Baylor
#24 TCU
No. 18 WTEN Triumphs Over No. 24 TCU
4/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 19, 2017
By Jerry HillBaylor Bear Foundation
On a day when half of the team "didn't give our best," the 18th-ranked Baylor women's tennis team (18-5, 5-2) still found a way to put away No. 24 TCU, 4-1, Wednesday for its fifth straight win overall and remain unbeaten at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Seniors Blair Shankle and Rhiann Newborn dominated their matches at the top of the lineup, then freshman Jessica Hinojosa clinched it by beating the Horned Frogs' Marie Norris, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 6. It was Baylor's 12th win in the last 13 meetings with TCU.
"What a warrior," Baylor coach Joey Scrivano said of Hinojosa, who improved to 10-5 in dual-match play and 5-0 in conference. "She was our best player today. From start to finish, she was just so solid, singles and doubles. As a freshman, to be that mentally tough, her future is very, very bright."
TCU (13-8, 5-4) had come in as one of the league's hottest teams, winning three in a row and six of its last eight, including Saturday's 4-1 win over a seventh-ranked Texas Tech team that's already wrapped up a share of the Big 12 regular-season title.
Baylor got things started on a good foot by sweeping all three doubles to win the opening point. Shankle and Karina Traxler dominated the 27th-ranked duo of Seda Arantekin and Olava Garrido-Rivas, 6-1, then the Nos. 2 and 3 teams finished it at pretty much the same time.
Theresa Van Zyl and Elizabeth Profit technically clinched it, beating Sofiko Kadzhaya and Alexis Pereira, 6-4, at No. 3, just seconds before the all-freshman tandem of Hinojosa and Angelina Shakhraichuk closed out a 6-3 win at No. 2 over Caroline Wegner and Donika Bashota.
Even though it's just one of the four points needed to win the match, Shankle said Baylor's resurgence in doubles is "huge."
"We did well with losing the doubles point," Shankle said of the Lady Bears going 5-4 in matches when they've lost the doubles point, "but to have a little more confidence and be in it on every court in doubles is a huge difference. It makes us just that much more competitive."
TCU was much more competitive in singles, winning three of the six first sets. Wegner got the Horned Frogs' only point with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Shakhraichuk at No. 5.
With Baylor losing the first set at two of the other spots and down multiple breaks, it put even more pressure on Shankle, Newborn and Hinojosa to finish it off.
"Every court was so loud, and then everyone came to my court," Hinojosa said. "I thought, `You have to win it here.' So, I just kept fighting."
Before Hinojosa's clincher, the fifth-ranked Shankle rolled to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Arantekin at No. 1 singles, and Newborn got the Lady Bears on the brink by beating Kadzhaya, 6-1, 7-5, at No. 2.
Instead of fretting about what's happening on the other five courts, Shankle said she just tries to "take care of what I can."
"And I know all the other girls are doing the exact same thing," she said. "I was just trying my hardest to finish, win it in two sets and keep the momentum going."
While Shankle has a team-best 23 singles victories and 13 in dual-match play, Scrivano said "she has another gear that we would love to see her start playing in."
"Blair's just such a great competitor, she finds a way to win," Scrivano said. "I'd like to see her play better. And I know she's capable of playing better."
Baylor, 12-0 at home this season, closes out the regular season with home matches against Kansas State (10-12, 2-5) at 5 p.m. Friday and No. 27 Kansas (12-7, 4-3) at 1 p.m. Sunday.
"I'm just proud of the way we competed," Scrivano said. "TCU is really good, and they're really confident right now, so this was a big win for our group. . . . I feel like our team was a tale of two sides. One half of our team was really tough and competed hard and gave it everything they had. And the other half, we didn't give our best. We've got to improve that."
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas -- The No. 18 Baylor women's tennis team (18-5) defeated No. 24 TCU (13-8) 4-1 at Hurd Tennis Center on Wednesday evening. It is the fifth-straight victory for the Lady Bears, who continue their unblemished streak at home, 12-0.
The Lady Bears came back from a two court deficit to take the doubles point after senior Blair Shankle and sophomore Karina Traxler defeated No. 27 Seda Arantekin and Olaya Garrido-Rivas, 6-1, at the No. 1 spot. The final two courts finished at the same time with junior Theresa Van Zyl and sophomore Elizabeth Profit triumphing over Sofiko Kadzhaya and Alexis Pereira, 6-4, at No. 3 doubles to clinch the match. Freshmen Angelina Shakhraichuk and Jessica Hinojosa followed closely behind at No. 2 doubles, defeating Caroline Wegner and Donika Bashota, 6-3.
No. 5-ranked Shankle snagged Baylor's first singles point with a, 6-3, 6-4, victory over No. 62 Arantekin at the No. 1 spot. No. 116 senior Rhiann Newborn added to the lead, defeating Kadzhaya, 6-1, 7-5, at the No. 2 position.
Hinojosa clinched the match at No. 6 with a triumph over Marie Norris, 6-3, 6-4.
OTHER NOTABLES
à ¢- The Lady Bears lead the all-time series against the Horned Frogs, 19-15, and have won 12 of the last 13 matchups.
à ¢- The doubles duo of Blair Shankle and Karina Traxler are undefeated, 5-0, with two wins over ranked opponents.
à ¢- Freshman Jessica Hinojosa clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Marie Norris at No. 6 singles.
à ¢- Baylor is undefeated at home, 12-0, and currently 5-2 in Big 12 play.
à ¢- The Lady Bears have won eight of their last nine dual matches and each of the last five.
TOP QUOTES
"I'm proud of the way we competed. TCU is really good and they're confident right now, so this was a big win for our group." - Head coach Joey Scrivano
"I feel like our team was like a tale of two sides. One half of our team was really tough, competed hard and gave it everything they had. And the other half didn't give their best. We've got to improve that." -Head coach Joey Scrivano
"Jessica was a warrior. She was our best player today. From start to finish she's so solid, singles to doubles. For a freshman to be that solid, her future is bright and I'm extremely proud of her. We're lucky to have her on our side." - Head coach Joey Scrivano
WHAT'S NEXT
The Lady Bears continue their home match streak, facing Kansas State on Friday and No. 27 Kansas on Sunday at Hurd Tennis Center. Match play begins at 5 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. Sunday is Senior Day for Shankle and Newborn. The pair will be recognized postmatch.
Follow the official Twitter and Instagram accounts of the team (@BaylorWTennis) for an inside look at the program.
Players Mentioned
