WACO, Texas – The 42nd-ranked Baylor women's tennis team will play its final regular season match against No. 24 Texas Saturday at Westwood Country Club in Austin.
The Bears (16-13, 5-3 Big 12) will take on the Longhorns (14-6, 6-2 Big 12) at 1 p.m. as both teams battle for seeding in the Big 12 Championship, which begins Thursday in Stillwater, Okla.
"This is going to be a tough match and a must win for us,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “If we play with character, energy and focus we can beat any team in the country. The problem is we haven't done this on a consistent basis. This game honors those that do these simple things."
BU is riding a four-match win streak into Saturday’s contest, tied for its longest of the year, after blanking both Iowa State and West Virginia in Big 12 matches last weekend. Baylor has now won 11 of its last 13 matches overall, but is just 3-5 on the road this season.
"We're fighting for our postseason lives so motivation shouldn't be a problem for us,” Scrivano said. “We have a great opportunity in front of us."
The Bears are led by the 18th-ranked duo of Kiah Generette and Blair Shankle, who have won nine of their last 10 decisions together. Shankle is also ranked No. 91 in singles.
Texas is also playing its regular season finale and also downed West Virginia (5-0) and Iowa State (4-2) in a pair of matches last weekend. The Longhorns are led by senior Breaunna Addison, who is ranked No. 10 in the country in singles and partners with Dani Wagland to be the 15th-best doubles tandem.
BU trails the overall series to Texas, 34-17, but the Bears have won 17 of the last 19 matches against the Longhorns, including a 4-0 shutout last season in Waco.
Live results will be available at BaylorBears.com for the match via TexasSports.com.
After Saturday’s match, the Bears will get set to head to Stillwater, Okla. for the Big 12 Championship, which runs Thursday through Sunday. BU is guaranteed to finish no worse than sixth in the league, which means they will receive an opening round bye and not play until Friday. The official seeding and bracket will be announced Sunday by the league office.
