No. 6 Texas falls to No. 11 Texas Tech in tennis
The No. 6 Longhorns were dealt a surprising defeat Thursday, falling to No. 11 Texas Tech 4-1 in the round of 16 of the NCAA tennis championships in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The match was originally scheduled to be played at Wake Forest, but weather forced the relocation to the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center on North Carolina’s campus.
Sarah Dvorak defeated Marta Perez-Mur in three sets to seal the victory. Dvorak opened with a 6-4 win before Perez-Mur made it a set apiece with a 6-3 victory in the second set. Dvorak finished off the match with a 6-3 triumph.
“Ultimately, we were outplayed today,” head UT coach Howard Joffe said. “I have to give Texas Tech a lot of credit. It is disappointing for our team but it will always be a dangerous match with so many experienced players on Texas Tech’s team.”
The Longhorns had beaten the Red Raiders twice this season, both during a 19-match winning streak. They topped Tech 4-2 on April 8 before beating them for the Big 12 championship 4-1 on April 29. Before Thursday, Texas last lost on Feb. 11 to Mississippi.
The Red Raiders swept the doubles point to start action. Felicity Maltby and Gabriela Talaba made quick work of Perez-Mur and Dani Wagland. The 6-1 victory preceded a 6-3 win by Alex Valenstein and Katelyn Jackson over Bianca and Anna Turati.
Jackson kept Tech on a roll with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Wagland at sixth singles.
Petra Granic won her 18th straight singles match to make the score 2-1. She defeated Valenstein 6-1, 6-4 at third singles.
Gabriela Talaba put the Red Raiders on the brink of victory as she defeated top-ranked Bianca Turati 6-4, 6-2 at first singles.
Baseball: Texas second baseman Kody Clemens has been named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, which the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association annually gives to college baseball’s top player.
Clemens is joined by Oklahoma outfielder Steele Walker and Texas Tech’s Josh Jung and Grant Little among the 35 semifinalists. The finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, which was first awarded in 1987, will be revealed June 8 and the winner announced June 15.
Three Longhorns have won the award: Scott Bryant (1989), Brooks Kieschnick (1992, 1993), and Taylor Jungmann (2011).
A junior, Clemens leads Texas in batting average (.345), runs (49) and RBIs (55). His 16 homers are the most for a Longhorn since Kyle Russell hit 19 in 2008. Clemens has also played solid defense for Texas, which leads the Big 12 in fielding percentage.
Texas opened a three-game series against TCU on Thursday night. Texas was ranked 17th in the D1Baseball poll this week.
Track and field: The Longhorns have 42 entries set to compete at the NCAA West preliminary rounds scheduled for May 24-26 at Sacramento State.
The women’s team has 25 entries while the men will send 17 to the first rounds of the championship.