The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Grand Canyon
No. 14 Women’s Tennis preview: NCAA Tournament First Round
05.01.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns face Grand Canyon in the first round of the Austin Regional on Friday, while also hosting Baylor and Boise State.
No. 14 Women's Tennis preview: NCAA Tournament First Round
No. 14 Texas vs. Grand Canyon
Team Records: No. 14 Texas (16-10, 9-6 SEC), Grand Canyon (13-10, 0-0 WAC), No. 22 Baylor (20-5, 10-3 Big 12), No. 70 Boise State (19-5, 7-3 MWC)
When: Friday, May 2, 2025, 1 p.m. CT
Where: Texas Tennis Center, Austin, Texas
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
Live Video: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch
Broadcast: Cracked Racquets (YouTube) (Texas-GCU)
Tournament Central
Updated Team Stats
Notes
-First Serve
The Longhorns had been on a six-match winning streak prior to falling to No. 1 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC Championship. Texas has a 16-10 overall record in 2025 with wins over No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 19 NC State and twice over South Carolina when it was ranked No. 21 and 23. Four of their losses have been by a 4-3 score, including to No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 11 Auburn and No. 17 USC.
-No. 14 Women's Tennis earns No. 14 national seed for NCAA Championship
UT will make its 40th NCAA Championship appearance and has a 69-35 (.663) all-time record in NCAA tourney play. The Longhorns have captured NCAA team titles in 1993, 1995, 2021 and 2022 and earned NCAA runner-up finishes in 1992 and 2005. It is the ninth-straight year Texas has made the tournament field dating back to 2016. It has reached at least the second round in each of the previous eight, at least the round of 16 in the last four, and at least the quarterfinals in three of the last four.
-Grand Canyon Series: Never met
This will be the first meeting between Texas and Grand Canyon.
-Baylor Series: Texas leads, 47-19
Texas leads the all-time series with Baylor, 47-19, dating back to 1983. In a series of streaks, the Longhorns won the first 29 contests, before the Bears broke through with one in 2005. Texas won later that year, but Baylor won the next 13, followed by one win for the Longhorns in 2012 and five for Baylor after that. Texas has since won the last 16 meetings, including 4-3 earlier this year in second round of the ITA Kickoff in Austin, and a pair of 4-0 sweeps last year, beginning in the first round of the ITA Kickoff in Austin, and followed by the teams' regular season finale in Waco. The year prior, the Longhorns won twice in Austin – 6-1 to conclude the regular season and claim the Big 12 Championship, and 4-0 in the championship match of the 2023 ITA Kickoff, which was played indoors.
Last Three Meetings
#12 Texas 4, Baylor 3
Saturday, January 25, 2025
Austin, Texas • Texas Tennis Center (ITA Kickoff Championship)
Singles – Order of Finish (3,6,5,1,4,2)
1. Sabina Zeynalova (TEX) def. Cristina Tiglea (BU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Liubov Kostenko (BU) 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (6)
3. Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) def. #65 Ashton Bowers (TEX) 6-2, 6-2
4. #76 Na Dong (BU) def. Salma Drugdova (TEX) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
5. #28 Carmen Herea (TEX) def. Kennedy Gibbs (BU) 6-4, 6-4
6. #95 Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) def. #118 Wenfei Yu (BU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1,3)
1. #13 Cristina Tiglea/Liubov Kostenko (BU) def. Sabina Zeynalova/Ashton Bowers (TEX) 6-4
2. Salma Drugdova/Carmen Herea (TEX) def. Na Dong/Kennedy Gibbs (BU) 6-4
3. Zuzanna Kubacha/Wenfei Yu (BU) def. Eszter Meri/Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) 7-6 (3)
#8 Texas 4, #34 Baylor 0
Sunday, April 14, 2024
Hurd Tennis Center • Waco, Texas
Singles – Order of Finish (6,5,4)
1. #118 Miska Kadleckova (BU) vs. #20 Malaika Rapolu (UT) 5-7, 0-1, unf.
