By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Baylor women’s tennis won its fourth straight road match Friday, bouncing back from a home loss to Oklahoma State with a 4-0 victory over Arizona in Tucson.
Baylor swept the doubles point behind a strong showing from Cristina Tiglea and Liubov Kostenko on Court One. The pair defeated Josie Usereau and former Baylor transfer Danielle Tuhten 6-1. On Court Two, Sierra Berry and Na Dong scored their own 6-4 victory to leave Kennedy Gibbs and Zuzanna Kubacha’s doubles match unfinished.
The Bears jumped out to an early lead in singles play and never looked back. Freshman Nanaka Sato won her ninth straight with a 6-3, 6-4 sweep of Tuhten, marking the 18th win of her season. Fellow first-year Bear Dong wasn’t far behind, knocking off Tanvi Narendran with an ace, 6-4, 6-1. It was Dong’s 10th consecutive victory.
Kubacha closed out the contest with a 6-3, 6-3 win on Court Three. It was her first victory since Feb. 28 after winning 11 straight to open the season; she played 0-2-5 in the interim.
The win moves the Bears to 8-3 in conference play and 9-2 in road contests. The Bears fell from No. 22 to No. 27 in the ITA team rankings after being swept by the Sooners Sunday. They’ll be back in action Sunday afternoon at Arizona State.
