The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Grand Canyon
No. 14 Women’s Tennis advances to NCAA second round
05.02.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns swept Grand Canyon, 4-0, on Friday to move on to the second round for the ninth-straight year.
Austin, Texas – No. 14 Texas Women's Tennis advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round with a 4-0 sweep of Grand Canyon on Friday at the Texas Tennis Center. It marks the ninth-straight year the Longhorns have moved on to the second round of the tournament.
Texas secured doubles with a pair of 6-1 wins at Nos. 1 and 2, and followed with singles victories by junior Vivian Ovrootsky at No. 6, freshman No. 73 Eszter Meri at No. 3, and senior No. 45 Sabina Zeynalova at No. 1 for the clinch.
With a 1-0 overall lead for the Longhorns after doubles, Ovrootsky was first off the singles court with an efficient 6-1, 6-2 win over Valentina del Marco. Ovrootsky opened the match with a deuce point break to start a 5-0 run that she also closed with another deuce-point break. Del Marco prevented the sweep by answering with her own deuce-point break, but Ovrootsky broke again for the set. In the second, Ovrootsky held and broke at deuce for a 2-0 lead. The next two games were also breaks until Ovrootsky held at deuce for 4-1. She would later break one more time for 6-2 and the match.
Meri followed quickly after that with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Isabella Crossman at No. 3. It was Crossman who moved out to a 2-0 lead to start the match with a hold and a break, but Meri set out on a 9-0 run from there to sweep the rest of the set and establish a 3-0 lead in the second. The first deuce point of the match came in the next game as Crossman used it to break for 3-1, but Meri broke back and held for 5-1. Crossman came away with the next two games, but Meri broke again to take the match and provide a 3-0 overall lead for Texas.
Moments later, Zeynalova clinched it with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Karina Hofbauer at No. 1. Zeynalova broke on a deuce point and held to begin the match, and the set stayed on serve until she broke again at deuce for a 5-2 lead. She then served out that set and claimed the first game of the second on a break. Although Hofbauer broke back, it would be all Zeynalova from there with a 5-0 run to the win that included only one deuce point, which Zeynalova won for 5-1.
That left three matches unfinished with the Longhorns leading two of them, including freshman No. 78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo potentially just three points away from a win, leading Dania Deaifi, 6-2, 5-3 and up 0-15, at No. 4. The first three games all went to deuce with Anazagasty-Pursoo grabbing the opening one for a break, and Deaifi taking the next two to break back and hold. However, Anazagasty-Pursoo also held to start a 5-0 run for the set that was capped with a deuce-point hold. In the second set, the players exchanged holds then breaks until Anazagasty-Pursoo broke again on a deuce point for a 3-2 lead, which she consolidated for 4-2. The next two games were also held with Anazagasty-Pursoo attempting to break again for the match when play halted.
Freshman Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz was also ahead, 7-6 (5), 1-0, over Angelina Mihajlovic at No. 5. Although Mihajlovic jumped out to leads of 2-0 and 5-1 that included a pair of deuce-point holds, Kempenaers-Pocz rallied back with a 4-0 run to tie it, including deflecting a set point for a deuce-point break for 5-5. Mihajlovic broke back, but Kempenaers-Pocz saved another set point at deuce in the next game to force a tiebreaker. There, Kempenaers-Pocz moved out to a 4-0 lead that she never relinquished. Mihajlovic got back within one at 6-5, but Kempenaers-Pocz served out the breaker on the next point. She then broke on a deuce point for a 1-0 lead in the second set before play stopped.
GCU won its lone set at No. 2 where freshman No. 38 Carmen Herea trailed Gala Arangio, 4-6, 3-2. The players exchanged 2-0 runs through the first six games that left Herea ahead, 4-2. However, Arangio then went on a 4-0 run to take the set. The first three games of the second set all went to deuce with Arangio breaking on the last of those for a 2-1 lead. Herea then broke back to even and held on another deuce point for a 3-2 lead when play halted.
Earlier in doubles, the Longhorns took the point with almost simultaneous 6-1 wins, starting with the No. 26 duo of Anazagasty-Pursoo and freshman Ashton Bowers over Hofbauer and Arangio at No. 1. Grand Canyon began the match with a deuce-point break, however that would turn out to be the only game it would win, as Texas swept the rest of the way with no other games reaching deuce. Anazagasty-Pursoo put the exclamation mark on the win with an ace on match point.
The match point at No. 2 had actually started prior to Anazagasty-Pursoo's ace, but the point extended beyond it, as Kempenaers-Pocz and freshman Salma Drugdova topped Deaifi and Crossman seconds later. With the Lopes serving first, the Longhorns pushed out to a 4-0 lead. GCU grabbed one game on serve for 4-1, but Texas held and broke on a deuce point for the match.
That left the match at No. 3 unfinished where Zeynalova and Herea had a 4-2 lead over del Marco and Mihajlovic. The first two games were breaks with the Longhorns doing so first and the Lopes answering on a deuce point. GCU then held in its next service game, but Texas closed on a 3-0 run before doubles ended.
The Longhorns (17-10) will next face No. 70 Boise State at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center.
#14 Texas 4, GCU 0
Singles – Order of Finish (6,3,1)
1. #45 Sabina Zeynalova (TEX) def. Karina Hofbauer (GCU) 6-2, 6-1
2. #38 Carmen Herea (TEX) vs. Gala Arangio (GCU) 4-6, 3-2, unf.
3. #73 Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Bella Crossman (GCU) 6-2, 6-3
4. #78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEX) vs. Dania Deaifi (GCU) 6-2, 5-3, unf.
5. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz (TEX) vs. Angelina Mihajlovic (GCU) 7-6 (5), 1-0, unf.
6. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) def. Valentina Del Marco (GCU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles – Order of Finish (1,2)
1. #26 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo/Ashton Bowers (TEX) def. Karina Hofbauer/Gala Arangio (GCU) 6-1
2. #73 Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Salma Drugdova (TEX) def. Dania Deaifi/Bella Crossman (GCU) 6-1
3. Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea (TEX) vs. Valentina Del Marco/Angelina Mihajlovic (GCU) 4-2, unf.
Players Mentioned
