No. 16 Lady Raiders Roll Into Semifinals
April 24, 2015 | Women's Tennis
April 24, 2015
WACO, Texas -- Not even a 72-minute rain delay was going to stop Texas Tech on Friday, as the No. 16 Lady Raiders blanked No. 41 Oklahoma, 4-0, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championships at the Hurd Tennis Center.
"I think the rain delay allowed us to refocus," said seventh-year head coach Todd Petty. "It showed too. We came back out and got some quick early points and we really took control of the match. But you have to give credit to Oklahoma. They are well-coached team and challenged us in some spots."
After the first two matches of the day were played inside at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Facility, the Lady Raiders and Sooners were the first matches played outdoors after the rain stopped. Due to the weather, the two teams started with singles. But midway through the first set, it began to sprinkle and play was halted.
The refocused Lady Raiders came back out after the delay and freshman Gabriela Talaba cruised past Simran Sethi at No. 2, 6-2, 6-3. Seconds later, freshman Katelyn Jackson closed out a 6-2, 6-4 win over Emma Devine at No. 6. It was Jackson's 20th win of the season.
Freshman Sarah Dvorak, who is ranked No. 114, broke Oklahoma's Abbi Melrose at 5-5 in the second and served out the match for a 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 3.
Sophomore Lynn Kiro, who is ranked No. 73, closed out the match with 6-2, 7-6 (7-0) win over the Sooners' Christiana Brigante. It was Kiro's team-leading seventh match-clinching victory this season, who battled back from a 4-1 deficit in the second to record the win.
"It was my footwork," said Kiro. "(Assistant coach) Ric (Mortera) reminded me about my footwork. The conditions were slow. I made some adjustments and got back into it."
Texas Tech will now face No. 11 Oklahoma State in the semifinals at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center. The two teams split a pair of regular-season meetings, with OSU taking the season opener in Atlanta, 4-2, and Texas Tech winning the league match in Lubbock, 4-3.
"Our goal has been to reach the finals," said Petty. "If we do, then we have beaten a really good team. At that point anything can happen."
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
QUARTERFINALS
#16 Texas Tech 4, #41 Oklahoma 0
Waco, Texas (Hurd Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #69 Kenna Kilgo (TT) vs. Lily Miyazaki (OU) 3-6, 6-2, 2-4, unfinished
2. Gabriela Talaba (TT) def. Simran Sethi (OU) 6-2, 6-3
3. #114 Sarah Dvorak (TT) def. Abbi Melrose (OU) 6-4, 7-5
4. #73 Lynn Kiro (TT) def. Christiana Brigante (OU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-0)
5. Sabrina Federici (TT) vs. Malene Stripp (OU) 6-3, 3-6, 0-3, unfinished
6. Katelyn Jackson (TT) def. Emma Devine (OU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
1. Emma Devine / Malene Stripp (OU) vs. #47 Kenna Kilgo / Gabriela Talaba (TT) no result
2. Lily Miyazaki / Simran Sethi (OU) vs. Lynn Kiro / Sabrina Federici (TT) no result
3. Christiana Brigante / Abbi Melrose (OU) vs. Sarah Dvorak / Katelyn Jackson (TT) no result
Records: #41 Oklahoma 14-9; #16 Texas Tech 18-5
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (2,6,3,4)
Players Mentioned
