Sunday, February 4
Denton, TX
10 AM CT
University of North Texas
4
vs
3
Houston
Women’s Tennis Defeats Houston, Earns First Win Over Big 12 Program Since 2016
2/4/2024 6:38:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Win streak extended to four straight matches
DENTON, Texas – The UNT women's tennis program did something it hasn't done since 2016 Sunday, knocking off Houston 4-3 to earn its first win over a Big 12 Conference opponent in nearly eight years.
The Mean Green were not done there, however, as they swept Collin College 4-0 in the second match of the day to extend the win streak to four straight.
Against Houston, UNT swept through the doubles point and got wins from Carolina Laydner, Lilly Schultz and Stadfany Nformi in singles play to grab the win.
"This was a great team effort today and a big milestone win for the program in beating a Big 12 team," head coach Amanda Stone said about the win over the Cougars. "We made some adjustments this week and really narrowed the focus on what is important for our team to be successful, and those things played a big part in the result today. We set the tone early with doubles. Houston gave us a battle, but we were able to play tough and finish. We were locked in and fighting on all courts from start to finish."
The win over Houston were UNT's first against a Big 12 school since Feb. 14, 2016, when the Mean Green knocked off No. 36 Oklahoma 4-1.
UNT started the day by winning all three doubles matches, starting with Stanislava Shulzhenko and Marina Adati opening things up with a dominant 6-2 win at line three.
Shortly after, Lou Chalard and Lilly Schultz clinched the doubles point for the Mean Green with a 6-4 victory at line two.
With their perfect record on the line at line one, Olivia Halvorsen and Nformi then earned a hard-fought 7-6 (10-8) win to sweep.
In singles play, Lilly Schultz was dominant for the second consecutive match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at line six.
After Houston grabbed a win at line three to make the score 2-1, Carolina Laydner put the Mean Green one point away from clinching the match with a strong 6-4, 6-1 win at line four.
The Cougars were able to win the next two singles contests to tie the match at 3-3 and make the line two contest winner-take-all.
Stadfany Nformi, who has yet to drop a match thus far this season, fell behind one set to none and was trailing 3-2 in the second set. The sophomore from Cameroon rallied, however, winning the second and third sets to win the matchup 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The win for the Mean Green was also the first over Houston since April 10, 2016.
Against Collin College, the same doubles combinations for UNT were able to pick up the doubles point as Halvorsen and Nformi won 6-2 at line one while Chalard and Schultz won 6-0 at line two.
In singles play, Halvorsen was the first player to clinch a point for the Mean Green with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at line three.
Chalard and Laydner, playing on lines two and four, respectively, also both picked up 6-1, 6-0 wins to clinch the 4-0 sweep.
The four-match win streak matches FAU and UTSA for the longest win streak in The American.
UNT returns to action Saturday when they travel to Tampa, Florida, to take on FAU at 11:00 AM CT followed by a contest against USF Sunday at 10:00 AM.
The Mean Green were not done there, however, as they swept Collin College 4-0 in the second match of the day to extend the win streak to four straight.
Against Houston, UNT swept through the doubles point and got wins from Carolina Laydner, Lilly Schultz and Stadfany Nformi in singles play to grab the win.
"This was a great team effort today and a big milestone win for the program in beating a Big 12 team," head coach Amanda Stone said about the win over the Cougars. "We made some adjustments this week and really narrowed the focus on what is important for our team to be successful, and those things played a big part in the result today. We set the tone early with doubles. Houston gave us a battle, but we were able to play tough and finish. We were locked in and fighting on all courts from start to finish."
The win over Houston were UNT's first against a Big 12 school since Feb. 14, 2016, when the Mean Green knocked off No. 36 Oklahoma 4-1.
UNT started the day by winning all three doubles matches, starting with Stanislava Shulzhenko and Marina Adati opening things up with a dominant 6-2 win at line three.
Shortly after, Lou Chalard and Lilly Schultz clinched the doubles point for the Mean Green with a 6-4 victory at line two.
With their perfect record on the line at line one, Olivia Halvorsen and Nformi then earned a hard-fought 7-6 (10-8) win to sweep.
In singles play, Lilly Schultz was dominant for the second consecutive match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory at line six.
After Houston grabbed a win at line three to make the score 2-1, Carolina Laydner put the Mean Green one point away from clinching the match with a strong 6-4, 6-1 win at line four.
The Cougars were able to win the next two singles contests to tie the match at 3-3 and make the line two contest winner-take-all.
Stadfany Nformi, who has yet to drop a match thus far this season, fell behind one set to none and was trailing 3-2 in the second set. The sophomore from Cameroon rallied, however, winning the second and third sets to win the matchup 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The win for the Mean Green was also the first over Houston since April 10, 2016.
Against Collin College, the same doubles combinations for UNT were able to pick up the doubles point as Halvorsen and Nformi won 6-2 at line one while Chalard and Schultz won 6-0 at line two.
In singles play, Halvorsen was the first player to clinch a point for the Mean Green with a 6-1, 6-0 victory at line three.
Chalard and Laydner, playing on lines two and four, respectively, also both picked up 6-1, 6-0 wins to clinch the 4-0 sweep.
The four-match win streak matches FAU and UTSA for the longest win streak in The American.
UNT returns to action Saturday when they travel to Tampa, Florida, to take on FAU at 11:00 AM CT followed by a contest against USF Sunday at 10:00 AM.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Laura Slisane / 0 [HOU]
76
51
#2 Singles Match
123
Maria Dzemeshkevich / 0 [HOU]
632
266
#3 Singles Match
12
Sophie Schouten / 0 [HOU]
66
13
#4 Singles Match
12
Sonya Kovalenko / 0 [HOU]
41
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Nina Skoric / 0 [HOU]
466
613
#6 Singles Match
12
B. Cortijo Parreno / 0 [HOU]
23
66
Order of Finish:
3,6,1,4,5,2
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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