Women's Tennis preview: No. 4 USC
March 13, 2012
WHAT: No. 9 Texas (7-3) resumes dual-match play this Wednesday when it hosts No. 4 USC (11-2). WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, March 14 - Noon Central - Penick-Allison Tennis Center - Austin, Texas LIVE SCORING: Available at TexasSports.com ITA RANKINGS UPDATE Doubles LAST TIME OUT: Texas defeated No. 16 Michigan by a 4-2 count on Sunday, March 11 in Austin. LONGHORNS CRACK THE ITA TOP-10 WINNING THE HARD WAY Texas opened the season with a 4-3 win over No. 4 North Carolina on a neutral site at the USTA's Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the site of the annual U.S. Open. The Longhorns ventured away from home again the following weekend when they participated in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event. Texas edged No. 23 Alabama by a 4-3 count before toppling 17th-ranked Vanderbilt, the event host, by a 4-1 count.
Two weeks later, Texas added a 4-3 win over No. 15 Clemson at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Charlottesville, Va. On March 2, in just their first home match of the season, the ninth-ranked Longhorns overpowered No. 8 Northwestern from the start and emerged with a 6-1 victory over the Wildcats. Additionally, Texas' only three defeats have come against ITA top-10 foes - No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Virginia and No. 10 Miami - and all at neutral sites. MORE OF THE SAME FROM ELLIS Ellis went on to outlast Northwestern's 20th-ranked Kate Turvy by a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 count last week in the Horns' 6-1 win over the eighth-ranked Wildcats. FIVE STRAIGHT FOR DAMICO YOUTH IS SERVED Freshman Noel Scott boasts 13 overall singles victories in her freshman season, and her two dual-match victories helped the Horns qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. In January, Scott posted a 6-2, 6-4 win over Alabama's 40th-ranked Alexa Guarachi before defeating Vanderbilt's 113th-ranked Lauren Mira, 6-0, 6-2. Padegimaite holds a 6-4 dual-match record, which features a win over Georgia's 80th-ranked Kate Fuller at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. Gaytan-Leach owns three dual-match victories, all of which helped Texas to dual-match wins. She defeated North Carolina's 76th-ranked Caroline Price at fourth singles in UT's 4-3 win over the fourth-ranked Tar Heels. Gaytan-Leach also features wins over Clemson's Romy Koelzer and Northwestern's Linda Abu Mushrefova. Begley is off to a quick start with an 8-1 dual-match record and a 21-6 overall singles record. She has won her last six sets and has lost only three sets in dual-match play. THE 2011-12 LONGHORNS: Texas returns four regular singles starters from the 2010-11 squad that reached the finals of the Big 12 Championship and the round of 32 at the NCAA Championships. The Horns are led by junior Aeriel Ellis, who last season became UT's first ITA All-American since 1999. The Californian has qualified to compete in all eight of the previous national championship events contested during her two-plus seasons as a Longhorn. She reached the round of 16 of the singles draw at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Senior Krista Damico totaled a 21-16 overall singles record last season while playing primarily at No. 2 singles. The Colorado native is off to a solid start in dual-match play with victories over Alabama's 104th-ranked Courtney McLane and Vanderbilt's 110th-ranked Marie Casares. UT returns a talented sophomore class who saw significant time in the dual-match lineup last season. Juliana Gajic totaled a 13-6 dual-match record, primarily at No. 5 singles, and Cierra Gaytan-Leach totaled a 9-3 dual-match record. Elizabeth Begley has won eight of her last nine decisions, including a win over Virginia's 89th-ranked Caryssa Peretz in January. Begley added two wins last month at the ITA National Team Indoors. Freshman Noel Scott defeated two ITA-ranked opponents in the Horns' two victories at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event. Scott defeated Vanderbilt's 69th-ranked Lauren Mira by a 6-0, 6-2 count one day after toppling Alabama's 43rd-ranked Alexa Guarachi, 6-2, 6-4. |
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