The Texas women’s tennis freshmen doubles teams built upon their outstanding record in the Longhorns’ Big 12 Conference opener against West Virginia.
In their first season with the Longhorns, freshman pair Lulu Sun and Kylie Collins have played like a veteran duo, constantly looking to improve their now 8–1 doubles record together. The pair has already steamrolled several top ranked opponents in 2021, including the No. 1 doubles team from UCLA in a hard fought, 6-4 victory.
The daunting duo lived up to the hype in their first doubles match of the day against West Virginia freshman Nadya Maslova and junior Anastasiia Bovolskaia.
Sun and Collins offered their opponents no hope to win on Friday as they blew through the first set, maintaining a commanding lead and quickly securing a doubles point for Texas in a 6-1 domination over their West Virginia doubles opponent.
Sun is picking up right where she left off from her first semester at Texas.
Last fall, Sun teamed up with Valentia Ryser at the International Tennis Federation’s 15k tournaments in Sharm-El Sheikh, Egypt. The pair managed to advance to the finals in two consecutive weeks although were unable to secure the title, finishing in second place.
After solidifying the doubles point for the Longhorns last week in a firm 6-1 victory over then- No. 15 Baylor, freshmen duo Peyton Stearns and Charlotte Chavatipon teamed up for their second match in a row this Friday against West Virginia’s doubles pairing of redshirt senior Hunter Bleser and freshman Amber Fuller.
Minutes after their fellow freshmen’s doubles victory on court one, Stearns and Chavatipon followed suit in a convincing 6-1 victory. This season, the Chavatipon-Stearns pair boasts a noteworthy 6–1 doubles record, and neither seems to be slowing down.
Both freshmen duos came ready to play on Friday, securing the overall doubles victory for the Longhorns in rapid fashion.
After their quick and merciless wins in the doubles matches, Chavatipon and Collins continued their victorious campaigns on the singles courts.
Chavatipon dominated in her first set, notching a perfect 6-0 win over West Virginia freshman Momoko Nagato. Opening her second set with the same commanding demeanor, Chavatipon controlled court two and sent Nagato scrambling across the court, eventually clinching a second perfect set with a win. Despite the constant advantage she held over her opponent, Chavatipon refused to let up and sustained her aggression until the match was hers.
As if one quick victory for the day wasn’t enough, Collins settled her singles match on court three in a speedy triumph over her previous doubles adversary, Maslova. The freshman exerted her will on the match, capitalizing on any mistake made by Maslova and snagging a seemingly easy 6-1 win in both sets.
With their swift victories on the doubles courts, the Chavatipon-Stearns and Sun-Collins duos helped tack another win on the Longhorns record and boosted head coach Howard Joffe to 95 total wins with the Longhorns.
