Sunday, January 17
Austin, TX
2 PM
University of North Texas
0
at
7
Texas
Tennis Drops Season Opener At No. 3 Texas
1/17/2021 5:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
AUSTIN — The North Texas tennis team dropped its 2021 season-opening dual match at No. 3 Texas on Sunday, 7-0.
Three of six Mean Green singles players (Lucie Devier, Maria Ponomareva and Saki Oyama) took their Longhorn opponents to a third-set but were unable to pull out the victories at the end and earn points for UNT (0-1).
"I could not be more proud of the fight and resilience our ladies showed today against a great team, said head coach Sujay Lama. "We played within ourselves and our belief never faltered at any moment in the match."
Texas' No. 3 national ranking makes them the highest ranked opponent UNT has faced under head coach Sujay Lama who has been at the helm of the Mean Green since 2006. On Sunday, North Texas faced four Longhorn singles players who are ranked in the top 125 in the nation including No. 5 Anna Turati. However for UNT junior Devier, she didn't back down. The Mean Green newcomer took her nationally ranked opponent to three sets after she courageously opened the match in the first set with a 6-4 victory and had her opponent on her heels.
Devier's energy carried into the third set where she started strong but lost steam late as she dropped the set 6-2 and the match, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Fellow UNT newcomer Oyama had the best opportunity to pick up a point for the Mean Green on Sunday.
The freshman went the distance against her Longhorn (1-0) opponent and was wire-to-wire in the third set before Fernanda Labrana of Texas broke through late and won the third set 7-5 and seal the 7-0 victory.
Second-year North Texas player Maria Ponomareva who has been sidelined recenly overcame a lot in her first match of the year and was resilient in the second set. After dropping the first set 6-1, Ponomareva came out fierce in the second set to win the middle set 6-4. She however would come up short in the third and lose 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
"What an incredible debut for Saki who was up 5-3 in the third set. She showed a lot of heart and tenacity, Lama said. "Maria put in an incredible fight considering she only got in a week of practice and missed preseason training. Up 4-3, 40-15 in the third-set she put her self in a position to win the match. We certainly gained a lot of confidence from this match. We have a lot to build on and can't wait to be back to work on Tuesday."
UNT will be back in action on Jan. 26 when they travel to TCU. The match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Stay tuned for updates.
RESULTS
SINGLES
DOUBLES
Three of six Mean Green singles players (Lucie Devier, Maria Ponomareva and Saki Oyama) took their Longhorn opponents to a third-set but were unable to pull out the victories at the end and earn points for UNT (0-1).
"I could not be more proud of the fight and resilience our ladies showed today against a great team, said head coach Sujay Lama. "We played within ourselves and our belief never faltered at any moment in the match."
Texas' No. 3 national ranking makes them the highest ranked opponent UNT has faced under head coach Sujay Lama who has been at the helm of the Mean Green since 2006. On Sunday, North Texas faced four Longhorn singles players who are ranked in the top 125 in the nation including No. 5 Anna Turati. However for UNT junior Devier, she didn't back down. The Mean Green newcomer took her nationally ranked opponent to three sets after she courageously opened the match in the first set with a 6-4 victory and had her opponent on her heels.
Devier's energy carried into the third set where she started strong but lost steam late as she dropped the set 6-2 and the match, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
Fellow UNT newcomer Oyama had the best opportunity to pick up a point for the Mean Green on Sunday.
The freshman went the distance against her Longhorn (1-0) opponent and was wire-to-wire in the third set before Fernanda Labrana of Texas broke through late and won the third set 7-5 and seal the 7-0 victory.
Second-year North Texas player Maria Ponomareva who has been sidelined recenly overcame a lot in her first match of the year and was resilient in the second set. After dropping the first set 6-1, Ponomareva came out fierce in the second set to win the middle set 6-4. She however would come up short in the third and lose 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
"What an incredible debut for Saki who was up 5-3 in the third set. She showed a lot of heart and tenacity, Lama said. "Maria put in an incredible fight considering she only got in a week of practice and missed preseason training. Up 4-3, 40-15 in the third-set she put her self in a position to win the match. We certainly gained a lot of confidence from this match. We have a lot to build on and can't wait to be back to work on Tuesday."
UNT will be back in action on Jan. 26 when they travel to TCU. The match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Stay tuned for updates.
RESULTS
SINGLES
- No. 66 Stearns (Texas) def. Surapaneni (UNT); 6-2, 6-3
- No. 94 Sun (Texas) def. Devier (UNT); 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
- No. 5 Turati (Texas) def. Hummel (UNT); 6-0, 6-0
- No. 125 Chavatipon (Texas) def. Zhou (UNT); 6-1, 6-3
- Collins (Texas) def. Ponomareva (UNT); 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
- Labrana (Texas) def. Oyama (UNT); 7-6, 6-2, 7-5
DOUBLES
- Collins/Sun (Texas) def. Devier/Surapaneni (UNT); 5-3
- No. 48 Labrana/ Turati (Texas) def. Hummel/Oyama (UNT); 6-1
- Sterns/ Chavatipon (Texas) def. Zhou/ Ponomareva (UNT); 6-2
Players Mentioned
Eric Morris Weekly Press Conference vs. South Florida | Mean Green FB
Tuesday, October 07
Glory To The Green: Recap vs South Alabama | Mean Green FB
Monday, September 29
Broadcast Highlights vs South Alabama | Mean Green Football
Sunday, September 28
Postgame Press Conference | UNT vs. South Alabama
Saturday, September 27