No. 22 WT Hosts ITA Kickoff Weekend

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Trying to make it back to the ITA National Indoor Championship for the first time in nine years, Joey Scrivano is hoping his 22^nd-ranked Baylor women's tennis team takes advantage of playing the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on its home courts at the Hurd Tennis Center.
            "Obviously, our players like to play in front of our fans and there's advantages to playing at home," Scrivano said. "The fans can make a difference, and that's what we're hoping for this weekend."
            The Bears (1-1), who split a pair of matches at the Bella the Ball Collegiate Invitational two weeks ago in Las Vegas, will play Big 12 rival Kansas (0-1) at 2 p.m. Friday in the first round of the ITA National Indoor qualifier.
            Second-seeded and 15^th-ranked USC (3-0) plays third-seeded and No. 23 Miami (2-0) at 11 a.m., with the two winners meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday for a trip to the national tournament Feb. 11-14 in Madison, Wis.
            "This is not really complicated stuff. We were a popular site because we finished 14^th last year," Scrivano said of the team draft that was held last June. "They think we're more vulnerable. But, if we're present, all that stuff goes out the window."
            That was the difference in Las Vegas, where Baylor dominated Illinois, 6-1, after a 4-3 loss to BYU on the opening day. The Bears split in singles after dropping the doubles point to BYU.
            "We learned that if we're not present, you can lose to anybody," Scrivano said. "We also learned that we have the ability to respond. Our players definitely did that. From BYU to the Illinois match . . . they were two different teams. It was a blessing that we took that loss, because January 15^th, we figured out that if we're not present, we're not very good."
            Freshmen Alina Shcherbinina and Anita Sadhiieva were undefeated on the opening weekend in singles and doubles, while junior Paula Baranano also swept her singles matches.
            "The younger kids, they're learning awareness," Scrivano said. "Just match to match or day by day, they're learning what it takes and they're learning what their responsibility is as a teammate. But, I definitely know that the entire team was proud of themselves in the way they responded, because we very easily could have gone 0-2 that weekend."
            Kansas lost its only dual match of the season, falling 5-2 at Tulsa, but took Baylor to the wire last year in a 4-3 match in Lawrence.
            "We're excited to play Kansas," Scrivano said. "We had a battle with them last year, and it's always great to get more information about your conference opponents."
            After missing the opening weekend due to an injury to see a specialist in Waco, returning All-Big 12 first-teamer Mel Krywoj is expected to be back in the lineup. Last year, she was 10-7 at No. 1 singles and 6-3 at No. 1 doubles with Alicia Herrero Linana.
            "She's going to be rusty, but we're excited to have her back. She's a big part of what we do," Scrivano said of Krywoj. "We feel like we have six players that are really interchangeable, pretty much 1 through 6. And that's an advantage. We can definitely move our lineup around until we figure out who our top six are."
            Scrivano expects the Miami-USC match to go 4-3, "and I don't know which way it's going to go."
            USC features four ranked players, including No. 1 Eryn Cayetano, while Miami has a pair of ranked players. This weekend will also be a homecoming for former Baylor assistant Alex Santos and sophomore Audrey Boch-Collins, who played No. 6 singles last year for the Bears.
            "There's always going to be outside storylines that can distract you from doing what you need to do," Scrivano said. "We embrace that, because that's just the reality of what we were doing."
            Live scoring from the matches this weekend is available at baylorbears.com.

WACO, Texas – No. 22 Baylor women's tennis hosts No. 23 Miami, No. 15 USC and Kansas for the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Friday and Saturday.

BU, as the No. 1 seed, faces fourth-seed Kansas (0-1) at 2 p.m. on Friday with No. 2 Miami (2-0) and No. 3 USC (3-0) facing off earlier that day at 11 a.m. A consolation match will follow at 11 a.m. on Saturday with the championship at 2 p.m. The winner punches its ticket to the ITA National Indoors held Feb. 11-14 at Wisconsin.

"Yeah, it's a neat deal," Baylor head coach Joey Scrivano said. "Obviously, our players like to play in front of our fans and there's advantages to playing at home. The fans can make a difference, and that's what we're hoping for this weekend."

The Bears are coming off a 1-1 showing at the Bella the Ball Collegiate Invitational in Las Vegas nearly two weeks ago. After dropping the season opener to BYU, 4-3, the Bears bounced back in a big way with a 6-1 win over Illinois.

"We learned that if we're not present, you can lose to anybody," Scrivano said. "And then we also learned that we have the ability to respond, and our players definitely did that. From the BYU to the Illinois match, it was less than 24 hours, and they were two different teams. It was good. We took a lot from that weekend."

The lineup fluctuated for Baylor in Vegas. A key part to that was the absence of senior Mel Krywoj, who will be a staple at the top of the lineup for the Bears this season. She will be back in action this weekend.

"We feel like we have six players that are really interchangeable, pretty much one through six," Scrivano said. "That's an advantage. We can definitely move our lineup around until we figure out who our top six are."

More than half of Baylor's lineup played their first dual match in the green and gold in Vegas - Alabama transfer Isabella Harvison, along with freshmen Alina Shcherbinina, Anita Sahdiieva and Ana Carmen Zamburek.

Shcherbinina and Sahdiieva – who are also doubles partners – went undefeated to open their collegiate careers.

"The younger kids, they're learning awareness," Scrivano said. "So, I think just match to match or day by day, they're just kind of learning what it takes and they're learning what their responsibility is as a teammate."

For the latest news on the Baylor women's tennis team all season long, follow their official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWTennis.

No. 22 WT Hosts ITA Kickoff Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Audrey Boch-Collins

Isabella Harvison

Alicia Herrero Linana

Mel Krywoj

Anita Sahdiieva

Alina Shcherbinina

Ana Carmen Zamburek

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