Friday, January 20
Austin, TX
12 PM CT
University of North Texas
0
at
4
Texas
Photo by: Zach Del Bello
Women’s Tennis Falls at No. 1 Texas
1/20/2023 2:46:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Morais and Zhou held 1-0 set leads in their matches before match was called
AUSTIN, Texas (Jan. 20, 2023) – Going up against the defending National Champion and preseason No. 1 Texas, the UNT women's tennis team held a 1-0 set lead in a pair of singles matchups but were unable to grab match wins before the Longhorns reached the four-point mark to take home a 4-0 win Friday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center.
Both Matilde Morais and Kexuan Zhou were up one set to none in their respective singles matches at lines two and six, but Texas earned three singles wins before they could finish to drop the Mean Green to 2-1 on the young season.
"I am very proud of the way we competed today," head coach Sujay Lama said. "Everyone put forth a great effort and battled for every single point. There are a lot of positive takeaways from this match. It will certainly motivate us to keep working hard to reach our potential. We can't wait to play our first home match this Sunday."
Playing at line two, Morais matched up against #85 Malaika Rapolu and won the first set 6-4 and found herself on top 3-2 in the second before the team match was finished.
Zhou, meanwhile, won her first set 6-4 as well and was tied 3-3 in the second set when the match was called.
In doubles play, the combination of Jasmine Adams and Morais found themselves in a fight at line one and leading 5-4 serving for match point. The duo was unable to complete the match, however, as the other two doubles matchups went to UT to give the Longhorns the doubles point.
At line three doubles, Olivia Halvorsen and Zhou forced a set break point late in the match, but Grace Thomas and Rapolu were able to grab a 7-5 victory late and seal the doubles win for the Horns.
Texas then would go on to win at line four singles 6-4, 6-1, line one singles 6-0, 6-3 and line three singles 6-1, 6-3 to earn the sweep.
Next Up
UNT returns to action Sunday when they compete at home for the first time in 2023, taking on DePaul at 12:00 p.m. Free pizza and "Lamanade" will be given out to all fans in attendance, while supplies last.
Doubles
No. 1 – Adams/Morais (UNT) vs. Chavatipon/Zeynalova (UT), 5-4 (Unfinished)
No. 2 – Pachkaleva/Kivkin (UT) def. Malm/Alogo (UNT), 6-2
No. 3 – Thomas/Rapolu (UT) def. Halvorsen/Zhou (UNT), 7-5
Singles
No. 1 – Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Jasmine Adams (UNT), 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 – Matilde Morais (UNT) vs. #85 Malaika Rapolu (UT), 6-4, 3-2 (Unfinished)
No. 3 – Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Gloria Alogo Piqueras (UNT), 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 – Taisiya Tachkaleva (UT) def. Olivia Halvorsen (UNT), 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 – Nicole Rivkin (UT) vs. Olivia Malm (UNT), 6-4, 5-2 (Unfinished)
No. 6 – Kexuan Zhou (UNT) vs. Grace Thomas (UT), 6-4, 3-3 (Unfinished)
Both Matilde Morais and Kexuan Zhou were up one set to none in their respective singles matches at lines two and six, but Texas earned three singles wins before they could finish to drop the Mean Green to 2-1 on the young season.
"I am very proud of the way we competed today," head coach Sujay Lama said. "Everyone put forth a great effort and battled for every single point. There are a lot of positive takeaways from this match. It will certainly motivate us to keep working hard to reach our potential. We can't wait to play our first home match this Sunday."
Playing at line two, Morais matched up against #85 Malaika Rapolu and won the first set 6-4 and found herself on top 3-2 in the second before the team match was finished.
Zhou, meanwhile, won her first set 6-4 as well and was tied 3-3 in the second set when the match was called.
In doubles play, the combination of Jasmine Adams and Morais found themselves in a fight at line one and leading 5-4 serving for match point. The duo was unable to complete the match, however, as the other two doubles matchups went to UT to give the Longhorns the doubles point.
At line three doubles, Olivia Halvorsen and Zhou forced a set break point late in the match, but Grace Thomas and Rapolu were able to grab a 7-5 victory late and seal the doubles win for the Horns.
Texas then would go on to win at line four singles 6-4, 6-1, line one singles 6-0, 6-3 and line three singles 6-1, 6-3 to earn the sweep.
Next Up
UNT returns to action Sunday when they compete at home for the first time in 2023, taking on DePaul at 12:00 p.m. Free pizza and "Lamanade" will be given out to all fans in attendance, while supplies last.
Doubles
No. 1 – Adams/Morais (UNT) vs. Chavatipon/Zeynalova (UT), 5-4 (Unfinished)
No. 2 – Pachkaleva/Kivkin (UT) def. Malm/Alogo (UNT), 6-2
No. 3 – Thomas/Rapolu (UT) def. Halvorsen/Zhou (UNT), 7-5
Singles
No. 1 – Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) def. Jasmine Adams (UNT), 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 – Matilde Morais (UNT) vs. #85 Malaika Rapolu (UT), 6-4, 3-2 (Unfinished)
No. 3 – Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Gloria Alogo Piqueras (UNT), 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 – Taisiya Tachkaleva (UT) def. Olivia Halvorsen (UNT), 6-4, 6-1
No. 5 – Nicole Rivkin (UT) vs. Olivia Malm (UNT), 6-4, 5-2 (Unfinished)
No. 6 – Kexuan Zhou (UNT) vs. Grace Thomas (UT), 6-4, 3-3 (Unfinished)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
03
Charlotte Chavatipon / 0 [TEXAS]
66
#2 Singles Match
123
630
Malaika Rapolu / 0 (85/-) [TEXAS]
42UF
#3 Singles Match
12
13
Sabina Zeynalova / 0 [TEXAS]
66
#4 Singles Match
12
41
Taisiya Pachkaleva / 0 [TEXAS]
66
#5 Singles Match
123
420
Nicole Rivkin / 0 [TEXAS]
65UF
#6 Singles Match
123
630
Grace Thomas / 0 [TEXAS]
43UF
Order of Finish:
4,1,3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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