WACO, Texas – In a pair of thrillers on Monday, the Baylor women's tennis team outlasted Rice and DePaul by identical 4-3 scores at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. 
 
The Bears (4-0) sealed the doubles point against the Owls (1-1) with a 6-4 win by Isabella Harvison and Danielle Tuhten on court three, after Alina Shcherbinina and Anita Sahdiieva swept Federica Trevisan and Darya Schwartzman on No. 2. 
 
In singles action, wins by Sahdiieva and Tuhten on No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, gave Baylor a 3-1 cushion, as the Owls grabbed the victory on court four. Another win by Rice on court one brought the Owls within one, before Paula Barañano outlasted Sydney Berlin on No. 5 in a set-three tiebreaker to win it for the Bears. 
 
Shcherbinina and Sahdiieva picked up their second doubles win of the day, before DePaul grabbed victories on No. 2 and No. 3 to jump out to a 1-0 lead in the match. 
 
Wins by Shcherbinina (6-1, 6-1), Harvison (6-1, 6-1) and Tuhten (6-2, 6-3) on the odd-numbered courts pushed the Bears ahead, 3-1. The Blue Demons responded with a 7-5, 6-3 victory on court four and 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win on court six to level it at three-all. 
 
On the deciding court, Sahdiieva took the opening set, 7-6 (7-2), before falling 7-5 in set two. In the deciding set, the sophomore powered past DePaul's Smith, 6-2, to win the match for the Bears.
 
"Today's matches were really tough, and we were tested from start to finish," head coach Joey Scrivano said. "We're just really proud of the way our players responded today because it was a long day, and this was an opportunity for us to see what we can do. Our team did really well, so we'll just keep getting better from here."
 
The Bears return to action next weekend at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, hosted by the University of Texas, Jan. 27-28. 
 
RESULTS VS. RICE
Singles
No. 1 – Allison Zipoli def. Alina Shcherbinina: 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 – Federica Trevisan def. Isabella Harvison: 6-7 (10-8), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 – Anita Sahdiieva def. Diae El Jardi: 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 – Maria Budin def. Daniella Dimitrov: 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 – Paula Barañano def. Sydney Berlin: 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6)
No. 6 – Danielle Tuhten def. Saara Orav: 6-4, 6-2
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Paula Barañano/Daniella Dimitrov vs. Elena Trencheva/Sophie Schouten, unfinished
No. 2 – Alina Shcherbinina/Anita Sahdiieva def. Federica Trevisan/Darya Schwartzman, 6-0
No. 3 – Isabella Harvison/Danielle Tuhten def. Saara Orav/Sydney Berlin, 6-4
 
RESULTS VS. DEPAUL
Singles
No. 1 – Alina Shcherbinina def. Yuliya Kizelbasheva: 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 – Anita Sahdiieva vs. Hannah Smith: 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-2
No. 3 – Isabella Harvison def. Eleanor Nobbs: 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 – Lenka Antonijevic def. Daniella Dimitrov: 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 – Danielle Tuhten def. Daniela Rosenberger: 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 – Kristyna Mamicova def. Brooke Thompson: 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Alina Shcherbinina/Anita Sahdiieva def. Lenka Antonijevic/Yuliya Kizelbasheva, 6-2
No. 2 – Greta Carbone/Hannah Smith def. Daniella Dimitrov/Danielle Tuhten 7-6 (8-6)
No. 3 – Valentina Martin/Maddie Yergler def. Brooke Thompson/Lauren Littell 7-6 (7-4)