2021 WT Preview: Bears Turn to Culture as Season Begins

Saturday, January 16

Waco, Texas

11:00 AM

Baylor

Prairie View A&M

2021 WT Preview: Bears Turn to Culture as Season Begins

1/15/2021 3:32:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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Bears take on Prairie View A&M twice Saturday

WACO, Texas - The Baylor women's tennis team will open the 2021 season Saturday in a doubleheader vs. Prairie View A&M at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The first match will take place at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center with the second match held either at Hawkins or the Hurd Tennis Center depending on weather.

Baylor is coming off a 10-2 season in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season and returns players that collected a combined 43-13 record on the singles court last spring. Prairie View A&M went 2-15 last season.

by Jerry Hill, Baylor Bear Insider
Even through a challenging 9-21 season in 2019 and last year's COVID shutdown, Baylor women's tennis coach Joey Scrivano saw a team that was "building a culture that's going to really lead us to some great things."
            "There's nothing harder (than building culture), and it's so scarce. We're just so short-sighted," said Scrivano, who begins his 19^th season at Baylor with a doubleheader against Prairie View A&M at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
            "What's special about this team and these student-athletes is they've bought in from Day 1 that we're going to do something great. . . . Ultimately, where we are right now, the team is in a great place, the culture is very healthy and the players are up to the challenge of building that culture on a daily basis."
            After the growing pains of the year before, the Bears showed they were on the right track by getting off to a 10-2 start last season before everything shut down. Angelina Shakhraichuk and Kris Sorokolet shared the team lead with 16 overall wins, while Alicia Herrero Linana and Paula Baranano were a combined 17-2 in dual matches.
            "Last season was so short, but it's already in the past. We don't think about it anymore," said Herrero Linana, who was 9-2 in the Nos. 2-4 spots after sitting out a year in residence. "We're working so hard to have a better season than last season. Right now, we're just focused on what is coming."
            Just two years ago, with Herrero Linana and Mel Krywoj sitting out, Scrivano struggled at times just to find six healthy players to put on the court every match. Now, with Shakhraichuk and Jessica Hinojosa granted an extra year of eligibility, he has a full roster of 11 available players.
            Freshmen Audrey Boch-Collins, Caroline Kotarski, Hannah Pinto and Sara Ziodato were added to an experienced roster that includes six upperclassmen. Livia Kraus, Hinojosa, Krywoj, Baranano and Sorokolet all have experience at No. 1 singles.
            Despite the deep roster, Scrivano said "there's no having to manipulate a lineup."
            "It's the simplest thing ever. The best players are going to play," he said. "it's just going to be who earns it during the week, they'll play. It's not complicated stuff."
            Having a bench for one of the first times in his coaching career, Scrivano said, will "assist us in building a championship culture and ultimately reaching our mission of making this one of the best programs in the country."
            "I've always said, basketball and football coaches are very overrated because they have a bench and they can actually establish culture through playing time," he said. "It's way easier. In my dreams, I'm a football coach or a basketball coach. (Having a bench) is like an extra coach in this process. So, we're excited about it."
            In addition to the four new freshmen, sophomore transfer Isabella Harvison from Alabama just arrived on Thursday, but will have to sit out this season and will be eligible next January.
            Another addition to the program is Baylor Hall of Famer Lenka Broosova, a five-time All-American with the Bears who returned to her alma mater last month as associate head coach after years as an assistant at Tulsa.