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Mississippi State
No. 14 Women’s Tennis downs No. 33 Mississippi State, 4-1
03.07.2026 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns swept singles against the Bulldogs to win their fourth-straight match.
Austin – No. 14 Texas Women's Tennis downed No. 33 Mississippi State, 4-1, on Saturday in match that was moved indoors to the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. The Longhorns swept singles against the Bulldogs to win their fourth-straight match.
Mississippi State secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, however Texas answered with singles victories by sophomore No. 1 Carmen Herea at No. 1, and freshmen Christasha McNeil at No. 4, No. 16 Anstasia Abbagnato at No. 2, and Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 5 to clinch. Sophomore No. 81 Eszter Meri was also in a second-set tiebreaker in an attempt to win her match at No. 3 when play stopped.
After doubles, despite going to three sets, Herea was first off the singles court with a win over Gianna Oboniye, 6-2, 2-6, 6-1, at No. 1. Christasha McNeil then gave the Longhorns the lead for good with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Chiara Di Genova at No. 4.
Abbagnato extended the lead to 3-1 with a 7-6 (7), 6-1 win over former Longhorn Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz at No. 2. Meanwhile, Ionescu provided the clinch with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Carolina Troiano at No. 5.
That left two matches unfinished, including Meri, who led Thessy Ntondele Zinga, 6-0, 6-6 (3-3), at No. 3, and freshman Mathilde Ngijol-Carré, who also played a second-set tiebreaker that she won to force a third set and lead against Athina Pitta, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0, at No. 6.
Earlier in doubles, the No. 50 duo of Ionescu and McNeil fell to Pitta and Oboniye, 6-4, at No. 2. Moments later, Abbagnato and Ngijol-Carré were downed by No. 71 Kempenaers-Pocz and Di Genova, 6-3, at No. 1. Herea and sophomore Salma Drugdova were then even, 4-4, with Emma Cohen and Ntondele Zinga at No. 1 when play halted.
The Longhorns will next host No. 11 South Carolina at the Texas Tennis Center on Thursday, March 12, at 2 p.m. CT.
#14 Texas 4, #33 Mississippi State 1
Singles – Order of Finish (1,4,2,5)
1. #1 Carmen Herea (TEX) def. Gianna Oboniye (MSST) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
2. #16 Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz (MSST) 7-6 (7), 6-1
3. #81 Eszter Meri (TEX) vs. Thessy Ntondele Zinga (MSST) 6-0, 6-6 (3-3), unf.
4. Christasha McNeil (TEX) def. Chiara Di Genova (MSST) 6-4, 6-3
5. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) def. Carolina Troiano (MSST) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
6. Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) vs. Athina Pitta (MSST) 3-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (2,1)
1. #71 Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Chiara Di Genova (MSST) def. Anastasia Abbagnato/Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) 6-3
2. Athina Pitta/Gianna Oboniye (MSST) def. #50 Elizabeth Ionescu/Christasha McNeil (TEX) 6-4
3. Carmen Herea/Salma Drugdova (TEX) vs. Emma Cohen/Thessy Ntondele Zinga (MSST) 4-4, unf.
Individual Match Key Moments
(by order of finish)
Doubles No. 2: Pitta/Oboniye (MSST) def. Ionescu/Christasha McNeil (TEX) 6-4
Match: Texas broke first for a 2-1 lead, but Mississippi State got the break back on a deuce point for 3-3. The Bulldogs then broke again for the match.
Doubles No. 1: Kempenaers-Pocz/Di Genova (MSST) def. Abbagnato/Ngijol-Carre (TEX) 6-3
Match: Mississippi State held on a deuce point in the opening game to start a 4-0 run. Texas rallied to within 5-3 and had a break chance at deuce to get back on serve but the Bulldogs held for the match.
Doubles No. 3: Herea/Drugdova (TEX) vs. Cohen/Ntondele Zinga (MSST) 4-4, unf.
Match: The teams exchanged deuce-point breaks to start until Texas held at deuce for 2-1. The Longhorns broke again for 4-2, but the Bulldogs broke back with the match at 4-4 when play stopped.
Singles No. 1: Herea (TEX) def. Oboniye (MSST) 6-2, 2-6, 6-1
Set One: Oboniye broke first on a deuce point for a 2-1 lead, but Herea ran off five-straight games for the set with only one deuce point for 4-2.
Set Two: Oboniye broke in the first game and for 4-1. Herea broke back for 4-2 but Oboniye won consecutive deuce points for the set.
Set Three: Herea held at deuce and broke for 2-0, and although Oboniye broke back on a deuce point, Herea took it from there with a 4-0 run, including deuce points for 4-1 and 5-1.
Singles No. 4: McNeil (TEX) def. Di Genova (MSST) 6-4, 6-3
Set One: McNeil broke first for 4-2, and although Di Genova won consecutive deuce points to even it, McNeil held and broke for the set.
Set Two: Di Genova broke at deuce and held for 2-0, but McNeil went on a 4-0 run capped by a deuce-point break. Di Genova broke back, but McNeil broke again and served out the match.
Singles No. 2: Abbagnato (TEX) def. Kempenaers-Pocz (MSST) 7-6 (7), 6-1
Set One: Despite deuce-point holds for Kemenaers-Pocz for a 3-2 lead and for Abbagnato for 6-6, the first set stayed on serve all the way to a tiebreaker.
Set One Tiebreaker: Neither player held more than a one-point lead in a back and forth frame until Abbagnato won two straight for a 9-7 win.
Set Two: Abbagnato opened on a 5-0 run with only one deuce point for 3-0 before winning 6-1.
Singles No. 5: Ionescu (TEX) def. Troiano (MSST) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Set One: Troiano broke to begin the match, but Ionescu went on a 5-0 run capped by deuce-point break. Troiano got back within 5-4 on a deuce-point break, but Ionescu held at deuce for the set.
Set Two: Troiano again broke in the first game and then in the last game at deuce after having also just held at deuce.
Set Three: The first six games were on serve but Ionescu closed on a 4-0 run to win.
Singles No. 3: Meri (TEX) vs. Ntondele Zinga (MSST) 6-0, 6-6 (3-3), unf.
Set One: Meri won three deuce points for 1-0, 3-0 and 4-0 in sweeping the first set.
Set Two: After the players each held to start, the rest of the set was all breaks to a tiebreaker with each player winning two deuce points.
Set Two Tiebreaker: The tiebreaker was 3-3 when play stopped.
Singles No. 6: Ngijol-Carré (TEX) vs. Pitta (MSST) 3-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0, unf.
Set One: Pitta broke and held at deuce for 2-0 and then broke again at deuce for 5-2. Ngijol-Carré broke back at deuce, but Pitta broke again for the set.
Set Two: Ngijol-Carré broke first for 2-1 but Pitta got the break back for 5-5 on the way to a tiebreaker.
Set Two Tiebreaker: Pitta had leads of 5-3 and 6-4, but Ngijol-Carré deflected two match points to start a 4-0 run to win.
Players Mentioned
