LASER FOCUS
4/12/2025 11:54:00 PM | Women's Tennis
#23 Bears avoid Senior Day distractions, defeat TCU, 4-0
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Joey Scrivano has been through enough of these Senior Day recognitions – 22 at Baylor and 25 overall – to know how distracting and emotional they can be.
"You have to work really hard on Senior Day to just remember that you've got to take care of the task at hand," Scrivano said, "and just keep reminding yourself, we've got to win the match first and then celebrate Senior Day."
Staying laser-focused, the 23rd-ranked Baylor women's tennis team defeated No. 40 TCU, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center to close out the regular season and clinch the No. 4 seed for next week's Big 12 Championships that the Bears will host.
Two of Baylor's four seniors helped the Bears clinch the match, with Sierra Berry teaming with sophomore Zuzanna Kubacha in a decisive 7-6(3) win over the Horned Frogs' Helena Narmont and Yu-Chin Tsai at No. 2 doubles to put the first point on the board, then Liubov Kostenko closing it out by defeating TCU's Jade Otway, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.
"It feels amazing," said Kostenko, who lost to Otway in straight sets in a 4-0 loss to TCU last April. "I'm so glad the team won today as well. It feels really good winning against someone that I lost to last year. I think this was like a revenge, and also, bringing the point for the team is really cool. I'm just happy we won."
Following their third-straight win, the Bears (19-4, 10-3) celebrated Berry, Kostenko and fellow seniors Brooke Thompson and Cristina Tiglea in a memorable Senior Day.
"They were ready for this match," Scrivano said. "And they just showed their quality and their consistency today. They fought through a lot of twists and turns, and they were able to stay in the present and not think about Senior Day too much, which is hard to do. A lot of teams lose on Senior Day, and it's because of that. It's such a special moment, it's easy to get ahead of yourself."
In doubles, the Frogs' 28th-ranked duo of Otway and Isabel Pascual defeated Baylor's 30th-ranked tandem of Kostenko and Tiglea, 6-4, at No. 1. The Bears' freshman duo of Na Dong and Wenfei Yu, playing together for the first time, squared the doubles by dominating Raquel Caballero and Toi Main, 6-2, at No. 3.
Berry and Kubacha, another first-time pairing, clinched the doubles point by taking control early in the tiebreaker and closing it out, 7-3.
"People believed that we couldn't achieve big things during this season," said Tiglea, a first-year transfer from Texas Tech, "and we proved them wrong. But it's not proving them wrong, it's proving to ourselves that we are capable of achieving great things."
The Bears won four of the six first sets in singles, but TCU battled back to take Kostenko and Tiglea to third sets at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively. Junior Kennedy Gibbs recorded the next point when the Frogs' Cayetana Gay had to retire, trailing 6-4, 4-0 at No. 6.
Baylor freshman Nanaka Sato split sets with TCU's Maya Drozd at No. 5, while Dong defeated Main in straight sets at No. 4, 6-4, 6-2, before Kostenko nailed it down with the win at No. 1.
Scrivano said Kostenko "probably made the most progress this season of any of our team."
"For her to go from lower-lineup singles, being in and out of doubles, to being top 1- in doubles and then can play No. 1 singles," Scrivano said, "that's transformation. And she deserves all the credit. She put her head down and just trusted the process. I'm really thankful that I had the opportunity to work with her. She's a special kid."
Tiglea is "a player that I think really put us over the top this year," Scrivano said.
"We needed her energy. We needed that dog in her," he said. "She's got a lot of dog, and she's got a lot of swagger. And we needed that. This group needed someone to come in and be like, 'No, we're really good, and this is why.' And she showed the way. She's been a tremendous leader for our team."
Berry, who spent two years at Baylor after transferring from South Florida, "is about as quality of a person as you're ever going to meet, and as I've ever coached," Scrivano said.
"It's not easy to come in and be asked to improve your entire game," he said. "She's just embraced it, and we're seeing the fruits of that. She's just been such a positive spot for us."
Thompson, the lone senior to be at Baylor all four years, is 1-1 at No. 3 doubles with Gibbs this season and has been "an amazing teammate."
"So thankful she's been a part of our team, and she's been a huge part of our success," Scrivano said. "You have to have quality people like Brooke Thopson that not only compete, but then help support the rest of the team. Her and her family have just been top-notch. I'm so thankful for them."
