By Nathan Keil | Sports Editor
Baylor women’s tennis split a pair of weekend matches out west, falling 4-3 to No. 17 Oregon in Eugene, Ore. before knocking off No. 32 Washington 4-1 in Seattle on Sunday.
In Friday’s loss, the Ducks went in front by grabbing the doubles point first by grabbing 6-4 victories from the top two spots.
Oregon then grabbed the early advantage in the singles circuit before sophomore Angelina Shakhraichuk got Baylor on the board from the third spot with a 6-3, 6-1 win.
The Ducks secured a win from the No. 1 singles position for a 3-1 advantage before the Lady Bears started their rally. Sophomores Jessica Hinojosa and Camilla Abbate earned victories at the No. 6 and No. 4 slots. Hinojosa won in straights 6-4, 6-3 and Abbate won in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
With the scored knotted up at 3-3, freshman Livia Kraus battled back from down a set to force a third set before falling 6-3, securing the win for Oregon.
Despite another setback, head coach Joey Scrivano said his team’s effort is something to be proud of and will benefit them as they move forward.
“Today our team played with a lot of character and heart. If we continue to compete with this type of effort and focus, good things will follow,” Scrivano said.
On Sunday, the Lady Bears were more than ready for the Huskies’ challenge.
Washington surged ahead with a doubles win on court No. 2, but the Lady Bears charged back taking the doubles point with a 6-4 win on No.3 and 7-6 on No. 2.
Hinojosa put Baylor in front 2-0 with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 performance from the No. 5 spot.
The Huskies got on the board with a victory at the No.2 spot, but from that point forward, it was all Baylor to close the match.
Abbate came back from a set down to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 and Shakraichuk finished off the Huskies with a 7-6, 6-1 win.
Scrivano said his team’s intensity was good and that kind of focus led to a solid team win.
“It was a good team win today. I’m proud of our focus and preparation over the past couple of weeks,” Scrivano said. “We need to continue to keep our intensity level up as we get ready for a tough Buckeye team next week.”
Baylor (4-6) returns home to take on No. 14 Ohio State at 5 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
