Jess Schurz | Lariat Photographer
By Cody Soto
Sports Writer
No. 7 Baylor women’s tennis snapped its two-match losing streak with a 4-0 win over No. 36 Texas Saturday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center. After getting off to a slow start in doubles and singles play, the Bears (20-6, 6-1 Big 12) got the clean sweep over the Longhorns.
“I give a lot of credit to the girls for being able to move forward and put [the two losses] in the rear view mirror,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “I felt like we came out really flat. Texas executed and made it tough on us.”
Doubles play started out sloppy for the Bears. Each Baylor duo dropped the opening set, and the only match that quickly turned around was on court three. Junior Kiah Generette and sophomore Blair Shankle turned their game around and blew past Texas’ Neda Koprcina and Ratnika Batra 6-1 at the No. 3 spot.
The other two courts had to fight off an early deficit, and senior Ema Burgic helped lead the way as she and freshman Theresa Van Zyl fought back to win 7-5 at the top of the lineup for an early 1-0 Baylor lead.
“We’re just trying to figure out who’s available every day,” Scrivano said. “We’ve dealt with some injuries and some sicknesses, so we’ve had to be very flexible with what we’re doing.”
The Bears started out slow on four of the courts, but they quickly picked up the slack as they took four first set wins over the Longhorns. Freshman Kelley Anderson finished up on court six and edged Danielle Wagland 6-2, 6-4, and Generette finished off her match with a powerful forehand to win 7-5, 6-3 on court two for the big 3-0 Baylor lead.
Shankle clinched the match as she battled on court three against Texas’ Ratnika Batra. Although she had some bad breaks during the second set, she used a late surge of momentum to swing past Batra 7-5, 6-4 for the Baylor 4-0 sweep.
“It was a tough match,” Shankle said. “She played really well and pushed me, so I just had to do what I’ve been practicing, and it paid off. I wasn’t executing as much as I wanted to on my serve; she played tough, especially with the returning game.”
The Bears host Big 12 opponent Kansas at 5 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
