Baylor women’s tennis begins NCAA Championships action with a neutral site match against 36th-ranked NC State on Friday, May 11 at Los Angeles Tennis Center located on the campus of UCLA. First serve is set for 12 p.m. (CT) for the 25th-ranked Bears.
With a win, Baylor would advance to the NCAA Second Round to meet the winner between 14th-ranked UCLA and Fresno State at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 12. The program has advanced to the second round of postseason play in 13 consecutive seasons and 14 times overall, all coming in head coach Joey Scrivano’s tenure.
The Bears have challenged themselves all season, meeting 18 ranked opponents and compiling a 7-11 mark against them. Going through the process against top competition has allowed the young team to improve against the best and learn valuable lessons to apply in the postseason.
“There are a lot of lessons during the season that our young team has learned from,” Scrivano said. “This team has learned a lot, and they are going to be prepared. They are a much-improved team. From January and February, we are completely different. We’re excited about where we are right now.”
Freshman Livia Kraus, who was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team along with Kristina Sorokolet, brings an eight-match singles win streak into the weekend. Sophomore Camilla Abbate, who picked up All-Big 12 second team recognition in her first season with the Bears, has won six of her last eight singles matches.
NC State is 17-14 on the season, posting a 7-7 mark in ACC action to finish eighth in regular season standings. The Wolfpack has met 13 ranked opponents this year, notching a 3-10 mark against them.
Sophomores Anna Rogers and Adriana Reami represent the Wolfpack in singles rankings at No. 100 and No. 108, respectively. The team’s doubles duo of Claudia Wiktorin and Rogers is rated 19th nationally.
Baylor is 34-20 in the NCAA Championships all-time and 31-14 in the Scrivano era. Against this year’s NCAA Championships field, the Bears are 8-12.
Scrivano is making his 17th trip to the NCAA Championships overall, guiding Baylor into the NCAAs in 15 of the last 16 seasons and 14 seasons in a row. The Bears have advanced to the Round of 16 in 10 of the last 13 seasons, including six Elite Eight (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015) and two Final Four (2008, 2011) appearances.
The winning team from the UCLA site will advance to compete at the final site at Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Team competition runs from May 17-22.
