By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor
No. 15 women’s tennis defeated Tyler Junior College 6-1 in an exhibition match Thursday afternoon. The Bears were led once again by junior Livia Krauss, who remains undefeated on the singles court this season.
“I’m really proud of the team,” head coach Joey Scrivano told Baylor Athletics. “The ladies came out with great focus, really good intensity. Tyler has a great team. If they weren’t a junior college, they’d be a Top-40 team in college tennis. They have a lot of good players and talent, and they pushed us today.”
The Apache tested Baylor early, defeating senior Jessica Hinojosa and freshman Sara Ziodato 6-2 on court one to start doubles play. Krauss and sophomore Paula Barañano evened things out with a 6-3 win on court three before freshman Audrey Boch-Collins and junior Kris Sorokolet notched the doubles point for the Bears with a 6-2 win on court two.
Barañano made quick work of her opponent on court five, giving Baylor its second point with a 6-1, 6-1 victory. Sorokolet followed with a 6-2, 6-0 win on court six. Krauss then clinched the match for the Bears with a 6-0, 6-0 sweep on court four.
The rest of the matches were played out as Boch-Collins picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win on court three. TJC took its only point of the day when Ziodato fell 6-4, 6-4 on court two. Hinojosa closed out the match with a 4-6, 7-5, (10-8) [6] victory on the top court.
Despite Ziodato’s loss to the Apache, Scrivano said that he’s seen significant development from the freshman.
“Sara has had the biggest transition of anybody on our team,” Scrivano said. “Coming from Italy mid-year, having to quarantine and so many adjustments for her. Credit to her, she is so resilient, so mentally tough. She’s just getting better and better, every practice, every match. We can see that she’s going to be an impact player for us, especially down the road, and in the second half of the season, she’s going to be someone that is going to make a really big difference for us.”
The Bears will have a week-long break, returning to the court at noon next Thursday to host TCU in a non-conference matchup.
