The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Alabama
No. 8 Women’s Tennis advances to SEC Championship quarterfinals
04.16.2026 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns swept 12 seed No. 55 Alabama, 4-0, in the second round and will next face 4 seed No. 1 Georgia on Friday.
Norman, Okla. – No. 8 Texas Women's Tennis advanced to the SEC Championship quarterfinals with a 4-0 sweep of 12 seed No. 55 Alabama on Thursday at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. The fifth-seeded Longhorns will next face 4 seed No. 1 Georgia on Friday at 6 p.m. CT.
Texas secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 3 and 1 around a win by Alabama at No. 2. The Longhorns then followed with singles victories by sophomores No. 3 Carmen Herea at No. 1, and No. 50 Eszter Meri at No. 3, and freshman No. 6 Anastasia Abbagnato at No. 2 for the clinch.
Texas was without freshman Christasha McNeil due to injury, which shifted the doubles lineup, but sophomore Salma Drugdova paired with Meri, and the duo was first off the court with a 6-3 win over Addison Bowman and Mary Sidelnyk at No. 3. Herea and freshman Mathilde Ngijol-Carré then moved up to No. 2 but came up short in back-and-forth match, 6-4, to Maria Andienko and Amina Salibayeva. That left it to No. 1, where Abbagnato and freshman Elizabeth Ionescu partnered for a 7-5 victory over Karla Bartel and Klara Milicevic to clinch the points.
Herea was then quickly the first off the singles court with a 6-1, 6-1 top-80 victory over No. 78 Milicevic at No. 1. Meri was also efficient in her win, 6-1, 6-0, over Bartel at No. 3 to extend the lead to 3-0, and Abbagnato made it a trio of decisive victories with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Andienko at No. 2 for the clinch.
Three matches remained unfinished with Ngijol-Carré and freshman Kate Mansfield both holding a set lead in their contests. Ngijol-Carré led Salibayeva, 6-2, 3-2, at No. 5, while Mansfield was up, 6-2, 1-5, against Sidelnyk at No. 6. The only set of the night for Alabama was won at No. 4 where Ionescu had a deuce point to break and go to a tiebreaker, but Bowman managed to hold and had a 7-5, 1-0 lead when play stopped.
#8 Texas 4, #55 Alabama 0
Singles – Order of Finish (1,3,2)
1. #3 Carmen Herea (TEX) def. #78 Klara Milicevic (ALA) 6-1, 6-1
2. #6 Anastasia Abbagnato (TEX) def. Maria Andienko (ALA) 6-3, 6-1
3. #50 Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Karla Bartel (ALA) 6-1, 6-0
4. Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) vs. Addison Bowman (ALA) 5-7, 0-1, unf.
5. Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) vs. Amina Salibayeva (ALA) 6-2, 3-2, unf.
6. Kate Mansfield (TEX) vs. Mary Sidelnyk (ALA) 6-2, 1-5, unf.
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,2,1)
1. Anastasia Abbagnato/Elizabeth Ionescu (TEX) def. Karla Bartel/Klara Milicevic (ALA) 7-5
2. Maria Andienko/Amina Salibayeva (ALA) def. Carmen Herea/Mathilde Ngijol-Carré (TEX) 6-4
3. Salma Drugdova/Eszter Meri (TEX) def. Addison Bowman/Mary Sidelnyk (ALA) 6-3
Individual Match Key Moments
(by order of finish)
Doubles No. 3: Drugdova/Meri (TEX) def. Bowman/Mary Sidelnyk (ALA) 6-3
Match: Texas earned the only break for 4-2 and had a match point at deuce up 5-2, but Alabama held and the Longhorns served out in the next game.
Doubles No. 2: Andienko/Salibayeva (ALA) def. Herea/Ngijol-Carré (TEX) 6-4
Match: Alabama started on a 3-0 run with two breaks, including the last two games at deuce. Texas went on a 4-0 run for the lead capped by a deuce-point hold, but the Crimson Tide broke again for a 5-4 lead and served out the match.
Doubles No. 1: Abbagnato/Ionescu (TEX) def. Bartel/Milicevic (ALA) 7-5
Match: Texas held at deuce to start with a 3-0 run. Alabama held at deuce and broke for 3-2, and although the Longhorns broke again, the Crimson Tide won consecutive deuce points for 4-4. Texas later broke for 7-5 and the match.
Singles No. 1: Herea (TEX) def. Milicevic (ALA) 6-1, 6-1
Set One: Herea held at deuce to start, and after Milicevic also held, Herea swept the rest of the set.
Set Two: Herea opened with consecutive deuce points and a 4-0 run, completing an overall 9-0 run. Milicevic held in the next game, but two games later, Herea broke at deuce for the match.
Singles No. 3: Meri (TEX) def. Bartel (ALA) 6-1, 6-0
Set One: Meri began on a 5-0 run, holding at deuce for 3-0. She allowed only a deuce-point hold in the set for 5-1.
Set Two: Meri swept the second set with deuce-point holds for 1-0 and 3-0.
Singles No. 2: Abbagnato (TEX) def. Andienko (ALA) 6-3, 6-1
Set One: Andienko borke at deuce in the first game, but Abbagnato broke back to start a 3-0 run. Andienko broke and then held at deuce for 3-3, but Abbagnato finished 3-0.
Set Two: Abbagnato broke and then held at deuce for 2-0, and after Andienko held at deuce for 2-1, Abbagnato closed on a 4-0 run.
Singles No. 4: Ionescu (TEX) vs. Bowman (ALA) 5-7, 0-1, unf.
Set One: After three-straight breaks, Bowan held for a 4-2 lead. Ionescu won consecutive deuce points for 4-4, but the players exchanged three-straight breaks for a 6-5 lead for Bowman. Ionescu had a break chance at deuce in the next game, but Bowman held for the set.
Set Two: Bowman won the hold game on a deuce-point break.
Singles No. 5: Ngijol-Carré (TEX) vs. Salibayeva (ALA) 6-2, 3-2, unf.
Set One: Ngijol-Carré broke first for 2-0, and after Salibayeva broke back at deuce and held for 2-2, Ngijol-Carré went on a 4-0 run with deuce-points for a break for 4-2 and hold for 5-2.
Set Two: Salibayeva broke to start, but Ngijol-Carré broke back. The last three games were on serve with the final two won at deuce.
Singles No. 6: Mansfield (TEX) vs. Sidelnyk (ALA) 6-2, 1-5, unf.
Set One: Mansfield broke for 1-0, and after Sidelnyk held at deuce for 2-1, Mansfield broke again for 4-1. Sidelnyk broke back, but so did the Longhorns.
Set Two: Sidelnyk started 2-0 and ended on a 3-0 run.
Players Mentioned
