Baylor women’s tennis lost to Texas Tech by a score of 4-1 on April 11 at the McLeod Tennis Center. Baylor, ranked No. 34, now holds a record of 13-8 overall and 8-5 in Big 12 play, while Texas Tech is ranked No. 33 with a record of 16-9 overall and 7-6 in conference.
The match was important as both teams are close in national rankings and competing for seeding ahead of the upcoming Big 12 Tournament. The result affects Baylor’s position as they prepare for postseason play.
Texas Tech took an early lead by winning the doubles point with victories at the No.1 and No.2 positions. Gabrielle Villegas and Zuzanna Kubacha lost their match at No.1 doubles to Kate Dmitrichenko and Hailey Murphy, who are ranked No.77 nationally, by a score of 6-0. At No.2 doubles, Alian Zack and Na Dong were defeated by Elena Daskalova and Mariia Hlahola, finishing at 6-2 for Texas Tech.
In singles competition, Baylor earned its only point when Zack won her match at the No.4 position against Andreea Lila in straight sets (6-2, 6-4). However, Texas Tech extended its lead with wins from Daskalova over Kennedy Gibbs (6-0, 6-1) at No.3 singles; Murphy over Dong (6-1, 6-4) at No.1 singles; and Dmitrichenko over Kubacha (6-1, 1-6, 6-3) at No.2 singles.
The matches involving Mu-Jie Tzeng (No.5 singles) and Luna Ivkovic (No.6 singles), as well as one doubles match featuring Gibbs/Ivkovic against Sleptsova/Brownback with Baylor leading before it was stopped unfinished at a score of four games to three.
Looking ahead, Baylor will compete in the Big 12 Tournament starting Wednesday April15 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida after completing their final regular season matches Sunday afternoon.
