No. 18 Women’s Tennis preview: vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (ITA Indoors Round of 16)<\/p>\n
No. 18 (7 seed Champaign) Texas vs. No. 6 (2 seed Champaign) Oklahoma Tournament Central<\/a><\/p>\n -Tournament Schedule<\/p>\n Friday, February 6 (Round of 16)<\/p>\n Illinois site Northwestern site Saturday, February 7 (Quarterfinals and Consolation) Notes<\/p>\n -Nine-straight trips to the ITA National Indoor Championships -Oklahoma Series: Texas leads, 46-3 Last Meeting<\/p>\n #11 Texas 4, #12 Oklahoma 3 Doubles \u2013 Order of Finish (1,3) -ITA Team Rankings -ITA Individual National Rankings<\/p>\n Texas<\/p>\n Singles\u00a0 Doubles Oklahoma<\/p>\n Singles\u00a0 Doubles -Ionescu named SEC Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Week -Sweep of Big Ten road trip -First win in first visit to Iowa City -Joffe in Year 11 The 2021 ITA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year, Joffe has registered a 208-58 (.782) mark in his time at Texas. During his 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has tallied a 339-119 (.740) dual-match record. Peyton Stearns claimed the Honda Sport Award for Tennis and the ITA National Player of the Year in 2022. Joffe has helped six Longhorns earn a total of eight ITA All-America honors in singles (Breaunna Addison in 2016, Bianca Turati in 2018, Anna Turati and Bianca Turati in 2020, Stearns in both 2021 and 2022, Kylie Collins in 2022, and Malaika Rapolu<\/a> in 2024) and two duos earn ITA All-America accolades in doubles (Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun in 2021 and Stearns and Allura Zamarripa in 2022). Stearns became the first player in program history to win the NCAA Singles Championship in 2022, while Collins and Sun reached the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championship in 2021. In addition, 19 players have registered a combined 26 All-Big 12 singles and 22 All-Big 12 doubles selections in Joffe’s tenure in Austin.<\/p>\n -Back from 2025 -Five newcomers arrive for their first dual match season on the 40 -Summer\/Fall Wrap-up
\nTeam Records:\u00a0Texas (2-1, 0-0 SEC), Oklahoma (7-0, 0-0 SEC)
\nWhen:\u00a0Friday, Feb. 6, 2025, 12 p.m. CT
\nWhere:\u00a0Atkins Tennis Center, Champaign, Ill.
\nLive Stats:\u00a0https:\/\/hookem.at\/WTN-Stats<\/a>
\nLive Video:\u00a0https:\/\/hookem.at\/WTN-Watch<\/a>
\nWeb Broadcast:\u00a0Cracked Racquets (YouTube)<\/a><\/p>\n
\n[3] Texas A&M vs. [6] Vanderbilt – 9 a.m.
\n[2] Oklahoma vs. [7] Texas – 12 p.m.
\n[1] North Carolina vs. [8] Illinois – 3:30 p.m.
\n[4] Duke vs. [5] Ohio State – 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
\n[3] LSU vs. [6] Tennessee – 9 a.m.
\n[2] Georgia vs. [7] Virginia – 12 p.m.
\n[1] Auburn vs. [8] Northwestern – 3:30 p.m.
\n[4] Oklahoma State vs. [5] NC State – 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
\nSunday, February 8 (Consolation)
\nMonday, February 9 (Semifinals at Northwestern)
\nTuesday, February 10 (Finals at Northwestern)<\/p>\n
\nIn advancing out of the 2026 ITA Kickoff Weekend Texas Regional, the Longhorns advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the ninth-straight year. Texas has reached the quarterfinals in six of those trips, including the last four (2019, 2021-25), while advancing all the way to the final in 2021 when they were edged by then No. 1 North Carolina, 4-3, in what would be the only loss of the season on the way to winning the first of back-to-back NCAA National Championships. That was UT’s second all-time appearance in the final, along with 2006 against Stanford. The Longhorns have also won two matches in five of the last six tournaments, including consolation matches in 2020, 2022 and 2023 (2021 began in the quarters). Last season, after a Round of 16 win over No. 3 Oklahoma State, Texas fell to No. 2 Texas A&M in the quarters and then No. 7 Michigan in a consolation match.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nTexas leads the all-time series with Oklahoma, 46-3, dating back to 1978. The Longhorns have won the last eight meetings, including last season, which was a 4-3 victory (clinched at 4-2) at the Texas Tennis Center in their first meeting as members of the SEC. They prevailed twice the year before with a 4-2 victory the Big 12 Tournament semifinals and the other 4-3 during the regular season in Austin. In the previous season, they faced off three times with one for the Big 12 Championship title in Lawrence (4-2), one in Austin (5-2), and one at ITA National Indoors (4-2) in Seattle. The teams faced each other four times in 2022 with Texas winning matches that claimed both the National Championship in Champaign, Ill. (4-1), and the Big 12 Championship crown in Fort Worth (4-2), while Oklahoma won in Norman (4-3) and at the ITA Indoors in Madison, Wisc. (4-1). Those marked the first wins for the Sooners since the only other in 2003, a 4-3 decision in Austin, accounting for the only three in the series.<\/p>\n
\nFriday, February 28, 2025
\nAustin, Texas \u2022 Texas Tennis Center
\nSingles \u2013 Order of Finish (4,6,1,3,2,5)
\n1. #104 Ashton Bowers<\/a> (TEX) def. #33 Alina Shcherbinina (OU) 6-4, 6-0
\n2. #124 Eszter Meri<\/a> (TEX) def. #12 Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU) 7-5, 6-3
\n3. Salakthip Ounmuang (OU) def. #107 Vivian Ovrootsky<\/a> (TEX) 6-3, 7-5
\n4. #25 Carmen Herea<\/a> (TEX) def. #64 Emma Staker (OU) 6-1, 6-1
\n5. #105 Ava Catanzarite (OU) def. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz<\/a> (TEX) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
\n6. Gloriana Nahum (OU) def. #54 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo<\/a> (TEX) 6-2, 6-1<\/p>\n
\n1. #63 Ashton Bowers<\/a>\/Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo<\/a> (TEX) def. Chloe Noel\/Alina Shcherbinina (OU) 6-2
\n2. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz<\/a>\/Salma Drugdova<\/a> (TEX) vs. Julia Garcia Ruiz\/Ava Catanzarite (OU) 5-5, unf.
