Texas Tech Athletics
West Virginia
No. 15 Texas Tech Sweeps West Virginia
April 10, 2015 | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- After a mildly sluggish start in singles, No. 15 Texas Tech found another gear and cruised to a 4-0 win over West Virginia on Friday at the McLeod Tennis Center.
With the win, Texas Tech (16-4, 6-1 Big 12) remains in first place in the Big 12 Conference, while West Virginia falls to 9-9, 0-6 in league play.
"I think you can attribute the slow start to not knowing a lot about West Virginia," said Todd Petty. "They do have a younger team. The fact that doubles went so quickly may have also played a part in that."
Texas Tech captured the doubles point in 19 minutes, as No. 90 Lynn Kiro and Sabrina Federici rolled to a 6-1 win over Ikttesh Chahal and Carolina Lewis at No. 2. Sarah Dvorak and Katelyn Jackson then blanked Kaja Mrgole and Yvon Martinez, 6-0, at No. 3 and the Lady Raiders led 1-0.
"In singles we got off to a slow start but I liked how we got momentum heading into the second sets," said Petty. "That shows a lot of maturity by not letting your opponent back into the match."
No. 44 Kenna Kilgo and Gabriela Talaba were leading 5-2, 30-love when their match against Hailey Barrett and Habiba Shaker was abandoned.
Talaba then strolled to a quick 6-2, 6-1 win over Barrett at No. 2 in 47 minutes. The win improved the Romanian freshman's record to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12.
In all, Texas Tech won the first set in five of six matches and it was a race to see who would finish next. No. 92 Dvorak finished just ahead of Federici, as the Hawai'i freshman defeated Chahal, 6-2, 6-1, to give the Lady Raiders a 3-0 lead. Dvorak is now 22-9 on the season.
Just a minute later, Federici, who battled back from a 3-0 deficit to start the match, cruised home with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Carolina Lewis at No. 5 to clinch the match. Federici snapped Lewis' 19-match winning streak to improve to 19-4 on the season.
"I think we handled the match professionally," added Petty. "Every match is a championship match for the rest of the season."
Two matches remain for the league-leading Lady Raiders. Texas Tech will host Iowa State on Sunday at noon, before closing out the regular season at No. 17 TCU on Sunday, Apr. 19.
#15 Texas Tech 4, West Virginia 0
Lubbock, Texas (McLeod Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #53 Kenna Kilgo (TT) vs. Kaja Mrgole (WVU) 6-3, 4-5, unfinished
2. Gabriela Talaba (TT) def. Hailey Barrett (WVU) 6-2, 6-1
3. #92 Sarah Dvorak (TT) def. Ikttesh Chahal (WVU) 6-2, 6-1
4. #74 Lynn Kiro (TT) vs. Habiba Shaker (WVU) 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
5. Sabrina Federici (TT) def. Carolina Lewis (WVU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Katelyn Jackson (TT) vs. Yvon Martinez (WVU) 5-7, 5-0, unfinished
Doubles
1. #44 Kenna Kilgo/Gabriela Talaba (TT) vs. Hailey Barrett/Habiba Shaker (WVU) 5-2, unfinished
2. #90 Lynn Kiro/Sabrina Federici (TT) def. Ikttesh Chahal/Carolina Lewis (WVU) 6-1
3. Sarah Dvorak/Katelyn Jackson (TT) def. Kaja Mrgole/Yvon Martinez (WVU) 6-0
Records: West Virginia (9-9, 0-6 Big 12); #15 Texas Tech (16-4, 6-1 Big 12)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,3,5)
T-1:45 A-153
Players Mentioned
