Senior Taylor Ormand hits a volley during her doubles match against Southern Methodist University Wednesday at the Baylor Tennis Center.
By Will Potter
Reporter
There was a window of opportunity for No. 18 SMU to pull an upset over the ninth-ranked Baylor women’s tennis team Wednesday, but the Lady Bears quickly made sure they slammed that window shut.
The Lady Bears dropped the doubles point early on and headed to singles play down 1-0. Despite the deficit, Baylor was unfazed and dominated almost all of the singles matches to defeat the Mustangs for a hard-earned 4-3 win over yet another ranked opponent.
“I’m really disappointed with the way we played in doubles,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “We are putting ourselves in good positions, but we are just not finishing like we should.”
First off the court for Baylor was senior Taylor Ormond, who dropped only two games the entire match en route to blasting Kris Robertson of SMU by a score of 6-1, 6-1.
The win was significant for Ormond, who has missed the entire dual match season until the match versus Kansas. This is her second dual match of the year and she now holds a 2-0 record in singles play since returning to the lineup.
“It’s been really tough getting back to the top of my game because I hurt my arm last season and I played through it,” Ormond said. “I have been missing so many practices but it keeps getting better every day.”
Playing at the No. 3 spot in the lineup for Baylor, 44th-ranked junior Diana Nakic was next off the court for Baylor with a 6-3, 6-0 waxing of Heather Steinbauer of the Mustangs.
Finishing next for Baylor and putting the Lady Bears within one point of clinching the dual match versus SMU was No. 34 Nina Secerbegovich, who easily won 6-3, 6-3.
The clinching match for Baylor came on court two, where Karolina Filipiak dispatched Shahazoda Hatamova in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.
“We bounced back well in singles and we had a few girls play really well,” Scrivano said. “But I can’t be satisfied with a few girls playing well. It is a team sport after all, and we need to play better from top to bottom.”
The Baylor women’s tennis gteam claimed four of the six singles matches and showed the depth of the lineup when they are healthy.
“Winning the first four singles matches in a row made a huge difference for us,” Ormond said. “But, as a whole, our focus level needs to be up for these next few matches.”
Next up for the Lady Bears is a trip to Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday for a Big 12 showdown with the Oklahoma State Cowboys as Baylor looks to improve its No. 9 national ranking and overall standing in the Big 12.
The Lady Bears are currently one of four Big 12 teams nationally ranked in the top 30. One of those teams awaits Baylor on Sunday when the Lady Bears travel to Norman, Okla., to take on the No. 18 ranked University of Oklahoma.
