Univ. of Texas at Austin Team Page
Longhorns open 2013 dual-match season on Saturday against Wichita State in the first match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event.
WHAT: No. 11 Texas opens dual-match play onSaturday when it hosts the ITA Kick-Off Weekend event. The national event features 15 tournament sites with the second-round winners at each site advancing to the annual ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) National Team Indoor Championship. That event is set for Feb. 8-11 at The University of Virginia.
WHEN:
ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Saturday, Jan. 26
Match 1: No. 11 Texas vs. No. 61 Wichita State – 10 a.m.
Match 2: No. 34 Utah vs. No. 69 Stephen F. Austin – 1 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 27
Match 1 loser vs. Match 2 loser – 10 a.m.
Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner – 1 p.m.
WHERE: Penick-Allison Tennis Center – Austin, Texas (admission is free for all home regular-season matches)
LIVE SCORING: Live scoring will be available for each match at TexasSports.com. Match updates will be posted regularly at Twitter.com/LonghornsTennis.
A YEAR AGO AT THE ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND
Texas traveled to the Nashville, Tenn., site of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend last season and emerged with a pair of victories to qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The Longhorns opened the event with a 4-3 win over then-No. 23 Alabama. Texas earned its spot at the ITA National Team Indoors with an impressive 4-1 win over host Vanderbilt, who was ranked No. 17 at the time.
Texas fell to No. 6 Georgia and No. 11 Miami in the opening rounds of the 2012 ITA National Team Indoors before defeating No. 15 Clemson in consolation play.
TEXAS OPENS AT NO. 11 IN ITA PRESEASON POLL
Texas has landed the No. 11 slot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason women’s tennis team poll. It marks the Longhorns’ highest spot in the ITA preseason poll since 2006, when UT opened at the third slot.
I.T.A. PRESEASON SINGLES RANKINGS (TEXAS PLAYERS)
79. Noel Scott
NEWCOMERS ADDISON, GROENVYNCK OFF TO SOLID START
Eighth-year head coach and former Australian Open doubles champion Patty Fendick-McCain welcomes a pair of first-semester newcomers in Lana Groenvynck (Schilde, Belgium) and Breaunna Addison (Boca Raton, Fla.). Groenvynck reached the semifinals at the 2011 Borreman Cup in Belgium, while Addison is a former singles champion at the prestigious Dunlop Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships.
Addison and Groenvynck made their collegiate debuts last weekend at the Miami Spring Invite and left the tournament with some impressive results. Addison posted a 3-0 singles record and defeated one opponent featured in the top-60 of the ITA singles rankings.
THE 2012-13 LONGHORNS
Texas returns six student-athletes from the 2011-12 squad that landed at No. 10 in the final ITA team poll, advanced to the NCAA Championship’s round of 16 and won the Big 12 Championship.
Senior Aeriel Ellis earned her second consecutive ITA singles All-America selection last season and has qualified for 10 of 11 national championship events contested in her time as a Longhorn. The Californian has advanced to the singles round of 16 at the last two NCAA Championships. Ellis posted a perfect 3-0 singles mark at last week’s Miami Spring Invite.
Sophomore Lina Padegimaite (pah-day-gee-MY-tay) posted a 22-5 overall singles record and was selected as the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year last season. The native of Lithuania cruised to a 9-0 mark last season in conference play. Junior Elizabeth Begley posted an impressive 34-7 overall singles record last season, which included a 21-2 dual-match record and a 9-0 mark in conference play.
Sophomore Noel Scott knocked off several highly-rankedopponents in dual-match play last season and notched 16 singles victories as a freshman. Scott brings a No. 79 singles ranking into the spring season, and she notched a pair of impressive wins at last weekend’s Miami Spring Invite. UT also returns sophomore Annat Rabinovich and junior Juliana Gajic. Rabinovich posted two singles wins at theMiami Spring Invite last weekend.
