The Baylor women’s team came from behind to defeat Oregon, 4-3, in Saturday’s dual match at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. With the win, the Lady Bears move to 3-0 on the season, while the Ducks fall to 3-3.
Oregon took an early lead, earning the doubles point when Nia Rose and Daniela Nasser and Marlou Kluiving and Julia Eshet recording wins against senior Rhiann Newborn and junior Theresa Van Zyl and freshmen Angelina Shakhraichuk and Jessica Hinojosa, respectively. Baylor’s No. 15 ranked duo Blair Shankle and Elizabeth Profit, who made their spring debut, did not finish their match.
The Ducks carried their momentum into singles play, recording wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles to extend their lead, 3-0.
Despite Oregon’s quick three point lead, the Lady Bears bounced back at No. 1 singles. Shankle, who is ranked No. 7 nationally, played her way to a three-set win over Schweta Sangwan, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1. Her victory swung the momentum back to the Lady Bears, who closed the door on Oregon with three more wins head-to-head.
Hinojosa, who is rated No. 117 nationally, defeated Julia Eshet, 7-6, 6-1, at No. 4 singles and Newborn followed with a No. 2 singles win against Alyssa Tobita, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
With the fate of the match on the line, Van Zyl provided the clincher for the third consecutive match. After a 6-4 set one loss to Rose at No. 3 singles, she rebounded in a big way with back-to-back 6-1 wins in the second and third sets to earn the team victory for Baylor, 4-3.
OTHER NOTABLES
? The Lady Bears are 3-0 all-time against Oregon after delivering the Ducks their third loss of the season.
? Four Lady Bears are undefeated in dual match play, including Rhiann Newborn (3-0), Theresa Van Zyl (3-0), Blair Shankle (1-0) and Jessica Hinojosa (1-0).
? Baylor is off to a 3-0 start in dual-match action for the ninth consecutive season and the 10th time overall under 15th-year head coach Joey Scrivano.
? Junior Theresa Van Zyl has provided the clincher in all three of Baylor’s dual matches this spring.
TOP QUOTES
“I’m incredibly proud of my team. The girls fought tooth and nail from start to finish. Wins like this; this is what it’s all about. We’re teaching young people how to fight and compete when things aren’t going their way and today was a great example of that. I couldn’t be more proud of my team.” - Head coach Joey Scrivano
“We have to recover right now. We’ll enjoy this for an hour or two, but then we’ll recover and prepare. Washington is a great team, they came into this building last year and stole the win from us. We know they have a feisty group and they’re competitive, so it will be a dog fight tomorrow.” - Head coach Joey Scrivano
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor continues the weekend with a dual match against Washington on Sunday, Feb. 5, inside Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. Cub Tennis begins at noon and first serve is set for 1 p.m.