2. Isabella Harvison (BU) vs. #119 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) 7-5, 2-1, unf.
3. Liubov Kostenko (BU) vs. #33 Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) 3-6, 5-2, unf.
4. #123 Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Danielle Tuhten (BU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) def. Daniella Dimitrov (BU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Shachf Lieberman (UT) def. Lauren Littell (BU) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2,3)
1. #37 Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) def. Isabella Harvison/Liubov Kostenko (BU) 6-2
2. Miska Kadleckova/Danielle Tuhten (BU) def. Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) 6-3
3. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Shachf Lieberman (UT) def. Lauren Littell/Brooke Thompson (BU) 7-6 (4)
#10 Texas 4, Baylor 0
Friday, January 26, 2024
Texas Tennis Center • Austin, Texas (ITA Kickoff First Round)
Singles – Order of Finish (3,4,2)
1. Sabina Zeynalova (UT) vs. Miska Kadleckova (BU) 6-5, unf.
2. #20 Tanya Sasnouskaya (UT) def. Sierra Berry (BU) 6-2, 6-1
3. #45 Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Liubov Kostenko (BU) 6-2, 6-1
4. #106 Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Isabella Harvison (BU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) vs. #102 Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) 1-6, 3-3, unf.
6. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) vs. Danielle Tuhten (BU) 6-4, 3-2, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2)
1. Sabina Zeynalova/Taisiya Pachkaleva (UT) def. Liubov Kostenko/Sierra Berry (BU) 6-2
2. Tanya Sasnouskaya/Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Miska Kadleckova/Danielle Tuhten (BU) 6-1
3. Vivian Ovrootsky/Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) vs. Isabella Harvison/Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) 2-5, unf.
-Boise State Series: Never met
It would be the first meeting between Texas and Boise State.
-ITA Team Rankings
Just like last season, Texas was ranked No. 7 in the ITA preseason coaches poll, which was released January 6, however fell to No. 12 after being downed in the season opener at USC. The Longhorns rose to No. 11 after winning the ITA Kickoff Weekend regional title, and then to No. 8 following an ITA Indoors quarterfinals appearance. Texas moved back to No. 11 in the first computer rankings released on February 20 and remained there on February 25, but moved up to No. 9 on March 4, down to No. 13 on March 11, to No. 15 on March 18, and up one spot to No. 14 on April 1 where it has remained. 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
Five UT singles players were included in the latest ITA singles rankings that were released on May 1, all of which were in the top-100, including four freshmen. The Longhorns also have three doubles pairs ranked, however two involving Aston Bowers, but the pair of Bowers and Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo has been playing consistently together in dual matches and is ranked No. 26.
Texas
Singles
No. 38 Carmen Herea
No. 45 Sabina Zeynalova
No. 73 Eszter Meri
No. 78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo
No. 92 Ashton Bowers
Doubles
No. 26 Ashton Bowers/Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo
No. 60 Sabina Zeynalova/Ashton Bowers
No. 73 Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Salma Drugdova
Grand Canyon
Singles
N/A
Doubles
N/A
Baylor
Singles
N/A
Doubles
No. 37 Liubov Kostenko/Cristina Tiglea
Boise State
Singles
N/A
Doubles
N/A
-SEC honors
Freshmen Carmen Herea and Ashton Bowers earned the first SEC yearly honors in program history as Herea was named Second Team All-SEC, while she and Bowers received All-Freshman Team accolades.
-Reaching the SEC Quarterfinals
The Longhorns advanced to the SEC Championship quarterfinals with a 4-2 second-round win over No. 23 South Carolina on April 17 at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Ala. The match marked the second time in a 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 Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6, Carmen Herea at No. 2, and Eszter Meri at No. 4 for a 3-1 lead. South Carolina picked up one more point at No. 3, but Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo clinched the match at No. 5.
-Closing the regular season with a clinch of the 8 seed at the SEC Championship
Texas closed the regular season with a 4-1 win over No. 21 South Carolina on April 13 at the Texas Tennis Center. It was the Longhorns' fifth-straight victory and clinched the 8 seed and a first-round bye in the SEC Championship, which will be played April 16-20 in Auburn, Ala. They finish the regular season 15-9 overall and 9-6 in the SEC. South Carolina took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 2 with Texas having won at No. 3 in between. However, the Longhorns followed with four-straight singles victories from Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz at No. 6, Ashton Bowers at No. 3, Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 5, and Carmen Herea at No. 2. After the match, Sabina Zeynalova and Vivian Ovrootsky were honored for Senior Day.
