No. 25 women’s tennis finishes with perfect weekend

Senior Theresa Van Zyla returns the ball during her doubles match with Freshman Giorgia Testa. Van Zyl was honored sunday for the season's Senior Day. Baylee VerSteeg | Multimedia Journalist

By Bailey Brammer | Editor-in-Chief

The No. 25 Baylor women’s tennis team completed its second doubleheader of the weekend with two more wins on Sunday, resulting in the team going 4-0 after its first pair of wins on Friday against Louisiana Tech and West Virginia.

The team took down Iowa State 6-1 first on Sunday, then finished the weekend by sweeping UT-Arlington 4-0 and notching their fifth-straight win.

“It was a really good weekend,” said women’s tennis head coach Joey Scrivano. “We had a lot of competitive matches and it gave our team an opportunity to play a lot of tennis and find a rhythm. We’re playing really well right now.”

Senior Theresa Van Zyl was in the spotlight this weekend, as it was her Senior Night and one of the last times she’ll suit up as a Bear on her home court. Van Zyl dominated on court one against Iowa State earlier in the day with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win, and then later against UT-Arlington when her game was cut short at 5-3 because of an injury.

Scrivano said Van Zyl will be missed, and that she’s left a legacy of consistency, positivity and durability.

“Theresa has been such a consistent competitor and great teammate,” Scrivano said. “She’s always been available. Any time her number is called, she’s there to play. I can count on one hand how many practices she’s missed, and she’s played every match we’ve needed her to play. We just want her to finish out this last chapter in a really good way and make sure that whatever her goals are for the end of the season, we achieve them.”

In the first match on Sunday, the Bears lost the doubles point to Iowa State before coming back and beating the Cyclones in the singles match-ups.

Freshman Giorgia Testa took down Iowa State’s Karen Alvarez 6-2, 6-0 on court six, and soon after, sophomore Camilla Abbate downed Regina Espindola, 6-2, 6-2.

The Bears continued to take down Iowa State with wins from freshman Kristina Sorokolet and sophomores Dominika Sujova and Jessica Hinojosa, finishing the first match of the day 6-1.

Carrying on toward their perfect weekend, the women swept UT-Arlington 4-0 to send Van Zyl out in style.

This time, the Bears were able to take the doubles point as the pairings of sophomore Angelina Shakhraichuk and Sujova, and Van Zyl and Hinojosa both notched respective victories of 6-1 and 6-2.

Shakhraichuk and Abbate finished the match for the Bears with two more wins on courts four and two, giving the team their fifth-straight win, and fourth win in three days.

The women will look to continue that momentum and finish their regular season with a win this weekend against the University of Texas at 5 p.m. Friday in Austin.