Making her return to the doubles courts, Texas senior Anna Turati held nothing back against Oklahoma State’s doubles pair of sophomores Alana Wolfberg and Lenka Stara.
“Forza!” Turati shouts.
Literally translating to “power”, the Italian word, forza has turned into the trademark of Turati’s determined style of play. The duo of Turati and Texas senior Fernanda Labraña displayed plenty of forza as they led a comeback in their doubles match, tying up the score at 4-4.
The match ended in a tied score after the Longhorns’ other two duos won, rendering the completion of the match null and void.
On doubles court No. 1, one of the country’s most impressive doubles teams in Texas freshmen Lulu Sun and Kylie Collins offered Oklahoma State’s No. 34-ranked team of junior Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and sophomore Ayumi Miyamoto little room for error with their aggressive playstyle.
The left and right hand combination of the two Texas freshmen offers the duo unique opportunities at the net that most teams would struggle to use to their advantage.
Rather than allowing their challengers to set the tone of the match, both players this season have attacked the ball and kept the other side on their heels. The familiar duo quickly claimed the match point in a 6-3 win over their highly ranked opponent.
On singles court No. 2, Turati’s display of raw athleticism propelled her to a lead over her No. 105-ranked opponent, sophomore Alana Wolfberg, with a light-speed return off of her back foot. In a rally that seemed as if it would last forever, Turati proved again why she holds the No. 5 singles rank in the country. For her third point of the set, the senior played with obvious tenacity and poise, responding to everything Wolfberg sent her way with deadly precision.
Turati has responded to increased competition all season, head coach Howard Joffe said.
“When you wear Texas on your back, you’re gonna get the best short of every opponent,” Joffe said. “Instead of shying away from that, we need to learn to embrace it.”
After falling 6-0 in the first set to Turati, Wolfberg showed tremendous resolve and fought back into the match. With the second set on the line, Wolfberg and Turati’s game evolved into a battle of wills. Although Wolfberg ultimately secured the second set, Turati responded well and beat Wolfberg 6-0 in the third set, securing the singles point.
Labraña’s experience on the tennis court provided her a valuable advantage over Oklahoma State freshman Daniella Medvedeva in her singles match. The senior refused to back down after one unlucky set and proceeded to dominate throughout the remainder of the next two sets, ultimately securing a singles point for the Longhorns.
Joffe praised Labraña as, “the poster child,” for the program and noted her ability to bounce back after getting substantially beaten in the first set by Medvedeva.
Texas closed the day with a 6-1 win over Oklahoma State and advanced to a perfect 3–0 Big 12 Conference record.
