No. 21 Baylor WT Readies for Big 12 Tennis Championship

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 17, 2025

No. 21 Baylor WT Readies for Big 12 Tennis Championship
Bears open conference tournament against the winner of No. 12 Utah and No. 5 Arizona in quarterfinals
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor women’s tennis opens up its Big 12 Championship slate as the No. 4 seed against the winner of 12th-seeded Utah versus 5th-seeded Arizona. The tournament, which started yesterday, will contest one round each day before crowing a champion on Easter Sunday.



The Bears (19-4, Big 12 10-3) battle against the winner of the Utes (9-14, Big 12 3-10) and Wildcats (18-9, Big 12 8-5) in the quarterfinal match on Friday at noon as they journey to the 20th Big 12 Championship in program history.



Live stats are available online<https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/central.php?gid=b12> and ESPN+<https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/4f080ef0-4cf0-4e0f-9c60-b43a982d5cc8/big-12-conference#bucketId=29461&sourceCollection=Browse_by_Conference> will carry Cracked Racquet’s CrossCourt Cast.



If Arizona advances, BU currently has a split series with the Wildcats, as the Bears earned a victory earlier in the month to put the series at two a-piece. In the previous matchup, BU earned its 17th win of the season by a 4-0 decision. If Utah were to advance, the Bears have never faced off against the Utes, bringing a first-time contest in program history.



Advancing out of the quarterfinal match, Baylor would then face the winner of the Texas Tech (19-2, Big 12 12-1) and either TCU (13-10, Big 12 8-6) or Kansas (13-10, Big 12 7-6). BU defeated both TCU and Kansas 4-0 and 4-2, respectively, while falling to the Red Raiders, 4-0.



As the regular season concluded, Na Dong (11-0) went undefeated and led the Bears in Big 12 singles, while the duo of Liubov Kostenko and Cristina Tiglea (6-5) led the team in Big 12 doubles at Court One.



Of those players, the pair of Kostenko and Tiglea remains BU’s only ranked doubles team at No. 31 in the most recent ITA rankings.



For Baylor’s potential first opponents of the weekend, the Wildcats have two ranked singles competitors with No. 64 Josie Usereau and No. 95 Midori Castillo. In doubles, Arizona has two ranked individuals with No. 44 Usereau and former Bear Danielle Tuhten and No. 85 Castillo and Martyna Ostrzygalo. The Utes don’t hold any ranked singles or doubles competitors.



The Bears look to be back on top for the first time since 2015, when the Bears earned the championship three straight years in a row, 2013-2015, after earning the title eight times in nine seasons from 2003-2011.



To stay up to date, follow the team on its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWTennis



- BaylorBears.com -

_________________________________________
Colin Pirtle | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (WBB, WTEN)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 940-564-0351

[signature_2230589939]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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