Baylor University Team Page
AMES, Iowa - Baylor's 36th-ranked women's tennis team opened conference action with a 6-1 victory against Iowa State on Friday at Ames Racquet and Fitness.
"We're definitely making progress," head coach Joey Scrivano said. "This Iowa State team played us tough and forced us to compete. The key for us is to bring this kind of effort and focus to everything we do."
The Lady Bears improved to 6-10 on the year and have won two matches in a row. The win is the team's first victory on the road (1-6) this season.
In doubles, Baylor was able to claim wins on all three courts against the Cyclones (5-7, 0-1). The 25th-ranked tandem of Ema Burgic and Victoria Kisialeva's notched an 8-2 victory over Jenna Langhorst and Ksenia Pronina. Burgic and Kisialeva remain Baylor's most successful doubles team, improving to a 9-1 record this season.
Alex Leatu and Alex Clay, earned their first victory as a duo with an 8-1 decision against Ana Gasparovic and Meghan Cassens. After Leatu and Clay clinched the doubles point, Kiah Generette and Megan Horter's match against Simona Cacciuttolo and Caroline Andersen ended doubles action with an additional 8-1 win.
"Overall, I like the way our doubles is coming together," Scrivano said. "All three teams are starting to figure it out. Our No. 3 team made a nice stride forward today."
Baylor kept the momentum rolling in singles action, earning five straight-set victories. Twelfth-ranked Burgic, who is 11-5 in the first spot for Baylor, opened singles play with a win against Cacciuttolo, 6-0, 6-0.
Leatu followed soon after with a 6-0, 6-3 decision over Emma Waites in No. 6 singles. Leatu has now won three matches in a row.
Generette routed Gasparovic, 6-4, 6-0, which clinched the match for BU. Making it 5-0, Kisialeva took down Cassens, 6-4, 6-2.
Iowa State would tally its only point with a win on court 2, as the Cyclones' Pronina, dispatched of Horter, 6-4, 6-2,.
However, Baylor would close out the day with a win. Biryukova defeated Andersen, 6-1, 6-2. Biryukova maintains a perfect record in the No. 6 singles spot for BU.
Baylor remains undefeated against the Cyclones with an all-time series record of 18-0.
Continuing Big 12 play, Baylor will play West Virginia at 10 a.m. on Sunday in Morgantown, W. Va.
"We have never played West Virginia, but we're excited they have joined the Big 12," Scrivano said. "Right now, every match is like the Super Bowl for us. There are no empty wins the rest of the way. We need to be ready to play this Sunday."
Follow @BaylorWTennis for updates on the team all season.
