Baylor WT Advances in ITA Kickoff Weekend with 4-1 Win over BYU

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Jan. 24, 2025

Baylor WT Advances in ITA Kickoff Weekend with 4-1 Win over BYU
Bears face No. 12 Texas for a spot at ITA Indoor Nationals
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


AUSTIN, Texas – Baylor women’s tennis defeated BYU, 4-1, in the first round of ITA Kickoff Weekend on Friday afternoon at the Texas Tennis Center. BU took the doubles point and only allowed a single singles point from the Cougars in their first win over BYU since 2008.



With the win, Baylor advances on in the bracket to see the home squad, No. 12 Texas, at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Austin.



THE RUNDOWN

Baylor struck first in the match, taking their second doubles point of the season with wins coming at the Nos. 3 and 1 spots in the lineup.



Zuzanna Kubacha and Wenfei Yu got the doubles nod together for the first time in Friday afternoon’s match and dozed over BYU’s Elizabeth Tullis and Sue Yan Tan, 6-4. Shortly after, the duo of Cristina Tiglea and Liubov Kostenko matched the same decision over Yujia Huang and Grace Levelston.



Na Dong and Kennedy Gibbs were back together at Court Two and were leading 6-5 when the match was left unfinished.



In singles, BYU’s Huang was first off the court to give the Cougars their only point at Court One with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Tiglea.



That was it from the cross-conference rivals, as Baylor struck quickly with three consecutive singles victories to clinch the match.



Leading off, Purdue transfer Kennedy Gibbs got her fourth singles win of the year, second in dual-match play, over Yan Tan 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot. Not long after, Dong and Kubacha finished back-to-back with identical scores, 6-4, 6-0, to secure the win for BU. Dong beat Chelsea Bluestein while Kubacha found victory over Kendall Kovick.



HIGHLIGHTS

  *   BU is now 5-2 all-time against BYU with its first win over the Cougs since 2008.
  *   Zuzanna Kubacha and Wenfei Yu paired up for the first time this season in doubles and are 1-0.
  *   Na Dong is off to a 2-0 start in her college dual-match career and Kennedy Gibbs has yet to drop a dual singles match in the green and gold.



QUOTABLE

Head coach Joey Scrivano

On Friday’s match…
“Big 12 tennis is always incredibly physical and competitive, and having the opportunity to face that level of competition in late January is huge for our team. I’m proud of how the ladies prepared and competed for this tournament. Now, we need to regroup quickly and be ready to embrace another challenge tomorrow.”

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears advance in the ITA Kickoff Weekend Austin Regional bracket to face No. 12 Texas at 3 p.m. on Saturday.



- 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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