all breaks, giving Zeynalova a 2-1 lead, however Hamner won consecutive deuce points to start a 5-0 run for the set. Zeynalova broke to begin the third, and the last three games were on serve until play halted.
Earlier in doubles, South Carolina was first off the court as Zeynalova and Herea fell to Friedman and Helena Buchwald, 6-1, at No. 3. After the Gamecocks broke and held on a deuce point for a 2-0 lead, the Longhorns also held at deuce for 2-1. However, a third-straight game went to deuce, which South Carolina won to start a 4-0 run to their win.
The Gamecocks then clinched the point as the No. 30 duo of Bowers and Anazagasty-Pursoo were downed by No. 16 Hamner and Carnicella, 6-4, at No. 1. The Gamecocks broke first for a 2-1 lead and then consolidated for 3-1 on a deuce point. The Longhorns later got the break back for 3-3 and consolidated theirs for a 4-3 lead. However, South Carolina closed on a 3-0 run, including a deuce-point hold in the final game.
That left No. 2 unfinished, where freshmen Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Salma Drugdova had a 5-4 lead over Larsson and Lancelot. The Longhorns served first, and despite both of the Gamecocks' first two service games reached deuce, the match stayed on serve until play stopped with the 5-4 Texas lead.
#14 Texas 4, #23 South Carolina 2
Singles – Order of Finish (6,2,4,3,5)
1. #56 Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) vs. #13 Sarah Hamner (SC) 7-5, 2-6, 3-1, unf.
2. #37 Carmen Herea (TEXAS) def. #55 Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) 6-1, 7-5
3. Misa Malkin (SC) def. #92 Ashton Bowers (TEXAS) 6-2, 7-5
4. #61 Eszter Meri (TEXAS) def. Olympe Lancelot (SC) 6-2, 6-1
5. #78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEXAS) def. Bella Larsson (SC) 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3
6. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) def. Lauren Friedman (SC) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles - Order of Finish (3,1)
1. #16 Kaitlyn Carnicella/Sarah Hamner (SC) def. #30 Ashton Bowers/Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEXAS) 6-4
2. #75 Salma Drugdova/Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz (TEXAS) vs. Bella Larsson/Olympe Lancelot (SC) 5-4, unf.
3. Lauren Friedman/Helena Buchwald (SC) def. Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea (TEXAS) 6-1
Players Mentioned
