Texas women’s tennis has found itself rolling through competition, defeating various Big 12 opponents throughout the last couple of weeks. Currently, Texas stands in second place in the Big 12, trailing only Oklahoma State, which has gone undefeated in conference play.
The reason for Texas’ success comes from its many experienced players taking the court.
Currently, of the six players to take part in singles matches for the team, three are seniors and one is a graduate student. With so many upperclassmen taking the court, next season will see the possible departure of much of the starting lineup. With this in mind, Texas has prepared itself with the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.
The class includes standout recruits such as class of 2024 Maya Joint and Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo, both of whom are rated as Blue Chip players. A Blue Chip rating is the highest rating a player can receive when it comes to tennis recruitment.
“There’s always going to be a little bit of a learning curve, not having been to college and played in college, and yet Maya and Ariana are players that can play near the top or at the top of our lineup out of the gate,” head coach Howard Joffe said. “I expect them all to make a big impact right away.”
Joint hails from Grosse Pointe, Michigan and brings with her the ability to add to an already impressive Texas roster. In her career, Joint has earned herself numerous accolades, including 14 juniors titles, seven singles and seven doubles, and she has been ranked by Tennis Recruiting Network as high as No. 2 in the nation.
“I was looking for an experienced coach and proven program that could help me reach my goal of becoming a top professional player,” Joint said to Texas Athletics.
Anazagasty-Pursoo, who comes from Westbury, New York, has won five junior titles in her career, including two doubles titles she won with her future teammate Joint. Anazagasty-Pursoo is currently ranked third in the nation in her recruiting class and is No. 1 in the Middle Atlantic region.
“I chose Texas because I feel that it is the best place to continue developing my game and to help me achieve my long-term goals,” Anazagasty-Pursoo said to Texas Athletics.
With the future in seemingly good hands for the Longhorns, it is important to understand what led to such a highly anticipated new class of players. The Longhorns have had numerous amounts of success in the past four seasons. The pinnacle of this success came in 2021 and 2022 when the women’s team became back-to-back national champions, the first championships for Texas women’s tennis since 1995. Currently, of the four players still on the team that were present for at least one of those championships, three will be potentially leaving after this season, including Malaika Rapolu and Charlotte Chavatipon, who were part of Texas’ previous No. 1 recruiting class in 2020.
“For the past four years we really (have) led the nation in results, … and it’s the case that our program is definitely one of the top programs in the country and (is) continuing to attract the best talent,” Joffe said.
The Longhorns are currently 9–1 in conference play with an overall 16–4 record and a No. 8 national team ranking. With only three matches until the Big 12 tournament, the team must maintain their trajectory towards success in order to finish their season on top once again.
