WT Secures Senior Day Win over Utah, 4

WACO, Texas – No. 38 Baylor (12-7) edged No. 30 Utah (15-6) with a 4-3 victory Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.

The Bears secured the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3, setting the stage for singles victories at No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 to clinch the match.

THE RUNDOWN

Baylor claimed the doubles point with victories on courts 2 and 3. The duo of Na Dong and Alian Zack, celebrating a fourth-straight doubles win, defeated Utah's Emma Kamper and Emmie Moore, 6-2, at No. 2 doubles. Kennedy Gibbs and Luna Ivkovic followed with a 6-2 win over Dylan Lolofie and Kamea Medora at No. 3 doubles.

Utah's Sara Akid and Emma Valletta secured a 6-3 win over Zuzanna Kubacha and Gabrielle Villegas at No. 1 doubles.

In singles play, Utah's Kamper defeated No. 48 Dong 6-4, 6-1 at No. 1 singles, leveling the match. Baylor regained the lead when No. 120 Kubacha, securing her fourth-straight singles win, triumphed 6-1, 7-5 against Akid at No. 2 singles. Mu-Jie Tzeng extended the advantage for BU with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Kaila Barksdale at No. 4 singles.

Utah added another point at No. 6 singles with Hayley Roberts' 6-0, 7-6(7) win over Villegas. Emmie Moore then edged Zack 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 at No. 3 singles, tying the overall score again.

However, Ivkovic clinched the match for Baylor with a 6-2, 6-7(7), 6-3 victory against Valletta at No. 5 singles, securing a final dual score of 4-3 in favor of the Bears.

QUOTABLE

Head coach Joey Scrivano

On today's match…

"Yeah, well, obviously, emotional day with senior day. We wanted to honor the girls by winning the match, and Senior Day is a lot better when you can get the win. Really proud of the entire team. They played hard from start to finish, and the seniors really kicked everything off in doubles. There's always going to be some twists and turns, and in the end, really proud of the way Luna [Ivkovic] obviously came through clutch big, but even Alian [Zack] battling and Gabby [Villegas] battling some of our younger players really did a great job to help us get over the hump. Proud of the entire team."

On the senior class…

"Gosh I hate thinking about not having them on the team. You know, we've got a lot of tennis left in the season, but, obviously their impact has been huge since they arrived at Baylor. It's taken our team to another level, we've been consistently in the top-25 and competing in the Big 12 in every match we play. That's not easy to do. It's competitive and they've given our team an edge, and they're just the best people. When you have great people and they are skilled, then great things happen. I'm really proud of them."

WHAT'S NEXT

The Bears face their next challenge against Colorado on Thursday, April 9 at 3 p.m. at the South Campus Tennis Courts in Boulder, Colo.

To stay up to date, follow the team on its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWTennis

- BaylorBears.com -

Click here to read article