TEMPE, Ariz. – Baylor women's tennis completed an impressive comeback against Arizona State, 4-3, at the Whiteman Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon, giving the Sun Devils their first loss of the year at home in their final regular season match in Tempe.   
 
Baylor (18-4, 9-3 Big 12) was down early as Arizona State (12-7, 7-4 Big 12) claimed the doubles point, but fought through the adversity to claim four singles courts. Junior transfer Cristina Tiglea clinched the match in a 3-all dual match tie after a three-set thriller.
 
THE RUNDOWN
Doubles went the way of the Sun Devils, but not before the Bears could make things interesting with a match win on Court No. 1.
 
Striking first, Arizona State's Emilija Tverijonaite and Aiya Nupbay took a 6-1 win over Zuzanna Kubacha and Kennedy Gibbs at the No. 3 Court. With a quick response, Baylor knotted up the unclaimed point with a 6-2 win at No. 1 as the 43^rd-ranked Tiglea and Liubov Kostenko left victorious.
 
Lily Taylor and Sara Svetac walked away with the win at Court Two for ASU to claim the doubles point, besting Sierra Berry and Na Dong, 6-3.
 
Freshman Nanaka Sato had a quick match at Court Five in singles, rolling over Nupbay, 6-4, 6-1, for her 10^th consecutive win, a streak dating back to a January 31 match against Nebraska. Kubacha was next to put the Bears on top at 2-1, beating Patricija Spaka, 6-2, 7-6(2) in the last of the straight-set victories on Sunday.
 
Down early, No. 108 Dong responded in Set Nos. 2 and 3 for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 win, her 11^th in a row. After forcing third sets, Kostenko and Gibbs each fell in their third sets at Court One and Six, respectively.
 
Tiglea fought through a match that was neck-and-neck for its entirety, splitting the first two sets against No. 42 Tverijonaite, 6-7(8), 7-6, before pulling away late for the third-set, match-clinching win at 6-4.  
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Baylor picked up its 18^th win of the season, eighth on the road.
• Tiglea secured a top-50 singles win.
• The Bears extend the all-time series against the Sun Devils to 3-1 and are the winners of two straight over the foes from Tempe.

 
STAT OF THE MATCH
1 – BU handed Arizona State its first home loss of the season in the final regular season match at the Whiteman Tennis Center for an 8-1 record.
 
QUOTABLE
Head coach Joey Scrivano
Thoughts on the match…
"This team is really coming together and showing that extra dimension that separates good teams from great ones. Their confidence, toughness and unity make them special. It's exciting to watch them grow and compete so well."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
BU returns home for Senior Night against TCU on Saturday, April 12, at 6 p.m. Admission to the Hurd Tennis Center is free.