Texas Tech University Athletics
No. 16 Lady Raiders Take On NSMU In First Round
May 07, 2015 | Women's Tennis
May 7, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The second season officially begins on Friday at the McLeod Tennis Center, as No. 16 Texas Tech hosts the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships.No. 22 LSU will take on No. 57 New Mexico in the first match of the day at 2 p.m. The Lady Raiders will then host New Mexico State at 5 p.m. The winners will face off on Saturday at the McLeod Tennis Center at 3 p.m.
Tickets to the event are $5 for adults, $3 for students and children under two years of age are free.
"I know the last time we hosted we had a great crowd. One of the best atmospheres in the country," said seventh-year Lady Raider head coach Todd Petty. "I think we are rested and peaking at the right time to make a run."
This marks the second time that Texas Tech has hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships. The Lady Raiders also hosted in 2013. but fell 4-3 to Duke and just missed advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Overall, this is a school-record fourth straight appearance for Texas Tech in the NCAA Championships.
Earlier this week, Gabriela Talaba was named the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and Talaba, Kenna Kilgo and Sarah Dvorak were named first team Al-Big 12 in singles. Talaba and Kilgo were also named to the All-Big 12 doubles first team.
? FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1. Texas Tech has recorded 17 wins now for a program-record five straight seasons. The Lady Raiders are 93-37 (71.5 percent) during that span.
2. The Lady Raiders entered the 2015 NCAA Championships with its highest ranking ever. The previous high was No. 17 in 2013.
3. Texas Tech has set a school record for dual match singles winning percentage at 71.1 percent.
4. Texas Tech won a school-record 14 matches against ranked teams, including nine wins against ITA Top 40 programs.
5. The Lady Raiders are 12-1 at home this season and 7-4 away from Lubbock, including 5-2 at neutral site matches.
? NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Texas Tech is making the program's fourth straight NCAA appearance and the program's fourth overall appearance. 2015 marks the second time in program history that Texas Tech has served as a host site for the first and second rounds. In 2012, Texas Tech lost to Utah in the first round. In 2013, the Lady Raiders hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships and lost to No. 15 Duke in the second round. Last season, Texas Tech lost to Ole Miss in the first round in Los Angeles. This season, the Lady Raiders climbed as high as No. 15 and ended the season ranked No. 16, earning the 16th and final hosting spot for this year's first ad second rounds. The winner of the first two rounds will advance to the Sweet Sixteen in Waco at the Hurd Tennis Center. The Lady Raiders are hosting regional rivals New Mexico, New Mexico State and LSU. The Tigers of LSU will take on the New Mexico Lobos on Friday at 2 p.m. Texas Tech will then face the New Mexico State Aggies at 5 p.m. on Friday. The winners will meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday. All matches will be at the McLeod Tennis Center.
? TEXAS TECH VS. THE FIELD
When Texas Tech heads into the 2014 Big 12 Championships, three regional teams will be on hand. It is 358 miles between Lubbock and Las Cruces, home of New Mexico State. The city of Albuquerque and New Mexico is 319 miles from the Hub City. The longest distance for an opponent is LSU, who is making its second-ever appearance on the High Plains. Baton Rouge and LSU is 775 miles from Lubbock. The Red Raiders will face New Mexico State in the first round. Texas Tech leads the all-time series, 12-4, including a 4-1 in Lubbock. The two teams have not met since 2004 in Las Cruces. New Mexico leads the series with Texas Tech, 12-11, but the Lady Raiders have won the last three meetings. LSU leads the series with Texas Tech, 3-1, but the Lady Raiders won the last meeting in Baton Rouge in 2011.
? THE PETTY ERA
Todd Petty has led a resurgence in Lady Raider Tennis since taking over the program in 2008. In his first two seasons, Petty was 21-26. But since then Texas Tech is 93-37 with four straight NCAA Championship appearances and two Big 12 Conference titles (2012 and 2013). His Lady Raiders have been ranked in the ITA Top 75 for 123 consecutive matches and his teams have been ranked nationally more than any other Lady Raider head coach in school history. He has also put together four Top 25 recruiting classes, including No. 19 this season. The last four seasons under Petty are the winningest four seasons in program history. Texas Tech has produced more all-conference honors than in the first 31 years of the program combined under Petty -- eight in singles and seven in doubles. He also has had 26 players earn Academic All-Big 12 honors. His 2015 roster is the youngest team in the nation with seven underclassmen.
? STRENGTH WITHIN
The Big 12 Conference features six ranked teams this season, including four in the top 17 nationally -- Baylor (No. 9), Oklahoma State (No. 12), Texas Tech (No. 16), TCU (No. 17). But since 2008, only Baylor or Texas Tech have won or shared the league title. Baylor has been a part of 8 of the last 9 league titles, while Texas Tech won the 2012 title outright and tied Baylor for the title in 2013.
