The No. 16 Texas Tech women’s tennis team started its 2016 NCAA postseason run on a strong note with a 4-0 victory over Boston University during Friday’s NCAA Tournament First Round at the Lubbock Country Club.
The Lady Raiders (24-5) have won four of their five NCAA Tournament home matches and have posted victories in consecutive NCAA opening round matches for the first time in program history. The Terriers (12-9) were appearing in their third straight NCAA Tournament.
Texas Tech advances to square off with No. 21 Mississippi State, a 4-0 winner over No. 34 Virginia Tech, Saturday at 4 p.m. CT in the second round.
Heavy rain hit the Tech campus as doubles was about to begin which forced the match into a 90-minute weather delay and indoors to the Lubbock Country Club.
“It was exciting to get through in the fashion that we did,” Texas Tech head coach Todd Petty said. “It could have been a much longer evening for us. To save our legs and to come out with that type of intensity on and off the court against a good Boston team, I think bodes well going into tomorrow. I’m proud of the girls and the way they handled the change of venue last minute.”
The Lady Raiders started quickly and captured the doubles point for the sixth time in their last seven matches. Sarah Dvorak and Katelyn Jackson rolled to a 6-0 victory over Lauren Davis and Remi Ramos on court three whereas Gabriela Talaba and Alex Valenstein claimed a 6-1 triumph against Sabrina Faybyshev and Johanna Hyoty at the No. 1 position. When play was halted, Sabrina Federici and Felicity Maltby held a 4-2 advantage versus Iryna Kostirko and Barbara Rodriguez in the No. 2 spot.
Maltby kept the Texas Tech momentum going and dialed up a 6-1, 6-2 win against Faybyshev on court four to stretch the lead to 2-0.
At the No. 2 slot, Talaba overcame an early 3-2 hole in the opening set and ripped off 10 of the last 11 games to pick up a 6-3, 6-1 decision versus Davis to make it 3-0.
Valenstein closed out the sweep for the Lady Raiders and defeated Kostirko by a 6-0, 6-4 margin at the No. 3 position.
Dvorak was on the verge of tucking away her match with a 6-1, 5-4 lead over Hyoty at the top of the lineup, while Federici fired out to an early 3-0 edge on Rodriguez on court five when play was stopped.
The winner of Saturday’s Texas Tech- Mississippi State matchup will earn a bid to the NCAA Round of 16 set for Thursday, May 19 in Tulsa. Fans can purchase tickets on-site at the McLeod Tennis Center Ticket Trailer for $5 (adults) and $3 (youth – 12 and under). The 2016 NCAA Lubbock Regional on the men’s side will start Saturday with two matches featuring Washington and SMU at 10 a.m. CT followed by Texas Tech and New Mexico State at 1 p.m. CT.
“Mississippi State is so good, and they’re so tough at the top of their singles lineup,” Petty said. “They’re top two players are outstanding. They’re well coached, and they played in a tough conference so they’ve been tested. We’re going to have our hands absolutely full. But this season, in the second round, we’re going to play someone of that caliber. We’re fortunate to be at home. Hopefully, we’ll get to be outside and will have our crowd involved. I’m excited about testing ourselves against a great SEC team.”
