Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Houston
Lady Raiders take down Houston, 4-3
March 13, 2026 | Women's Tennis
HOUSTON – Behind a determined performance from freshman Havana Kadi at court five singles, the No. 30 Texas Tech Lady Raiders defeated the No. 36 Houston Cougars, 4-3, on Friday afternoon at the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility. Â
The Lady Raiders (13-4, 4-1 Big 12) began the match with a gritty doubles point over the Cougars (11-3, 2-3 Big 12), which turned out to be much-needed for Tech. At court two, Elena Daskalova and Mariia Hlahola took a 3-0 lead over Valeriia Krokhotina and Iva Sepa. The Cougar duo cut into the lead by claiming the next two games to make it, 3-2. Tech only allowed Houston one more game as they would finish out the match with a 6-3 victory.
Over at court one, No. 89 Sophie Schouten and Chems Doha Zeghlouli took a quick, 4-1 lead over Tech's No. 55-ranked pairing of Yekaterina Dmtirichenko and Hailey Murphy. However, the Lady Raiders battled their way back, winning the next six games for a 6-4 victory to clinch the doubles point. At court three, Houston's Petja Drame and Elizaveta Morozova were leading the tandem of Ella Brownback and Polina Sleptsova, 5-3, before the Tech duo evened things at 5-5. Their match would go unfinished with the tie.
The Lady Raiders continued to win in singles, getting their first victory at court two when Dmitrichenko took down Zeghlouli in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-2. Murphy gave Tech a 3-0 advantage when she defeated Morozova at the top court by a 6-3, 6-3 score. Houston battled its way back, though, getting three straight singles wins at courts three, four and six.
The match came down to court five, where Kadi and Drame were locked in a battle. Kadi won the first set decisively, 6-1, then took a 5-1 lead in set two. That's when Drame locked in, winning the next six games to take a 6-5 lead. Kadi was able to tie things up to force a tiebreaker. However, the Cougar led 5-2 in the breaker to start out. Kadi never wavered, earning six of the next nine points to win the set, 7-6 (6), and clinch the match for the Lady Raiders.
Up next, the Lady Raiders head to Orlando, Fla., to face the No. 20-ranked UCF Knights on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
RESULTS
#30 Texas Tech 4, #36 Houston 3
Singles
1. Hailey Murphy (TTU) def. Elizaveta Morozova (HOU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Yekaterina Dmitrichenko (TTU) def. Chems Doha Zeghlouli (HOU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Iva Sepa (HOU) def. Mariia Hlahola (TTU) 6-1, 6-4
4. Valeriia Krokhotina (HOU) def. Polina Sleptsova (TTU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Havana Kadi (TTU) def. Petja Drame (HOU) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Sophie Schouten (HOU) def. Ella Brownback (TTU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
1. #55 Hailey Murphy/ Yekaterina Dmitrichenko (TTU) def. #89 Sophie Schouten/Chems Doha Zeghlouli (HOU) 6-4
2. Mariia Hlahola/Elena Daskalova (TTU) def. Valeriia Krokhotina/Iva Sepa (HOU) 6-3
3. Elizaveta Morozova/Petja Drame (HOU) vs. Polina Sleptsova/Ella Brownback (TTU) 5-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1); Singles (2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3,4,6,5
Players Mentioned
