Auburn, Ala. –
No. 14 Texas Women’s Tennis has advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC Championship following a 4-2 victory over No. 23 South Carolina on Thursday at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Ala. The Longhorns will face No. 1 Texas A&M on Friday at 6 p.m. CT.
This match was the second instance this week where Texas came from behind, claiming four singles wins after losing the doubles point in both encounters. After South Carolina secured the doubles point with victories at positions 3 and 1, the Longhorns fought back in singles, with junior Vivian Ovrootsky winning at No. 6, freshman and No. 37 Carmen Herea at No. 2, and freshman No. 61 Eszter Meri at No. 4, giving Texas a 3-1 lead. South Carolina managed one more point at No. 3, but freshman No. 78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo clinched the match at No. 5.
After the doubles matches, Ovrootsky restored parity in the team score with a commanding 6-1, 6-1 victory over Lauren Friedman at No. 6. She quickly established a 3-0 lead, followed by an 8-0 run to take the first set and a 5-0 lead in the second before closing out the match.
Herea then put Texas ahead 2-1 with a 6-1, 7-5 win against No. 55 Kaitlyn Carnicella at No. 2. After jumping to a 5-0 lead in the first set, Herea faced some resistance in the second but rallied to secure the match by winning her last five points.
Meri extended the Longhorns’ lead to 3-1 with a solid 6-2, 6-1 win over Olympe Lancelot at No. 4. After overcoming an early 0-40 deficit in her initial service game, she dominated the match with further breaks and maintained control to win decisively.
South Carolina narrowed the gap to 3-2 when freshman No. 92 Ashton Bowers lost to Misa Malkin, 6-2, 7-5, at No. 3. Malkin established an early advantage and held off Bowers’ attempts at recovery to secure the victory.
Anazagasty-Pursoo clinched the overall match for Texas with a comeback win against Bella Larsson at No. 5, finishing with scores of 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3. Despite losing the first set, she dominated the second and maintained pressure in the third to secure the final point. One match remained unfinished where senior No. 56 Sabina Zeynalova was attempting to close out at No. 1 but play was halted with her leading in the third set.
Match Summaries
#14 Texas 4, #23 South Carolina 2
Singles – Order of Finish (6, 2, 4, 3, 5)
1. #56 Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) vs. #13 Sarah Hamner (SC) 7-5, 2-6, 3-1, unf.
2. #37 Carmen Herea (TEXAS) def. #55 Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) 6-1, 7-5
3. Misa Malkin (SC) def. #92 Ashton Bowers (TEXAS) 6-2, 7-5
4. #61 Eszter Meri (TEXAS) def. Olympe Lancelot (SC) 6-2, 6-1
5. #78 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEXAS) def. Bella Larsson (SC) 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3
6. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) def. Lauren Friedman (SC) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (3, 1)
1. #16 Kaitlyn Carnicella/Sarah Hamner (SC) def. #30 Ashton Bowers/Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEXAS) 6-4
2. #75 Salma Drugdova/Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz (TEXAS) vs. Bella Larsson/Olympe Lancelot (SC) 5-4, unf.
3. Lauren Friedman/Helena Buchwald (SC) def. Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea (TEXAS) 6-1