? YOUNG GUNS
Texas Tech features the youngest starting lineup in the nation, as the Lady Raiders start one senior (Kenna Kilgo), one sophomore (Lynn Kiro) and four freshmen (Sarah Dvorak, Gabriela Talaba, Katelyn Jackson and Sabrina Federici). Kilgo is one of the most decorated players in program history and anchors the top spot, while Kiro is the fastest player to 50 singles wins in program history. The four freshmen are 81-30 in singles this season (74.3 percent). In dual matches this season, Texas Tech has set a school record for singles winning percentage (72.9 percent).
? THE FAB FIVE FRESHMEN
Texas Tech's highest rated recruiting class in school history has lived up to the billing. The five freshmen -- Hortense Boscher, Sarah Dvorak, Sabrina Federici and Gabriela Talaba -- have combined to go 89-39 in singles and 47-15 in dual matches. Four of the five freshmen are in the nation's youngest starting rotation.
? HAWAI'I FIVE-O
Freshman Sarah Dvorak is as advertised. The former 10th-ranked juniors player in the United States is 25-10 in singles and 16-15 in doubles this season, Currently unranked, Dvorak has been ranked as high as No. 56 in singles. She has gone an impressive 15-4 in dual matches, with a 6-2 mark at No. 2 and a 9-2 mark at No. 3. She went 5-1, with three abandoned matches, in the Big 12 this season. Dvorak was the match-clinching point against Baylor to help Texas Tech record its biggest upset in school history. She was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week after the win.
? BRITISH INVASION
Sabrina Federici, a native of Westhoughton, England, may just be a freshman, but she has made an immediate impact for the Lady Raiders, as she has gone 20-5 in singles this season, including 10-3 in dual matches. She is a remarkable 9-3 at No. 5 this season. At one point this season, Federici won 12 straight matches, the third longest streak in school history.
? SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION
In just two short seasons, Lynn Kiro, a native of Cape Town, South Africa, has proved to be one of the best players Texas Tech has ever had. She is currently 52-15 over the last two seasons, marking the fastest player to reach 50 win in program history. Last season, Kiro set the modern era school record for wins in a season with 29. This season, she is currently 23-9 and ranked No. 73 nationally. She is also 19-12 in doubles and 14-7 at No. 2. Kiro has a career-combined record of 93-30. Her 76.2 career-combined winning percentage is the best mark in the modern era of the program's history. Kiro has eight match-clinching victories for Texas Tech, including against Oklahoma in the quarterfinals and Oklahoma State in the semifinals.
? A NEW ERA OF SUCCESS
Texas Tech vaulted into the Top 15 for just the second time in program history after defeating Baylor earlier this season. It is just the second time Texas Tech has been ranked as high as No. 15. The Lady Raiders also reached No. 15 in 2013. The Lady Raiders had never been ranked inside the Top 25 before the arrival of Todd Petty at Texas Tech. In fact, Texas Tech had not been ranked higher than No. 49 prior to 2009 when Petty took the helm. Lady Raider senior Kenna Kilgo is on pace to become the first and only player in school history to be a part of four different teams that have advanced to the NCAA Championships. Texas Tech has appeared in the last three NCAAs but had not been to the tournament in any season prior to that. Texas Tech has also finished in the top three in the Big 12 in each of the past four seasons after never finishing better than fourth prior to that.
? THE FIRST POINT
Texas Tech has won 16 of 24 doubles points this season, including going 6-3 in the doubles point in Big 12 action. The Lady Raiders are just 3-5 when losing the doubles point, while 16-1 when winning the point.
? FOUR IS BETTER THAN THREE
Texas Tech was 1-0 in 4-3 matches this season. Over the previous three seasons, Texas Tech was 10-9 in 4-3 matches. In the Todd Petty Era, Texas Tech is 18-22 in 4-3 matches.
? DOUBLE DIP
Texas Tech is one of 15 schools to have both its men's and its women's tennis programs ranked in the ITA Top 25. The Red Raiders are No. 17, while the Lady Raiders are No. 16. Texas Tech is also just one of nine schools in the nation that has both teams ranked in the ITA Top 16 -- Baylor, Georgia, North Carolina, UCLA, USC, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Virginia.
? ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE
Texas Tech's first round opponent is the 2015 Western Athletic Conference tournament champion. The Aggies are 13-10 on the season and making the school's first-ever NCAA Championship appearance. The two schools have not met since 2003 and Texas Tech leads the series, 12-8.
? ABOUT NEW MEXICO
New Mexico will take on LSU in the first round of the NCAA Championships in Lubbock. The Lobos earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after winning the Mountain West Conference Championship. The Lobos are 16-9 on the season and making its first NCAA appearance since 2006. It is the ninth overall appearance in the NCAAs for New Mexico.
? ABOUT LSU
LSU is making its second-ever appearance in Lubbock and has earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Ranked No. 22, LSU went 19-10 on the season and advanced to the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Championship. The berth into the tournament marks the second time under third-year head coach Julia Sell.
Players Mentioned
