Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Xavier
Lady Raiders host first dual matches on Sunday
January 17, 2025 | Women's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech Lady Raiders open their dual season with a doubleheader against the Xavier Musketeers and the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Sunday, January 19 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, in the Lubbock Country Club. This is the first matchup between Tech and Xavier, while the Lady Raiders lead the all-time series with Abilene Christian, 27-2.
Last week, the Lady Raiders began the spring season with a tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., as they competed at the Michigan Invitational. While there, both Mariia Hlahola and Elena Daskalova led the Lady Raiders with two singles wins each. In addition, Hlahola and Hailey Murphy, who are ranked No. 57 in the ITA doubles rankings, picked up two wins against pairs from Ohio State and Eastern Michigan.
Texas Tech is led in singles wins by both Daskalova (12) and Hlahola (11), with Arina Oreshchenkova and Andreea Lila just behind with nine and eight wins, respectively. In doubles, Hlahola leads the team with a 15-3 record, followed by Oreshchenkova with a 10-6 record and Lila with a 9-5 record. The No. 15-ranked duo of Avelina Sayfetdinova and Hlahola lead all pairs with an 8-1 record together this season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Last season, Xavier went 19-6 over and 5-0 in the Big East conference. Winning the Big East tournament, the Musketeers were able to clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament but fell in a close first-round match to Notre Dame, 3-4. Xavier was led in singles wins last season by returners Emily Flowers (16-3), Sofia Mazzucato (16-3) and Abigail Siminski (13-6). In doubles, Xavier had two teams of returners who totaled 26 dual wins combined in Mazzucato/Flowers (14-2) and Ellie Brotherton/Abby Nugent (12-8). This year, the team is led in singles by freshman Clara Owen, who is ranked No. 112 in the ITA rankings. Owen, as well as Nugent, are also ranked in doubles as they check in at No. 17.
The Abilene Christian Wildcats are 0-1 to begin the season as they dropped a match to the Mustangs on January 12 by a 0-7 score. Last season, ACU went 8-13 overall and 4-3 in the WAC, earning wins over SFA, Utah Tech, UTRGV and UT Arlington, while also making it to the WAC Championship semifinals. Last year, the team was led by returners Olivia Sears and Masha Vrsalovic in singles with 13 wins each. In doubles, Sears and Vrsalovic led the way with 12 and 10 wins each.
IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
No. 112 Clara Owen (Xavier)
Doubles
No. 15 Mariia Hlahola/Avelina Sayfetdinova (Texas Tech)
No. 17 Abby Nugent/Clara Owen (Xavier)
No. 33 Andreea Lila/Jermine Sherif (Texas Tech)
No. 57 Mariia Hlahola/Hailey Murphy (Texas Tech)
No. 68 Yekaterina Dmitrichenko/Andreea Lila (Texas Tech)
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats will be available for both matches. Follow @TexasTechWTEN on X for updates and scores of the matches.
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Players Mentioned
