WT Opens Big 12 Season with TCU at Home Thursday

Thursday, March 7

Waco, Texas

3 p.m.

Baylor

TCU

Photo by: Baylor Photography

WT Opens Big 12 Season with TCU at Home Thursday

3/6/2019 2:18:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Baylor Match Notes Live Stats Live Video

Bears look to extend win streak vs. Horned Frogs to seven

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Fighting with the short end of the stick all year, the 50^th-ranked Baylor women's tennis team (5-10) will try to snap a nine-match losing streak when the Bears host TCU (6-4) in the Big 12 opener at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
            Because of injuries, coach Joey Scrivano used only four players in last Friday's 7-0 loss at Michigan and filled a full lineup with a pair of walk-ons in falling 5-2 at Ohio State on Sunday.
            "This team is incredibly resilient," Scrivano said. "We're shorthanded at the moment, and these players have just competed really hard. They've handled themselves really well. To go into a match and know that you don't have your best lineup on the court can be a real challenge. And they're dealing with it better than I could ever imagine."
            While the team has struggled, not being at full strength since the Feb. 3 match at UCF, there has been individual growth with a pair of nationally ranked singles players in junior Jessica Hinojosa (121^st) and sophomore Livia Kraus (59^th).
            Kraus has won a team-best 14 matches, including an 8-5 record in dual matches, while Hinojosa is 10-5 in dual matches playing in the Nos. 1-3 spots.
            "Every match is a challenge, and the obvious thing is that we don't have a great record right now," Scrivano said. "The less obvious is that Livia Kraus is one of the most improved players in the country. Jessica Hinojosa has gone from a 5/6 player to winning matches at No. 1 singles. As a coach, it's all about growth and helping these kids improve. The kids that are playing and competing are really improving a lot. Once we get our full complementary lineup, then we'll be a really tough team to beat."
            Hinojosa earned her first ITA ranking after beating 64^th-ranked Isabelle Boulais, 1-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4), in Sunday's match at Ohio State. Freshman Paula Baranano got the Bears' only point with a three-set victory over the Buckeyes' Luna Dormet. Over the last two seasons, 24 of Hinojosa's 27 dual-match wins came at the Nos. 4-6 spots.
            "Obviously, the matches are harder than on the bottom of the lineup like I was last year and two years ago," Hinojosa said. "But, I've been working hard, and I know what I need to focus on in practice and the matches to be able to handle those touch matches."
            A first-semester freshman, Baranano is 4-4 at the Nos. 4-6 spots, while Kraus is 7-4 at No. 1. Kris Sorokolet is 6-7 in dual matches, with Angie Shahkraichuk and Dominica Sujova being in and out of the lineup.
            "It's a day-to-day situation," Scrivano said. "A lot of that is out of our control. We just have to be prepared to play either way. That's what we're doing."
            After a 5-0 start, TCU has dropped four of its last five matches, including a 4-3 loss at 23^rd-ranked Texas Tech on Saturday in a scheduled non-conference match. The Horned Frogs are one of just three unranked teams in the league, with Oklahoma State (8^th), Kansas (12^th) and Texas (16^th) all in the top 20.
            "TCU is always tough. It's always a really tough matchup with small margins between winning and losing," Scrivano said. "The conference overall is really deep right now, and every match is going to be a challenge. We just have to take them one match at a time."
            Live scoring and video for Thursday's match will be available at www.baylorbears.com.