\n3. Carmen Herea<\/a>\/Eszter Meri<\/a> (TEX) def. #53 Salakthip Ounmuang\/Gloriana Nahum (OU) 6-2<\/p>\n
\nTexas was tabbed No. 12 in the preseason poll released January 7 by the ITA after finishing last season at No. 13. The Longhorns were then No. 17 on January 21 and No. 18 on January 28. The Longhorns closed the 2023-24 season No. 11, just outside of the Top 10 where they had finished each of the previous six years. UT earned a No. 6 ranking in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020, No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022, and No. 7 in 2023. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is No. 6.<\/p>\n
\nNo. 2 Carmen Herea<\/a>
\nNo. 63 Anastasia Abbagnato<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNo. 34 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo<\/a>\/Anastasia Abbagnato<\/a><\/p>\n
\nNo. 12 Julia Garcia Ruiz
\nNo. 123 Chloe Noel<\/p>\n
\nNo. 1 Roisin Gilheany\/Gloriana Nahum
\nNo. 40 Julia Garcia Ruiz\/Oyinlomo Quadre
\nNo. 56 Chloe Noel\/Gloriana Nahum<\/p>\n
\nElizabeth Ionescu<\/a> was named the SEC Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Week for the week of January 28-February 3. It marks the first weekly SEC honor of her career and first for the Longhorns this season. Ionescu went a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles, including the first singles win of her collegiate career, which came over Pia Kranholdt of Iowa at No. 4 that clinched the overall match. Ionescu and partner Carmen Herea<\/a> also clinched the doubles point against Wisconsin. Ionescu joined the team in January and had only played one singles and one doubles match in her collegiate career prior to this past weekend.<\/p>\n
\nTexas completed a sweep of their two-match Big Ten road trip with a 5-2 victory over Wisconsin at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on February 1. The Longhorns used a top-five win at No. 1 doubles and combined it with a win at No. 3 to claim the doubles point. After Wisconsin picked up a win at No. 3 singles, Texas followed with singles wins by Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo<\/a> at No. 5, Elizabeth Ionescu<\/a> at No. 6, Carmen Herea<\/a> at No. 1, and Eszter Meri<\/a> at No. 4. The Badgers then closed the scoring with a win at No. 2.<\/p>\n
\nThe Longhorns earned a 6-1 win at Iowa on January 30 in their first-ever road match against the Hawkeyes. Texas captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles wins by Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo<\/a> at No. 5 and Carmen Herea<\/a> at No. 1, Elizabeth Ionescu<\/a> at No. 4 for the clinch, Salma Drugdova<\/a> at No. 6, and Christasha McNeil<\/a> at No. 3.<\/p>\n
\nHead Coach Howard Joffe<\/a> is in his 11th season leading the UT program. Under Joffe’s leadership, Texas claimed back-to-back NCAA team championships in 2021 and 2022 and has finished each of the last eight years in the top 13 of the final ITA national polls, earning year-end rankings of No. 6 in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020, No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022, No. 7 in 2023, No. 11 in 2024, and No. 13 in 2025. The Longhorns also captured four Big 12 regular-season championships (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023-co) and four Big 12 postseason tournament titles (2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023) in their last six chances (2020 season canceled due to COVID-19).\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nTexas will have a different look from 2025, but at the same time return a few familiar faces. The roster will feature six returners, four of whom had match experience, including sophomores Carmen Herea<\/a>, Eszter Meri<\/a>, Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo<\/a> and Salma Drugdova<\/a>, along with redshirt freshman Audrey Deatherage<\/a> and Lucy Schmeil<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nThe Longhorns add five new faces for 2026, all who are expected to be impact players, starting with Christasha McNeil<\/a> of Lindenhurst, N.Y., and Mathilde Ngijol-Carr\u00e9 of Paris, France, who arrived in the fall. Three more joined the team in January, including Anastasia Abbagnato<\/a> from Palermo, Italy, Elizabeth Ionescu<\/a> from York, Pa., and Kate Mansfield<\/a> of London, England.<\/p>\n
\nA number of players on the roster spent the summer and fall nursing injuries, leading to some of them not qualifying for fall ITA rankings. However, Eszter Meri<\/a> captured the singles gold medal at the FISU World University Games in July, while Carmen Herea<\/a> finished as the singles runner-up at one of the fall majors in the ITA All-Americans, and then was a quarterfinalist in the NCAA Singles Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No. 18 Women’s Tennis preview: vs. No. 6 Oklahoma (ITA Indoors Round of 16) No. 18 (7 seed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-456322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}