No. 21 Baylor WT Advances to Big 12 Semifinals with Win Against No. 30 Arizona 4-3

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 18, 2025

No. 21 Baylor WT Advances to Big 12 Semifinals with Win Against No. 30 Arizona 4-3
Tiglea wins second and third set to clinch the win for the Bears
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 is headed into the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship after a hard-fought 4-3 victory against No. 30 Arizona on Friday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center.



Baylor (20-4, 10-3 Big 12) earned the doubles point and picked up wins on Courts Four, Six and Two to advance into Day Three of the tournament.



THE RUNDOWN

Starting off in doubles, the Bears wasted no time getting to work. On Court Three the duo of Sierra Berry and Zuzanna Kubacha earned a bagel, 6-0, victory against Belen Nevehoven and Zoya Chulak.



In a ranked contest on Court One, the 31st-ranked Liubov Kostenko and Cristina Tiglea picked up the 6-2 dub over No. 44 Danielle Tuhten and Josie Usereau to give BU the early lead and momentum heading into singles at 1-0.



Moving into singles, junior Na Dong kept Baylor in the lead with a, 6-4, 6-3, win over former Bear, Tuhten. However, the Wildcats quickly responded quickly by taking Courts Five and Three 6-4, 6-4 and 6-4, 6-3, respectively, to tie up the match at two a-piece.



Kostenko fell in her first set, 7-5, against No. 64 Usereau, before dominating in the second set, 6-1. Kostenko could not complete the comeback, falling in the third set 6-2, allowing U-of-A to take the lead for the first time.



On Court Six, freshman Nanaka Sato won her first set at 6-3 before falling in her second set 6-4. Going into set three, Sato was able to claim a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory to tie up the match at 3-all with the deciding point being left to Court Two.



Tiglea fell in her first set at 6-3. However, she took control in the second set with a 6-2 victory to force a third set. In a very back-and-forth set, Tiglea triumphed over No. 95 Midori Castillo-Meza with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win to clinch the match for the Bears and advance to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship.



WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor faces off against the No. 1-seeded Texas Tech in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship Saturday at 10 a.m.



- 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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