The No. 18 Baylor women’s tennis team (19-5) triumphed over Kansas State (11-13), 4-0, at Hurd Tennis Center on Friday evening. The Lady Bears remain undefeated at home, 13-0, and are 6-2 in Big 12 play after winning their sixth consecutive dual match.
Baylor scored first, notching the doubles point after the duo of junior Theresa Van Zyl and senior Rhiann Newborn defeated Ines Mesquita and Iva Bago, 6-3, at the No. 3 spot. Once Kansas State’s Millie Stretton and Maria Panaite triumphed over senior Blair Shankle and sophomore Karina Traxler at the No. 1 position, 7-5, the tiebreak was decided at No. 2.
The freshmen pair of Angelina Shakhraichuk and Jessica Hinojosa clinched the doubles point by defeating Carolina Costamagna and Livia Cirnu, 7-6, earning the tiebreaker, 7-3.
Hinojosa continued her success with an strong victory over Panaite, 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 spot. No. 5-ranked Shankle added to the lead with a win against Costamagna, at the No. 1 position, 6-2, 6-0.
Van Zyl sealed the deal for Baylor after excelling over Ines Mesquita, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3 singles. She has clinched the team victory for Baylor nine times this season.
OTHER NOTABLES
? The Lady Bears are undefeated at home 13-0.
? Junior Theresa Van Zyl has clinched the match for Baylor nine times this season.
? The Lady Bears lead the all-time series against the Wildcats, 21-4.
? Baylor has won six consecutive matches and nine of its last 10 competitions.
TOP QUOTES
“Kansas State played really tough today. They pushed us in a lot of positions, so credit to them. I’m happy with the way we responded. We did what it took to get the W today.” – Head coach Joey Scrivano
“To win a tennis match, it takes an entire team. We played really well on a lot of courts. I was pleased that Karina played well. She hasn’t been in our lineup for a while so to get her back in the lineup, get her competing and for her to flip the second set and start playing in good rhythm, I was really proud of her.” – Head coach Joey Scrivano
“Senior day is a big deal to us. We really appreciate Blair and Rhiann, they’ve been a big part of our success. First off, we’ve got to prepare for Kansas and play a great match. That’s the first thing, but the second thing is we want to make sure we show Blair and Rhiann a lot of gratitude and make it a special day for them.” – Head coach Joey Scrivano
