Texas women’s tennis traveled to Fort Worth on Friday to take on in-state rival TCU in the second to last regular season game of the year. Decisively once again, Texas emerged from the match victorious, defeating the Horned Frogs 4-1.
Texas improves their latest win streak to six victories since their last loss to No. 1 overall Oklahoma State on March 22. Four of those six victories came against ranked opponents, albeit low-ranked opponents, with none piercing the top 20. This last match is just the latest entry into a storyline of dominance within the Big 12 for the Longhorns this season.
Stepping up in the match was freshman Shachf Lieberman. Lieberman’s win over junior opponent Helena Narmont sealed the match for the Longhorns and the Horned Frogs’ loss. Lieberman defeated her opponent in two sets, sweeping Narmont in the first 6-0 and narrowly clinching the match in the second, 6-4.
Also winning in Friday’s match were seniors Malaika Rapolu and Charlotte Chavatipon. Rapolu and Chavatipon have been integral parts of the team since joining as some of the major players from Texas’ number one recruiting class four years ago. Now in their senior year, the pair continue to dominate the court individually.
The only loss of the match came in singles play when TCU’s freshman Raquel Caballero defeated sophomore Vivian Ovrootsky. Ovrootsky lost both sets to Caballero, falling against her opponent 6-3, 6-4. The Longhorns took the doubles point when pair Chavatipon and Ovrootsky, and Rapolu and graduate student Tanya Sasnouskaya defeated their respective opponents on courts one and two.
TCU came into Friday’s match 12-6 overall, with a 7-4 conference record. Before its loss to the Longhorns, TCU had only dropped one other home match this season. The Horned Frogs defeated Baylor in their previous match, a team that Texas will travel to for their final game of the season before tournament play begins.
With Friday’s win, the Longhorns clinched the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 tournament and a first-round bye. Currently, the Longhorns hold the second-best record in the Big 12 at 11-1 and stand at No. 8 in the national rankings. Apart from their loss against Oklahoma State, Big 12 competition has proved futile in the face of the Longhorns’ determinant run for another national championship. The team’s closest victory came against Oklahoma when Big 12 play began, narrowly defeating the Red River rival 4-3.
The Longhorns now look to finish regular season play this Sunday against another Texas opponent, Baylor. With the Big 12 tournament days away, Texas now must continue the dominance they have demonstrated throughout the season.