-Taking down No. 1
Texas topped No. 1 Georgia, 4-2, on April 11 at the Texas Tennis Center. It was the Longhorns' fourth-straight victory and marked their first win over a No. 1 team since defeating North Carolina in the NCAA semifinals in 2022. It was also just the second loss of the year for the Bulldogs. Texas clinched the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2 after Georgia had opened with a win at No. 1. The Longhorns followed with a singles victory by Eszter Meri at No. 4, and after the Bulldogs picked up wins at Nos. 1 and 2, Texas took it from there with wins by Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz at No. 5 and Ashton Bowers at No. 3 for the clinch.
-Home/road sweeps
The Longhorns swept No. 73 Mississippi State, 4-0, on April 6 in Starkville. Texas earned their third-straight win and second-straight sweep after a 4-0 victory over No. 33 Alabama in Austin on April 4, moving to 7-6 in SEC play. In a match that moved indoors to weather, Texas secured a dramatic doubles point with a 6-2 win at No. 2, followed by a 7-6 (6) tiebreaker win in the deciding match at No. 3. The Longhorns then claimed singles victories from Salma Drugdova at No. 6, Ashton Bowers at No. 2, and Carmen Herea at No. 1 for the clinch.
-Sweeping Tide
Texas swept No. 33 Alabama, 4-0, on April 4 at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. In a match that moved indoors due to weather concerns, the Crimson Tide had only five players available, which resulted in forfeits at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles. The Longhorns combined the doubles forfeit with a 6-3 win at No. 1 to clinch that point, and the forfeit at No. 6 singles quickly provided a 2-0 lead. Texas then received almost simultaneous victories by Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 4, and Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 5 for the clinch.
-Making Kentucky blue
The Longhorns prevailed at No. 42 Kentucky, 4-2, on March 30 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 Eszter Meri at No. 3, and 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 Vivian Ovrootsky then clinched at No. 5 for the 4-2 final.
-Close on Rocky Top
Texas was downed at No. 7 Tennessee, 4-2, on March 28 at the Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. The Longhorns opened the match by claiming the doubles point in a tiebreaker of the deciding match at No. 3 after having also won at No. 1. Tennessee evened the match with a win at No. 4 singles, but Vivian Ovrootsky regained the lead with a victory at No. 5. The Volunteers claimed the next three singles matches at Nos. 3, 1 and 6, however No. 6 and the unfinished match at No. 4 both went to third sets with Texas having won decisive first sets in those.
-Missing pieces against Ole Miss
The Longhorns fell to No. 49 Ole Miss, 4-2, on March 23 at the Texas Tennis Center. Texas continued to attempt to work through lineup absences, including Sabina Zeynalova in both singles and doubles, and Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo in singles. UT was first off the doubles court with a win at No. 2, but Ole Miss took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3. Vivian Ovrootsky evened the match with a singles win at No. 5, and after the Rebels won at No. 2, Carmen Herea tied it again with a victory at No. 3. However, Ole Miss was then able to win at Nos. 1 and 4 to clinch.
-Shorthanded against No. 9 LSU
Texas was downed by No. 9 LSU, 4-2, on March 21 at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns took three matches to third sets, but came up just short. The Longhorns had a strong doubles performance in securing the point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, but LSU responded with singles wins at Nos. 6, 1 and 4. The other three singles matches all went to third sets with the Longhorns holding leads in two of them and on serve late in the other, but after Carmen Herea won at No. 3, the Tigers clinched at No. 2. Vivian Ovrootsky had been leading her match at No. 5. UT was missing Sabina Zeynalova for the match due to injury, while Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo was also pulled from the singles lineup after playing doubles.
