No. 1 TEXAS (5-0) vs. No. 10 USC (5-0)
When: Friday, Feb. 11 (6:30 p.m. CT)
Where: Nielsen Tennis Stadium (Madison, Wis.)
Live Video: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch
Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats
Cracked Racquets Broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrackedRacquets
How We Got Here: Texas posted 4-0 sweeps against Florida Atlantic (Jan. 28) and SMU (Jan. 29) during the ITA Kickoff Weekend Austin Regional Championship. With the two victories, the Longhorns earned their spot to the ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 11-14 in Madison, Wis.
Team Rankings: Texas is No. 1 in the latest ITA Collegiate Division I team national rankings (Feb. 2). This marks the fifth consecutive poll that the Longhorns have held the top spot in the rankings. UT earned the No. 1 spot in last year’s final poll and has been ranked No. 1 in each of the first four weekly polls this season, beginning on Jan. 5. Texas has finished each of the last four years in the Top 10 of the final national polls (No. 6 in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020 and No. 1 in 2021).
Individual Rankings: Two UT players are included in the current ITA national Top 125 singles rankings (Feb. 9): Kylie Collins (No. 26) and Peyton Stearns (No. 42). A pair of Longhorns are also tabbed in the current ITA national Top 60 doubles rankings (Feb. 9): Charlotte Chavatipon and Kylie Collins (No. 11).
Solid Start in Miami: Texas recorded a total of 10 singles and two doubles wins during the three-day Miami Invitational (Jan. 15-17) in Coral Gables, Fla. Sophomores Peyton Stearns and Kylie Collins each finished with perfect 3-0 marks in singles, while sophomores Charlotte Chavatipon and Malaika Rapolu both registered 2-1 records in singles. Collins notched wins over three ranked opponents, defeating No. 25 Abigail Rencheli of NC State (2-6, 6-1, 6-4), No. 96 Marcella Cruz of Vanderbilt (6-3, 6-3) and No. 76 Isabella Pfennig of Miami (3-6, 6-4, 6-4). Stearns earned an impressive 6-4, 6-3 victory against No. 8 Jaeda Daniel of NC State and a 6-4, 6-0 win over No. 112 Anessa Lee of Vanderbilt. Rapolu added a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against No. 119 Holly Staff of Vanderbilt.
Stearns is Sensational: Sophomore Peyton Stearns is off to a solid start in the 2022 dual-match season. She has posted a perfect 7-0 overall mark in singles this year, including a 4-0 record on court 1 in dual-match play. Stearns is ranked No. 42 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (Feb. 9). She also has teamed with Charlotte Chavatipon for a 4-0 overall mark in doubles, including a 3-0 record in dual-match action. Stearns earned ITA singles All-America honors as a freshman in 2021, completing the year with an 18-8 overall singles record including a 13-4 mark in dual-match play at the No. 1 singles spot. She was tabbed No. 13 in the final ITA singles national rankings last season. Stearns was named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2021 NCAA Women’s Team Championship and the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
The Case for Collins: Sophomore Kylie Collins has posted a 15-3 overall singles record this season, including a 3-0 mark on court 2 in dual-match play. She also has paired with Sabina Zeynalova for a 2-1 mark in doubles on court 1 in dual-match action. Collins is ranked No. 26 in the latest ITA national singles rankings (Feb. 9). In the fall, she won the ITA Texas Regional singles title (Oct. 15-18) with three victories against ranked opponents during her run. As a freshman in 2021, Collins earned ITA doubles All-America honors with partner Lulu Sun. The duo became the first pair of ITA All-American in doubles at UT since Cristina Moros and Sandy Sureephong in 1998. Collins and Sun advanced to the finals of the 2021 NCAA Doubles Championship and were No. 5 in the final ITA doubles national rankings. The duo concluded the year at 26-5 overall (22-4 in dual-match play) and became the first UT pair to reach the NCAA Doubles final since Moros and Farley Taylor in 1996.
Charlotte’s Web: Sophomore Charlotte Chavatipon has registered a 7-3 overall singles record, including a 3-1 mark in dual-match play this season. She also has teamed with Peyton Stearns for a 4-0 overall mark in doubles, including a 3-0 record in dual-match action. As a freshman last year, Chavatipon posted a 28-1 overall record in singles, including a 25-1 mark in dual-match play, and earned spots on the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team at both No. 4 singles and No. 3 doubles (with Stearns).
Mighty Malaika: Sophomore Malaika Rapolu has registered a 9-4 overall singles record, including a 2-0 mark in dual-match play this season. As a freshman in 2021, she posted a 26-3 overall record in singles, including a 19-2 mark in dual-match play, and was named the Big 12 individual champion at No. 6 singles with a 6-0 mark on court 6 in league play.
Sabina’s Immediate Impact: Sabina Zeynalova enrolled in classes at Texas in January and has quickly made an impact for the Longhorns. Zeynalova is a perfect 4-0 in dual-match singles play and has paired with Kylie Collins for a 2-1 doubles record on court 1 in dual-match action. Zeynalova clinched the home win against No. 25 Baylor (Feb. 2) with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory on court 4 against No. 77 Alicia Herrero LInana. In that win, Zeynalova faced a 4-2 deficit in the second set but responded by claiming four straight games to win the set. Trailing 1-0 in the third set, she ran off six straight games to close out the victory.
Rooting for Ovrootsky: Vivian Ovrootsky also enrolled in classes at Texas in January and has made a significant contribution early in her collegiate career. Ovrootsky is a perfect 4-0 in dual-match singles action and has a 3-1 mark in doubles play, pairing with multiple partners.
Big 12 Preseason Favorite: Texas is picked to win the Big 12 Conference title in a preseason vote of the league coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Texas was selected as the preseason Big 12 favorite for a fourth-consecutive year and fifth time in the poll’s history. UT was the unanimous favorite among the other head coaches, receiving all nine first-place votes and 81 points in polling for the upcoming 2022 season. Baylor ranked second with 68 points and one first-place vote, while Oklahoma was tabbed third with 66 points. Rounding out the poll in descending order are Oklahoma State (60), Iowa State (48), Texas Tech (39), Kansas (35), TCU (29), Kansas State (24) and West Virginia (9).
Dual-Match Streak: Texas enters Friday’s contest against No. 10 USC sporting a 29-match win streak. Texas closed its 2021 NCAA Championship run by winning its final 24 matches of the year. UT’s last loss came in a 4-3 thriller to then-No. 1 North Carolina in the championship match of the ITA Indoor Championship on Feb. 7, 2021.
Joffe in Year Seven: Head Coach Howard Joffe is in his seventh season leading the UT program. The 2021 ITA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year, Joffe has registered a 120-32 (.789) mark in his previous six years at Texas and a 251-93 (.730) record in 14 previous seasons as a collegiate head coach. He has helped four Longhorns earn a total of five ITA All-America honors in singles (Breaunna Addison in 2016, Bianca Turati in 2018, Anna Turati and Bianca Turati in 2020 and Peyton Stearns in 2021) and one duo earn ITA All-America accolades in doubles (Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun in 2021), while 12 of his UT players have registered a combined 15 All-Big 12 singles and 14 All-Big 12 doubles selections.
https://texassports.com/news/2022/2/10/womens-tennis-no-1-womens-tennis-preview-ita-national-team-indoor-championship.aspx
