April 14, 2010
WACO, Texas - No. 2 Baylor became the only undefeated team in the Big 12 Conference after knocking off previously unbeaten Texas A&M, 6-1, tonight at the Baylor Tennis Center.
It was the 13th consecutive win for the Lady Bears, who improve to 19-2, including 7-0 in Big 12 matches. A&M, ranked No. 34, suffered it first conference loss of the season and drops to 5-1 in league play and 10-6 overall.
Freshman Nazari Urbina (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico), ranked No. 72 in singles, earned the Aggies' only point with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 18th-ranked Nina Secerbegovic at the No. 2 line. It marked the highest ranked win by an A&M player in a dual match this season.
"That is a very good win for Nazari," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "She played great, and she wanted it the whole time. I really felt like they kind of played right into her hands. I don't think the other girl played as smart of a match. (Secerbegovic) didn't make any changes, and Nazari is really good just hitting those kinds of balls.
"Nazari is learning, and that is one of the things with her is the more versatile she can become the better player she is going to be. Tonight she fought hard and played very well in that match and gave herself a chance the whole time. That is a great win for her."
A&M picked up the first win in doubles action as Christi Liles (Largo, Fla.) and Sheri Olivier (Topeka, Kan.) def. Karolina Filipiak and Carla Lindlar, 8-4, at the No. 3 line. The Aggie pair dropped the opening game but then reeled off four consecutive games to build a lead they would never relinquish.
Baylor then evened the race for the doubles point with a win at the No. 2 line. The Lady Bears' Secerbegovic and Jelena Stanivuk jumped out to a 3-0 lead against Stephanie Davidson (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas) and Morgan Frank (Oldsmar, Fla.) and went on to win the match 8-4.
Baylor clinched the point at the No. 1 line. In a battle of ranked opponents, No. 10 Csilla Borsanyi and Lenka Broosova broke A&M's 29th-ranked duo of Elzé Potgieter (Bloemfontein, South Africa) and Urbina to take a 5-4 lead. The teams held serve until Baylor broke a second time to go up, 8-5, to win the match and clinch the point.
"I felt like in the doubles we had some opportunities and just didn't take care of them," Kleinecke said. "It's tough because against a team like Baylor you have to go for your shots. You have to hit them. If you are not playing aggressive, they are going to beat you anyway. We just had to step up and take chances and go for our shots and play to win."
In singles, Baylor got straight-set wins on three courts to pull ahead 4-0 and secure the win. Stanivuk defeated Olivier, 6-2, 6-1, at the No. 4 line, and Filipiak made a comeback after being down 5-3 in the first set to defeat Lauren Santacroce (Spring, Texas), 7-5, 6-1, at No. 5.
Broosova, ranked No. 5 in the nation, clinched the win for the Lady Bears, topping 65th-ranked Potgieter, 6-3, 6-4.
Urbina then put A&M on the scoreboard and improved to 10-0 at the No. 2 line with her win before Baylor closed out the match with two three-set victories.
Frank had her 16-match winning streak snapped as she fell to Borsanyi, 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (8) at the No. 3 position. Lindlar then capped the match for Baylor with a 2-6, 7-6 (2), 1-0 (5) win against Liles at No. 6.
"I challenged the team after the doubles, and other than a second set at No. 5, I thought we really competed very well throughout the whole singles and kept going for our shots," Kleinecke said. "You have to give Baylor credit. They are a great team and deserve to be (ranked) where they are. They beat us and took it to us today.
"I feel like we have a good group, and we just have to bounce back from this. I'm proud of them in singles, going after their shots, but in doubles we have to step up a little bit more there."
The match against Baylor marked the end of a three-match road swing for the Aggies, who return home this weekend for a pair of matches against Iowa State and Nebraska. First serve against the Cyclones is Friday at 6 p.m., and the match against the Huskers begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
Free live scoring of all A&M matches is available at AggieAthletics.com.
No. 2 Baylor 6, No. 34 Texas A&M 1
April 14, 2010
Baylor Tennis Center
Waco, Texas
Attendance: n/a
Singles
1. (#5) Lenka Broosova (BU) def. (#65) Elzé Potgieter (TAMU), 6-3, 6-4
2. (#72) Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. (#18) Nina Secerbegovic (BU), 6-3, 6-4
3. (#106) Csilla Borsanyi (BU) def. (#109) Morgan Frank (TAMU), 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (8)
4. Jelena Stanivuk (BU) def. Sheri Olivier (TAMU), 6-2, 6-1
5. Karolina Filipiak (BU) def. Lauren Santacroce (TAMU), 7-5, 6-1
6. Carla Lindlar (BU) def. Christi Liles (TAMU), 2-6, 7-6 (2), 1-0 (5)
Doubles (Baylor wins the point)
1. (#10) Borsanyi/Broosova (BU) def. (#29) Potgieter/Urbina (TAMU), 8-5
2. Secerbegovic/Stanivuk (BU) def. Stephanie Davidson/Frank (TAMU), 8-4
3. Liles/Olivier (TAMU) def. Filipiak/Carla Lindlar (BU), 8-4
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 2, 1
Singles: 4, 5, 1*, 2, 3, 6
*Clinched match
Team records
Texas A&M: 10-6, 5-1 Big 12
Baylor: 19-2, 7-0 Big 12