No. 8 WT Powers to Big 12 Semis with 4-1 Win over TCU

Friday, April 23

Waco, Texas

Noon

Baylor

TCU

No. 8 WT Powers to Big 12 Semis with 4-1 Win over TCU

4/23/2021 5:28:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears will face Iowa State Saturday at Noon

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Playing TCU for the second time in 10 days, the No. 8-ranked Baylor women's tennis team never gave the Horned Frogs a fighter's chance.
            After winning a tight doubles point, the Bears (22-3) got straight-set wins from Kris Sorokolet and Angie Shakhraichuk and clinched a 4-1 victory over TCU when Alicia Herrero Linana rallied to beat Tate Schroeder, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, in Friday's Big 12 Championship quarterfinals at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
            "This team is so mentally tough," said Baylor coach Joey Scrivano, whose second-seeded team will face sixth-seeded Iowa State (13-6) in Saturday's 12 p.m. semifinal at the Hurd Tennis Center.
"They're really aware of what kind of state they have to be in to respond to this kind of challenge. They did what they've done every time, which is rising up and accepting the challenge and just competing really hard. I'm just so proud of them."
            A pivotal moment came with TCU on the verge of taking the opening doubles point. Sorokolet and Jessica Hinojosa had lost 6-2 at the No. 2 spot, and the other two spots were tied at 4-4.
            But, in the blink of an eye, Baylor had the first point on the board. Shakhraichuk and Mel Krywoj knocked off the Frogs' Marie Norris and Stevie Kennedy, 6-4, at No. 1, and then Herrero Linana clinched it with a 6-4 win over Schroeder and Margaret Polk at No. 3.
            "That was a huge moment," Scrivano said. "We don't focus on, we have to score the doubles point, but it definitely helps. It puts some scoreboard pressure on the opponent. That definitely took a little bit of TCU's confidence away. They were ready. They made some nice adjustments in the doubles, and then we had to counter. It's hard to counter in a short one-set doubles (match). It always goes back to our players and the way they respond to adversity. And they did it again today."
            Carrying that momentum over to singles, the Bears won four of the six first sets and took complete control of the match. Just nine days earlier, TCU took three of the singles to three sets in a 5-2 loss in Fort Worth.
            "They were giving their best on the court today," Herrero Linana said. "They were present, they were coming for us, but I think our reaction was so positive. We wanted the challenge, and we got it. Our reaction was amazing."
            Sorokolet defeated Kennedy, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 5, but TCU matched it with Norris' 6-4, 6-0 win over Hinojosa at the top of the lineup. Shakhraichuk had her first ranked win of the season, beating 76^th-ranked Mercedes Aristegui, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 3.
            Freshman Audrey Boch-Collins was leading Polk, 6-3, 5-2, at No. 6, and Paula Baranano was up a set on Isabel Pasqual at No. 4 when Herrero Linana rallied to win a three-setter at No. 2.
            After losing the first set, Herrero Linana took a timed break and told herself, "I have all day to fight for my team here, so this is not the end."
            "I started really optimistic in the second set and fighting for it, and I was able to change and adjust my dials," she said. "And she felt that I was there. That first set was in the past, and in the moment we were playing, I was dominating. That was important."
            In the only upset of the opening day, Iowa State knocked off third-seeded and 29^th-ranked Texas Tech, 4-1. The Cyclones took the doubles point and got straight-set wins at Nos. 2, 4 and 5 to clinch it.
            Top-seeded and second-ranked Texas (23-1) defeated ninth-seeded Kansas, 4-0, and fourth-seeded Oklahoma knocked off Oklahoma State, 4-0. The Longhorns face OU in the other semifinal, with the winners playing in Sunday's 1 p.m. final.
            "We have incredible depth. That's been really apparent this season," Scrivano said. "We make every player on our roster a priority. There were players who didn't start the season, like Paula (Baranano), who wasn't in our lineup; or Kristina (Sorokolet), who's been in and out of the lineup. But, we kept working with them and told them, 'Your turn is coming.'''
            Live video streaming and live stats are available at Big12sports.com.

WACO, Texas – The No. 8-ranked Baylor women's tennis team beat TCU 4-1 in the quarterfinals round of the Big 12 Championship Friday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.

Baylor (22-3), the No. 2 seed, took the doubles point before earning the win with three wins on the singles court vs. TCU (9-13). The Bears took down the Horned Frogs for the third time this season to advance to the semifinals.

After the doubles point, Baylor's Kristina Sorokolet's win on No. 5 gave the Bears a 2-0 advantage. After a loss on the No. 1 court, Angelina Shakhraichuk defeated No. 76-ranked Mercedes Aristegui, 6-4, 6-4 to put Baylor up 4-3. After dropping the first set, Alicia Herrero Linana picked up the match sealer, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.

THEY SAID IT
Baylor Head Coach Joey Scrivano on facing TCU a third time …
"This is the third time we've played them. They're extremely tough. We were expecting a tough match. This team is really mentally tough. They are really aware of what state they have to be in to respond to this type of challenge. Our team felt the challenge and responded really well. I'm really proud of them."

On the depth of the roster…
"We have incredible depth. That's been really apparent this season. We make every player a priority on our roster. There were players who didn't start the season, like Paula [Barañano], or who were in and out of the lineup, like Kristina [Sorokolet], and we kept working with them. We told them 'Your turn is coming. When the opportunity comes, you'll be ready.' We've reframed the way they look at college tennis to look at the big picture instead of just wanting to start. They now think, 'When I get my chance, I'm going to compete, perform and do something special on the court.' They've embraced that mindset, and it has been terrific.

Baylor junior Alicia Herrero Linana on her 3-set match …
"TCU's a really good team. They have really ambitious players and we were getting their best on the court today. They were coming for us, but I think our reaction was really positive. We wanted the challenge today and we got it. Our reaction was amazing. We fought hard and I'm really happy for the way we responded to the challenge."

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor faces No. 6 seed and No. 36-ranked Iowa State Saturday at Noon at the Hurd Tennis Center in the Big 12 Championship semifinals.