Laydner’s Late Heroics Sends Tennis to Thrilling 4-3 Victory Over Iowa State

Monday, March 16

Denton, TX

2 PM CT

University of North Texas

Iowa State

Laydner’s Late Heroics Sends Tennis to Thrilling 4-3 Victory Over Iowa State

3/16/2026 9:48:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

UNT wins sixth straight home match, equals the 2025 season win total

DENTON, Texas – Junior Carolina Laydner was the final match remaining on the court with UNT locked in a 3-3 tie for the second time in less than two weeks and the team captain came through once again to send the Mean Green to a 4-3 victory over Iowa State Monday at the Waranch Tennis Complex.

North Texas won the doubles point and got singles victories from Laydner as well as freshmen Pia Petelinsek and Ujin Batsukh to grab its sixth consecutive home win and match the win total from the 2025 season with six regular season matches remaining on the season.

With the win, UNT improves to 12-5 overall while Iowa State drops to 2-10.

"The team was ready and hungry for this match," head coach Amanda Stone said. "Again, we delivered an incredible team performance. We stood out today in toughness and heart. We've really been battled tested this season and we were ready in the big moments. Today we bet on ourselves and the resilience we've been building this season to be the best team at the end. Where there was opportunity today, we capitalized: The doubles point, Pia was on fire, Ujin with the comeback set and finishing in three, and Carolina who was cool, confident and in complete control delivering in the highest-pressure part of match. We left no doubt who was the toughest team."

UNT started the day by winning the doubles point for the fourth consecutive match and for the ninth time in the last 11 matches.

At line two doubles, Marina Adati and Batsukh started things off with a 6-3 victory. It was the duo's first victory in doubles this season.

The point was then sealed by the combination of Laydner and Petelinsek with a 6-4 victory at line three. The captain and the freshman are now 5-1 as a team this season and have won four straight matches.

In singles play after the Cyclones knotted the score at one with a win, Petelinsek gave the Mean Green the lead right back with a strong 6-4, 6-3 victory at line four. She improved to 7-4 on the season and won her second straight matchup to make the score 2-1 in favor of UNT.

ISU then took the lead for the first time in the contest with singles wins at lines two and five to hold a 3-2 edge with two matches to play.

Playing at line six, Batsukh dropped her opening set 6-1 and needed a bounce back in order for the Mean Green to stay in it. She delivered in a big way taking the second and third sets 6-3, 6-2 to clinch the match and tie the score once again at 3-3. Batsukh is now 9-2 at line six this season, a mark that is already tied for the eighth-most at the line in single season history.

Focus then shifted from the final line to the first with Laydner having split her first two sets 7-5, 4-6 to force a winner-take-all third set. In the same scenario earlier this season against UAB, Laydner produced a clutch victory at line one to seal the victory. She did the same thing again against the Cyclones with a dominant 6-1 victory in the final set to clinch a 4-3 win for UNT.

With the win, Laydner is now 10-3 in singles play this season, becoming the first UNT player to reach double-digit wins in 2026.

North Texas will now take its longest in-season break of the year as they will not return to action until March 27 when they take on UTSA at the Waranch Tennis Complex at 11:00 AM.

Doubles Results