By Cody Soto
Sports Writer
The No. 6-ranked Baylor women’s tennis team snapped their two-game losing streak by picking up two straight wins over ranked opponents this weekend. The Lady Bears swept No. 19 Ohio State 4-0 on Sunday after winning 5-1 against No. 33 Northwestern on Friday.
Baylor (12-2) finished the four-match road trip on a high note with mixing up doubles partners over the weekend to snap a three-game losing streak in doubles play.
Senior Ema Burgic and freshman Leolia JeanJean recorded a 6-1 win while junior Kiah Generette and freshman Theresa Van Zyl won 6-2 over OSU for the early 1-0 lead on Sunday. No. 23-ranked Burgic, No. 88-ranked JeanJean, and freshman Kelley Anderson each recorded wins in singles play to give Baylor a 4-0 sweep over the Buckeyes.
“When our team plays the right way and focuses on the right things, we usually get rewarded with the win,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “I’m proud of their effort and mindset this weekend. Ohio State is an up and coming program that is very well coached.”
On Friday, Generette and Anderson paired up in doubles play but got completely trampled as they dropped a 6-0 loss on court three, but junior Rachael James-Baker and sophomore Blair Shankle took a 6-1 win on court one to tie it up. Burgic and JeanJean then took down Northwestern’s Erin Larner and Jillian Rooney 6-2 for the 1-0 Baylor lead.
“Northwestern has an elite program and they are never an easy out, especially on the road,” Scrivano said.
No. 93-ranked James-Baker and No. 37-ranked Shankle each took two-set wins over the Wildcats, but Northwestern got their only point of the day as Larner defeated No. 125-ranked Generette 6-0, 6-4 on court two. Burgic clinched the match-winning point 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 1 spot, and Anderson rallied for a 6-4, 7-5 win over Northwestern’s Brooke Rischbieth to end the match.
The Lady Bears have gotten back on the right track after the two-match losing streak rattled the team. While the actual level of play has gotten better, they can’t let anything get to their head, Scrivano said.
“Our doubles is improving, but more importantly our attitude is better,” he said. “We’re striving to stay humble, focus on the process and be an unselfish team. When we do this, great things happen and the results take care of themselves.”
The Lady Bears return home to host No. 11 UCLA at 11 a.m. Saturday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center.
