No. 24 Texas’ five-match winning streak came to an abrupt halt Saturday afternoon when No. 42 Baylor upset the Longhorns 4-2 in the regular season finale at the Westwood Country Club.
The Longhorns started off behind, letting the Lady Bears take the doubles point, but tried to make a comeback in singles play.
“It’s always just disappointing to lose a match, and also this one had the quality feel that we might be able to get out of jail and get ahead in the match in the last 20 or 30 minutes,” head coach Howard Joffe said.
Baylor’s Kelley Anderson and Elizabeth Profit took down Texas senior Lana Groenvynck and freshman Katie Poluta 6-3 at third doubles. Baylor’s tandem at second doubles wasn’t far behind, defeating junior Neda Koprcina and freshman Daniella Roldan 6-4. The No. 15 duo of senior Breaunna Addison and sophomore Dani Wagland was suspended at first doubles after Baylor clinched the first two wins.
Baylor followed their doubles win with a sixth singles victory by Profit over Groenvynck 6-2, 6-1, but Koprcina gave the Longhorns hope when she defeated Rhiann Newborn at second singles, making the score 2-1.
That hope wavered a bit when Baylor notched another singles win at fifth position from Theresa Van Zyl taking them to 3-1. Baylor later completed the win when Kiah Generette beat Wagland 6-3.
While the result was a disappointment for Texas, Joffe said he was proud of both of his seniors on their performance this season and their last four years in Austin.
“Certainly with Bree I’ve coached quite a bit, and she would go down as good as any player that’s played tennis in the last 15 years,” Joffe said. “And with Lana, this season has actually helped and she won a couple of meaningful matches for us.”
Despite the loss, the Longhorns finish the regular season with a 6-3 record in conference play, earning them a bye in the Big 12 tournament, which will start on Friday in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Texas, the No. 6 seed, plays No. 3 Texas Tech at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.
