No. 1 Women’s Tennis sweeps Baylor, 4-0

AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 1 University of Texas Women’s Tennis team (5-0) claimed a 4-0 sweep over Baylor (5-1) on Saturday night indoors at the Edgar O. and Melanie A. Weller Tennis Center. Junior Taisiya Pachkaleva and freshman Nicole Rivkin posted individual wins in both singles and doubles action on Saturday to pace the Longhorns.

With the victory, Texas advances to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 10-13 in Seattle, Wash.

The Longhorns earned a hard-fought doubles point to grab a 1-0 advantage. Baylor’s duo of Danielle Dimitrov and Paula Baranano claimed a 6-4 victory on court 1 against junior Charlotte Chavatipon and freshman Nicole Khirin. Trailing 4-3, Dimitrov and Baranano won the next three games to close out the win.

The tandem of graduate Marlee Zein and sophomore Sabina Zeynalova recorded a 7-6 (7-2) win on court 3 over Danielle Tuhten and Isabella Harvison. Zein and Zeynalova faced a 2-1 hole in the breaker but rattled off six straight points to finish out the victory. Pachkaleva and Rivkin then clinched the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-3) win on court 2 against Anita Sahdiieva and Alina Shcherbinina. Pachkaleva and Rivkin overcame deficits of 5-3 and 6-5 to force the breaker. Trailing 3-2 in the breaker, Pachkaleva and Rivkin won five straight points to close out the match.

In singles action, junior No. 85 Malaika Rapolu recorded a 6-0, 6-0 shutout on court 4 over Baranano. Pachkaleva followed with a 6-1, 6-2 victory on court 5 against Dimitrov. Tied at 1-1 in the opening set, Pachkaleva won five straight games to finish the 6-1 first-set victory. Tied at 2-2 in the second set, she captured four straight games to close out the win.

Rivkin clinched the overall dual-match sweep with a 6-1, 6-1 victory on court 6 over Tuhten. Rivkin jumped out to 3-0 leads in both of her sets en route to her win. The remaining singles matches featuring Khirin (court 1), Chavatipon (court 2) and Zeynalova (court 3) were stopped after Rivkin finished her match.

The Longhorns return to action when they host No. 13 USC on Saturday, Feb. 4. First serve is set for 1 p.m. Central, and the match will be played indoors at the Edgar O. and Melanie A. Weller Tennis Center.

#1 Texas 4, Baylor 0

Singles – Order of finish (4, 5, 6)

1. Nicole Khirin (UT) vs. Alina Shcherbinina (BU), 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
2. Charlotte Chavatipon (UT) vs. Isabella Harvison (BU), 6-1, 5-2, unfinished
3. Sabina Zeynalova (UT) vs. Anita Sahdiieva (BU), 7-5, 0-1, unfinished
4. #85 Malaika Rapolu (UT) def. Paula Baranano (BU), 6-0, 6-0
5. #87 Marlee Zein (UT) def. Daniella Dimitrov (BU), 6-1, 6-2
6. Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Danielle Tuhten (BU), 6-1, 6-1

Doubles – Order of finish (1, 3, 2)

1. Daniella Dimitrov/Paula Baranano (BU) def. Charlotte Chavatipon/Nicole Khirin (UT), 6-4
2. Taisiya Pachkaleva/Nicole Rivkin (UT) def. Anita Sahdiieva/Alina Shcherbinina (BU), 7-6 (7-3)
3. Marlee Zein/Sabina Zeynalova (UT) def. Danielle Tuhten/Isabellar Harvison (BU), 7-6 (7-2)