April 19, 2006
AUSTIN, Texas - Baylor's women's tennis team became back-to-back Big 12 champions this evening as the Bears clinched the conference title with their narrow 4-3 victory of the No. 19 Longhorns in Austin, Texas. Baylor (21-3) has now earned a 10-0 conference record so far this spring and has also extended its regular season conference winning streak to 23 matches. The Bears have a single match left this season but since every other Big 12 program has two losses in its conference record, Baylor's women's tennis team can already call themselves 2006's Big 12 champions.
The Longhorns gave Baylor a rough match but in the end, the Bears earned four points first. In doubles, Baylor's Daniela Covello and Iva Mihaylova fell on court two 8-3 to Kelly Baritot and Kendra Strohm, but Zuzana Zemenova and Zuzana Krchnakova defeated Petra Dizdar and Ristine Olson 8-5 on court three to give Bear a chance at the point. On court one Texas fought back with the final win as Mia Marovic and Courtney Zauft beat No. 43 duo Zuzana Cerna and Klara Zrustova 8-4 to earn the doubles point.
Singles play required the Bears sharpest games having lost in doubles. No. 11 Cerna energized the team as she quickly defeated Dizdar 6-3, 6-1 on court two. With tonight's win, Cerna tied Baylor's record for most singles wins in a season. Former standout Jahnaiv Parekh earned 39 wins in her 1999-2000 season and Cerna's victory today marked her 39th win this season.
"There's not a more deserving person. Cerna has worked so hard to take her game to a new level which helps the whole team. And she would be the first one to tell you the individual record doesn't matter as much as helping the team. She has really done an outstanding job," said head coach Joey Scrivano.
Back on the courts Texas' Olson put the Longhorns back in front with her 6-4, 6-4 victory over Krchnakova on court six. Next on court five Mihaylova fell to Baritot 7-6(8), 6-1 as the Texas claimed the lead 3-1. The Bears were then forced to win the remaining three matches to claim the overall match and conference title.
On court four, No. 94 Zrustova channeled her competitive spirit in order to defeat Strohm in a second set tiebreaker. Zrustova finished off the Longhorn 6-4, 7-6(3) to bring Baylor one point closer to victory. No. 3 Zemenova picked up the first set in a tiebreaker but dropped the second to No. 70 Marovic on court one. In the third set, Zemenova focused her game for a 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-3 victory and brought the Bears back to tie the score at 3-3.
In the final match of the evening, No. 117 Covello fought her way through court three's match. After splitting the first two sets, Texas' Zauft held a 6-5 third-set lead. Covello was returning Zauft's serve with the score in Texas' favor at 15-40. Covello mixed several well-placed backhands and volleys during the ensuing points to save the match points and force the match to a third-set tiebreaker. Covello held on through the third set and finished off Texas 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(5) giving Baylor the 4-3 win.
"Obviously it's great anytime you can win a conference championship, but we have to put it in perspective since our ultimate goal is to win a national championship. We have to learn from playing tough matches like today's and continue to get better," said Scrivano. This conference title is Scrivano's third (2003, 2005, 2006) since arriving at Baylor in 2002.
Baylor will return home to close out its regular season by hosting Colorado Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Baylor Tennis Center. Live updates will be available at www.baylorbears.com.
#5 Baylor, 4 def. #19 Texas, 3
April 19, 2006 - 5:30 p.m.
Austin, Texas
Doubles
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1
Marovic/Zauft (UT) def. Cerna/Zrustova (BU) - 8-4
Baritot/Strohm (UT) def. Covello/Mihaylova (BU) - 8-3
Zemenova/Krchnakova (BU) def. Dizdar/Olson (UT) - 8-5
Singles
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 5, 4, 1, 3*
No. 3 Zuzana Zemenova (BU) def. No. 70 Mia Marovic (UT) - 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3
No. 11 Zuzana Cerna (BU) def. Petra Dizdar (UT) - 6-3, 6-1
Daniela Covello (BU) def. Courtney Zauft (UT) - 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 94 Klara Zrustova (BU) def. Kendra Strohm (UT) - 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Kelly Baritot (UT) def. Iva Mihaylova (BU) - 7-6 (8), 6-1
Ristine Olson (UT) def. Zuzana Krchnakova (BU) - 6-4, 6-4
