Thursday, February 29
Houston, Texas
1 PM
Texas Tech Athletics
at
Houston
Lady Raiders on the road to start Big 12
February 28, 2024 | Women's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 26 Texas Tech Lady Raiders are set to hit the road to face a pair of Big 12 newcomers this week. Tech will first travel to Houston, Texas on February 29 to take on the Houston Cougars at the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility at 1 p.m. Tech will then follow up with another road match against the University of Central Florida on March 2 at 11 a.m. CT in Orlando, Fla., taking place at the USTA National Campus. Â
The Lady Raiders (7-4) are headed into Big 12 play after a second-place finish at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. Tech went 2-1 on the weekend with wins over Furman, 4-0, and last year's champion, No. 59 Wake Forest, 4-1, before falling in the championship round against No. 35 Alabama, 2-4. This is their second time in as many years claiming second-place in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic.
The Lady Raiders continued their dominance in doubles where they recorded a 3-0 mark in doubles points during the weekend and improved to an 8-2 dual doubles record on the year. Tech's top two doubles courts went perfect during the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic that included a ranked win by the Lady Raiders' No. 7 tandem of Avelina Sayfetdinova and Metka Komac over the Tide's No. 37 pairing of Loudmilla Bencheikh and Anne Marie Hiser, 7-6 (5).
In singles, Mariya Polishchuk was a perfect 3-0 on the weekend highlighted by a straight-set ranked win over Alabama's No. 79 Petra Sedlackova, 6-1, 6-1. Thanks to her perfect singles and doubles record during the tournament, Polishchuk was honored with the John McWilliams Sportsmanship Award.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Houston Cougars (1-5) enter Big 12 play after losses to UT-San Antonio, 2-4, and UT-Arlington, 1-4. Seniors Blanca Cortijo Parreno and Laura Slisane alongside sophomore Sophie Schouten have led the way in singles with each having three dual wins in the 2024 campaign and Schouten having a 3-0 record on court three. Schouten and fellow sophomore Sonya Kovalenko recorded a 3-2 mark on court one as a doubles team while Parreno and freshman Nina Skoric have held down court three with a 3-1 record. Thursday will be Houston and Texas Tech's seventh match all-time and the first as Big 12 rivals. Tech holds a 4-2 all-time lead against the Cougars with their last meeting having taken place in February of 2022 and ended in a 7-0 Lady Raider victory.
The No. 59 University of Central Florida Knights (3-5) will begin their tenure in the Big 12 after a 2-0 weekend against North Florida, 4-0, and Bethune-Cookman, 4-0. The Knights will start by first playing No. 45 BYU and then move on to Tech on Sunday. Juniors Noel Saidenova and No. 121 Sophia Biolay have set the pace for the Knights in singles, with five and four wins, respectively. Saidenova has recorded a 3-1 record on court four while Biolay has done the same on court two. Redshirt junior Anique Kattenberg, alongside Saidenova, have the best doubles mark with a 4-2 record on court one. This will be the first time that UCF meets Texas Tech in women's tennis.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats and live video will be available for both matches. Follow @TexasTechWTEN on X for updates and scores of the matches.
The Lady Raiders (7-4) are headed into Big 12 play after a second-place finish at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic. Tech went 2-1 on the weekend with wins over Furman, 4-0, and last year's champion, No. 59 Wake Forest, 4-1, before falling in the championship round against No. 35 Alabama, 2-4. This is their second time in as many years claiming second-place in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic.
The Lady Raiders continued their dominance in doubles where they recorded a 3-0 mark in doubles points during the weekend and improved to an 8-2 dual doubles record on the year. Tech's top two doubles courts went perfect during the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic that included a ranked win by the Lady Raiders' No. 7 tandem of Avelina Sayfetdinova and Metka Komac over the Tide's No. 37 pairing of Loudmilla Bencheikh and Anne Marie Hiser, 7-6 (5).
In singles, Mariya Polishchuk was a perfect 3-0 on the weekend highlighted by a straight-set ranked win over Alabama's No. 79 Petra Sedlackova, 6-1, 6-1. Thanks to her perfect singles and doubles record during the tournament, Polishchuk was honored with the John McWilliams Sportsmanship Award.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Houston Cougars (1-5) enter Big 12 play after losses to UT-San Antonio, 2-4, and UT-Arlington, 1-4. Seniors Blanca Cortijo Parreno and Laura Slisane alongside sophomore Sophie Schouten have led the way in singles with each having three dual wins in the 2024 campaign and Schouten having a 3-0 record on court three. Schouten and fellow sophomore Sonya Kovalenko recorded a 3-2 mark on court one as a doubles team while Parreno and freshman Nina Skoric have held down court three with a 3-1 record. Thursday will be Houston and Texas Tech's seventh match all-time and the first as Big 12 rivals. Tech holds a 4-2 all-time lead against the Cougars with their last meeting having taken place in February of 2022 and ended in a 7-0 Lady Raider victory.
The No. 59 University of Central Florida Knights (3-5) will begin their tenure in the Big 12 after a 2-0 weekend against North Florida, 4-0, and Bethune-Cookman, 4-0. The Knights will start by first playing No. 45 BYU and then move on to Tech on Sunday. Juniors Noel Saidenova and No. 121 Sophia Biolay have set the pace for the Knights in singles, with five and four wins, respectively. Saidenova has recorded a 3-1 record on court four while Biolay has done the same on court two. Redshirt junior Anique Kattenberg, alongside Saidenova, have the best doubles mark with a 4-2 record on court one. This will be the first time that UCF meets Texas Tech in women's tennis.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats and live video will be available for both matches. Follow @TexasTechWTEN on X for updates and scores of the matches.
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