-Back-to-back SEC road victories
The Longhorns defeated Missouri, 6-1, at the Green Tennis Center in Columbia, Mo., on March 16. It was the second-straight SEC road win for the Longhorns and the second-straight match played on just four courts following a 4-3 win at Vanderbilt two days earlier. Texas claimed the doubles points with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles victories by Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz at No. 4, Eszter Meri at No. 2, and Ashton Bowers at No. 1 for the clinch at 4-0. The match was then played out with wins by Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 3 and Shachf Lieberman at No. 6 surrounding Missouri's win at No. 5.
-First SEC road win
Texas rallied to top No. 16 Vanderbilt, 4-3, at the Lummis Tennis Center in Nashville on March 14 in a match that was played on only four courts and lasted almost five-and-a-half hours. It marked the Longhorns' first-ever conference road win as a member of the SEC. Vanderbilt claimed the doubles point in dramatic fashion in a tiebreaker of the deciding match at No. 3. With only four courts available for singles, Nos. 1-4 played first with all four matches going to three sets. Eszter Meri was first off the singles court at No. 3 to tie the match, 1-1, and after the Commodores won at No. 2, Carmen Herea evened it again at No. 4. Vanderbilt then picked up its last point at No. 1 for a 3-2 lead. The last two Longhorns entered the court shortly before that and completed the comeback with a pair of straight-sets victories by Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 5, and Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz for the clinch at No. 6.
-Another close score on the road
Texas fell to No. 11 Auburn, 4-3, on March 9 in a match that was moved indoors due to weather at the Yarbrough Tennis Center. After Auburn won a pair of 6-4 matches at Nos. 3 and 2 to take the doubles point, the Tigers secured singles wins Nos. 1, 5 and 6 to clinch. However, the match at No. 6 was decided by a break late in the third set, and the Longhorns followed with singles victories by Ashton Bowers at No. 2, Carmen Herea at No. 4, and Eszter Meri at No. 3.
-Falling just short in Florida
Texas was downed by No. 61 Florida, 4-3, on March 7 at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Center. The match came down to the third set of the final singles match, but the Longhorns came up just short in their first SEC road contest. After Florida rallied for the last two doubles matches at Nos. 1 and 2 to take the point, Texas took the lead with singles wins by Salma Drugdova at No. 6, and Carmen Herea at No. 3. The Gators came back with wins at Nos. 1 and 2, but the Longhorns again tied it with a win by Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz at No. 5. The match at No. 4 then went to a third set to decide it, but Florida was able to emerge with the win.
-Meri named SEC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week
Eszter Meri was named the SEC Women's Tennis Athlete of the Week on March 5. It was her second conference award this season, but her first as Athlete of the Week after having previously been Freshman of the Week on January 29. Meri posted a 3-0 combined record with one win in singles and two in doubles in team victories over No. 12 Oklahoma (4-3) and No. 70 Arkansas (4-0). She was also potentially one game away from a second singles win for a 4-0 record before her match versus Arkansas went unfinished. Against Oklahoma, Meri clinched both the overall match and the doubles point against ranked opponents No. 12 Julia Garcia Ruiz at No. 2 singles, and No. 53 Salakthip Ounmuang and Gloriana Nahum at No. 3 doubles. Against Arkansas, Meri and partner Carmen Herea clinched over Katarina Pavlechova and Jimena Gomez Alonso at No. 3
-Another red rivalry win
The Longhorns swept No. 70 Arkansas, 4-0, on March 2 at the Texas Tennis Center. The win completed a sweep of a pair of SEC weekend matches after the Longhorns defeated No. 12 Oklahoma. Texas captured the doubles point with a pair of 6-1 wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles wins by Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 6, Vivan Ovrootsky at No. 3, and Carmen Herea at No. 4.
-SEC Red River Victory
Texas downed No. 12 Oklahoma, 4-3, to secure their first-ever win in Southeastern Conference play on February 28 at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns clinched the match at 4-2 after capturing the doubles point with a pair of decisive 6-2 wins at Nos. 1 and 3 and following with singles victories on three of the top four lines, including freshmen No. 25 Carmen Herea at No. 4, No. 104 Ashton Bowers at No. 1, and No. 124 Eszter Meri at No. 2 for the clinch. The Sooners got within one point at 2-1 with a win at No. 6, at 3-2 with a win at No. 3, and then with their final win at No. 5, however that came after the clinch.
