Following a Round 16 exit of the NCAA national championship tournament, the Texas women’s tennis team, ranked No.11 at the end of the season, looks to bounce back as they join the Southeastern Conference.
After winning back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022, the Longhorns experienced a loss in quantity of players and quality of play the last two seasons. The rebuilding of the team was mainly due to the exits of powerhouses and leading figures such as Peyton Stearns and Lulu Sun.
After two rebuilding seasons, the pressure is on for head coach Howard Joffe to get Texas back into a national title contending team. The SEC is arguably the strongest women’s tennis conference.
At the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship tournament, 10 SEC programs made appearances. The final match was between Georgia and Texas A&M, with the Aggies winning the title. The conference also has heavy-hitters in the singles division, with half of the quarter finalists coming from SEC programs.
Consistency during conference play is key if Texas wants a favorable ranking and momentum heading into conference and national championship tournaments. The Big 12 was not as competitive, as the Longhorns suffered their only conference losses to Oklahoma State. Now, the back-to-back matches throughout conference play will be against teams who could contend for a national title.
The Longhorns have lost four athletes, including their strongest player: ITA All-American Malaika Rapolu. Rapolu, who finished No. 17 in the national rankings, was a key contributor in Texas winning its most recent two national championships. Throughout her senior year, she boasted a singles record of 36–7, the fifth-most wins in NCAA this season. Rapolu was a singles specialist, but stepped up to the No. 1 slot of the team when junior Sabina Zeynalova was out with injury for most of the second half of the season.
Despite a loss in star players, the Longhorns have a number of highly experienced incoming athletes who were successful in junior international tours and currently play in the WTA Tour. The group of signees include incoming freshman Carmen Herea. Herea, who hails from Romania, had a junior career-high ranking at No. 82. With Grand Slam experience in the junior tour, she competed at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. She is now ranked No. 696 in singles on the WTA Tour, reaching two professional finals.
This year’s recruiting class also includes incoming freshman Maya Joint. The Australian player was one of the top juniors in the world, holding a career-high ITF juniors ranking of No. 20. Now, she holds a WTA ranking of No. 159. Like Herea, Joint also has Grand Slam experience, but on the WTA level, competing in the qualifiers at this year’s Wimbledon and Australian Open.
Although Texas’ full schedule for the 2024-2025 season has yet to be announced, the Longhorns are set to be one of the hosts of the ITA Kickoff Weekend in January. The event is used to decide which teams will advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Longhorns’ performance there will set the tone for the season as the team heads into conference play in a brand-new conference.
