UH tennis traveled to Austin to face the No. 2 ranked Longhorns Friday afternoon, and the Cougars (12-5, 3-1 AAC) fell 4-0 in the contest. | File photo
Houston tennis traveled to Austin to face the No. 2 ranked Longhorns Friday afternoon, and the Cougars (12-5, 3-1 American Athletic Conference) fell 4-0 in the contest.
This marked the Cougars’ second ranked matchup in the last week, having faced No. 7 Baylor last Friday. And much like the Baylor match, this one against Texas proved to be too much as the Cougars.
The day began with Texas taking the doubles point in two matches with Houston freshman Blanca Cortijo Parreno and sophomore Azul Pedemonti falling first, and senior Phonexay Chitdara and junior Sophie Gerits losing their match shortly after.
Chitdara and Gerits played against Longhorn freshmen Charlotte Chavatipon and Peyton Stearns, who are ranked No. 56 as a pair.
Houston senior Mimi Kendall-Woseley and freshman Laura Slisane’s match ended with the pair tied up at 4-4 and were UH’s best shot at a match win.
The Cougars couldn’t catch a break in the singles either, losing the three opening matches to seal the win for the Longhorns.
Pedemonti fell to Malaika Rapolu in a tough 6-2, 6-1 loss, and Slisane and Kendall-Woseley would be the next to fall with Slisane losing 6-1, 6-1 to Texas senior Fernanda Labraña.
Kendall-Woseley played the No. 18 ranked Longhorn senior Anna Turati, losing 6-0, 6-2 in the contest.
There were four Longhorns in total that were ranked and participated in the match.
Parreno was the only Cougar expected to win a match for Houston on the day, but her match ended unfinished.
UH continues to struggle against ranked and higher-level opponents on the season, this being another big loss after losing to Baylor just a week ago.
The Cougars will come back home where they tend to dominate, and will look to do just that, as they take on Prairie View A&M in a double-header next Friday.