-Just short in the SEC opener
Texas came up just short against No. 6 Texas A&M, 4-3, in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown on February 22 at the Texas Tennis Center. The match was the Longhorns' SEC debut and came down to the third set of the final singles match. Texas took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1 and then followed with singles victories by Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo and Sabina Zeynalova at No. 1. However, Texas A&M responded with wins at Nos. 2, 5, 3 and 4, including the match at No. 5 that was decided by two 7-5 sets, the match at No. 3 that was determined by two tiebreaker sets, and the match at No. 4 that came down to a break at the end of the third set.
-A Big 12 win before SEC play
Texas earned a 6-1 road win at TCU in the team's final regular-season non-conference match on February 20 in Fort Worth. The Longhorns took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles victories by Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz at No. 5, Sabina Zeynalova at No. 1, Ashton Bowers at No. 3 for the clinch, Carmen Herea at No. 4, and Salma Drugdova at No. 6.
-ITA Indoors Quarterfinalists
In winning the 2025 ITA Kickoff Weekend Texas Regional, the Longhorns advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the eighth-straight year. With a 4-0 sweep of No. 3 Oklahoma State in the first match there, Texas reached the quarterfinals for the sixth time in those trips, including the last five (2019, 2021-25). Against the Cowgirls, the Longhorns took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 2, including in a tiebreaker in the deciding match at No. 2. They then followed with singles victories by Salma Drugdova at No. 5, Ashton Bowers at No. 4, and Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6. Texas then faced No. 2 Texas A&M, and after dropping an extremely close doubles point in a tiebreaker of the deciding match, the Longhorns received singles victories from Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 6 and Aston Bowers at No. 3. However, the Aggies added singles wins at Nos. 5, 1 and 2 to clinch at 4-2, including three-set decisions at Nos. 1 and 2, while the match at No. 4 was left unfinished heading into a third set. In the consolation match, Texas fell to No. 7 Michigan, 4-1, winning a dramatic doubles point with victories at Nos. 1 and 3 and was in position in both of the unfinished singles matches, but fell in contests at Nos. 2, 5, 3 and 1.
-Back-to-back SEC Freshmen of the Week
Carmen Herea was named the SEC Freshman of the Week, the conference announced Feb. 5. It is her first career conference award, and the second-straight week a Longhorn has earned the honor, following Eszter Meri on Jan. 29. Herea posted both singles and doubles wins in helping Texas to a 4-3 win over No. 19 NC State. Her singles victory came over Kristina Paskauskas at No. 2 and evened the overall score at 3-3 before the Longhorns won, 4-3. She and partner Salma Drugdova had evened the doubles point with a win against Anna Zyryanova and Mia Slama before the Wolf Pack took the deciding doubles match in a tiebreaker. Meri went a combined 3-1 in wins over Maryland and Baylor, including clinching a 4-3 victory over the Bears in a third-set tiebreaker of the final singles match to deliver an ITA Kickoff Weekend regional championship. It also advanced the Longhorns to the ITA National Indoor Championships.
-Quick work of the Wildcats
Texas swept Abilene Christian, 5-0, on Feb. 2 at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. The Longohrns earned doubles wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles victories by Shachf Lieberman at No. 5, Ashton Bowers at No. 3, Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 4 for the clinch, and Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6. In the six combined singles and doubles wins, Texas lost a total of just seven games.
-Send them Packing
Texas prevailed, 4-3, over No. 19 NC State on Jan. 31 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. 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 Sabina Zeynaolva at No. 1 and 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 Carmen Herea at No. 3, and this time, Vivian Ovrootsky did the honors with the clinch at No. 6.
-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 204-56 (.785) mark in his time at Texas. During his 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has tallied a 335-117 (.741) 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 77-10 (.885) overall record, including a 6-3 record this season with a win over No. 1 Georgia. 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
