The Longhorns continued their early-season success in Fort Worth, Texas, at the ITA Texas Regional this week, as championship play concluded with a battle between Longhorns on Tuesday morning. No. 24 sophomore Bianca Turati defeated No. 39 sophomore Petra Granic in the tournament final, giving the Longhorns their second singles title at the ITA Texas Regional Championships in the past three years.
The competition, played among Texas’ NCAA Division I schools, began last Friday, Oct. 13. Prior to match play, Texas head coach Howard Joffe reminded his team of the tournament’s status as an early indicator for a team’s success in the fall.
“The strength of the tournament will ask questions of every one of our players in terms of skill,” Joffe said. “It’s a tough tournament. Given the events we‘ve played, the results would tell anyone that we’ve had an unbelievably successful start to the fall going into this tournament.”
Day one of the tournament saw five Longhorns advance to the third round of the championships, including Bianca Turati and her twin sister, No. 125 sophomore Anna Turati. Joining the Turatis were freshman Bojana Markovic, junior Katie Poluta and Granic.
Day two of the tournament brought more of the same success for the Longhorns. Four Texas players advanced to the singles round of 16 — freshman Marta Perez-Mur and senior Dani Wagland advanced in the tournament alongside Granic and Anna Turati — and two doubles pairs did the same.
“Marta Perez-Mur and Dani Wagland had the most exciting and well-played doubles matches all week,” Joffe said. “They hung in and fought to win by the smallest margin. And Bojana Markovic and Bianca Turati showed that our doubles is getting stronger all the time.”
The burnt orange went undefeated once again on Saturday, sending a quartet of Longhorns to the championship rounds.
Bianca Turati and Granic competed head-to-head in the singles final, with Turati emerging victorious.
“Bianca and Petra waged a demanding battle,” Joffe said. “These ladies are teammates and roommates, and I cannot be more proud of the way in which the match was played.”