Drawing two byes as a top-four seed, Baylor will play in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Friday. The five-day tournament begins with the bottom six seeds playing in first-round matches at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Baylor Bear Insider
Joey Scrivano has been through enough of these Senior Day recognitions – 22 at Baylor and 25 overall – to know how distracting and emotional they can be.
"You have to work really hard on Senior Day to just remember that you've got to take care of the task at hand," Scrivano said, "and just keep reminding yourself, we've got to win the match first and then celebrate Senior Day."
Staying laser-focused, the 23rd-ranked Baylor women's tennis team defeated No. 40 TCU, 4-0, Saturday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center to close out the regular season and clinch the No. 4 seed for next week's Big 12 Championships that the Bears will host.
Two of Baylor's four seniors helped the Bears clinch the match, with Sierra Berry teaming with sophomore Zuzanna Kubacha in a decisive 7-6(3) win over the Horned Frogs' Helena Narmont and Yu-Chin Tsai at No. 2 doubles to put the first point on the board, then Liubov Kostenko closing it out by defeating TCU's Jade Otway, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.
"It feels amazing," said Kostenko, who lost to Otway in straight sets in a 4-0 loss to TCU last April. "I'm so glad the team won today as well. It feels really good winning against someone that I lost to last year. I think this was like a revenge, and also, bringing the point for the team is really cool. I'm just happy we won."
Following their third-straight win, the Bears (19-4, 10-3) celebrated Berry, Kostenko and fellow seniors Brooke Thompson and Cristina Tiglea in a memorable Senior Day.
"They were ready for this match," Scrivano said. "And they just showed their quality and their consistency today. They fought through a lot of twists and turns, and they were able to stay in the present and not think about Senior Day too much, which is hard to do. A lot of teams lose on Senior Day, and it's because of that. It's such a special moment, it's easy to get ahead of yourself."
In doubles, the Frogs' 28th-ranked duo of Otway and Isabel Pascual defeated Baylor's 30th-ranked tandem of Kostenko and Tiglea, 6-4, at No. 1. The Bears' freshman duo of Na Dong and Wenfei Yu, playing together for the first time, squared the doubles by dominating Raquel Caballero and Toi Main, 6-2, at No. 3.
Berry and Kubacha, another first-time pairing, clinched the doubles point by taking control early in the tiebreaker and closing it out, 7-3.
"People believed that we couldn't achieve big things during this season," said Tiglea, a first-year transfer from Texas Tech, "and we proved them wrong. But it's not proving them wrong, it's proving to ourselves that we are capable of achieving great things."
The Bears won four of the six first sets in singles, but TCU battled back to take Kostenko and Tiglea to third sets at Nos. 1 and 2 singles, respectively. Junior Kennedy Gibbs recorded the next point when the Frogs' Cayetana Gay had to retire, trailing 6-4, 4-0 at No. 6.
Baylor freshman Nanaka Sato split sets with TCU's Maya Drozd at No. 5, while Dong defeated Main in straight sets at No. 4, 6-4, 6-2, before Kostenko nailed it down with the win at No. 1.
Scrivano said Kostenko "probably made the most progress this season of any of our team."
"For her to go from lower-lineup singles, being in and out of doubles, to being top 1- in doubles and then can play No. 1 singles," Scrivano said, "that's transformation. And she deserves all the credit. She put her head down and just trusted the process. I'm really thankful that I had the opportunity to work with her. She's a special kid."
Tiglea is "a player that I think really put us over the top this year," Scrivano said.
"We needed her energy. We needed that dog in her," he said. "She's got a lot of dog, and she's got a lot of swagger. And we needed that. This group needed someone to come in and be like, 'No, we're really good, and this is why.' And she showed the way. She's been a tremendous leader for our team."
Berry, who spent two years at Baylor after transferring from South Florida, "is about as quality of a person as you're ever going to meet, and as I've ever coached," Scrivano said.
"It's not easy to come in and be asked to improve your entire game," he said. "She's just embraced it, and we're seeing the fruits of that. She's just been such a positive spot for us."
Thompson, the lone senior to be at Baylor all four years, is 1-1 at No. 3 doubles with Gibbs this season and has been "an amazing teammate."
"So thankful she's been a part of our team, and she's been a huge part of our success," Scrivano said. "You have to have quality people like Brooke Thopson that not only compete, but then help support the rest of the team. Her and her family have just been top-notch. I'm so thankful for them."
Drawing two byes as a top-four seed, Baylor will play in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Friday. The five-day tournament begins with the bottom six seeds playing in first-round matches at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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