Houston tennis began its spring slate 3-0, getting off to its best start since 2018.
Despite going undefeated at home in non-conference play, the Cougars’ promising start took a turn beginning with a loss to cross-town rival Rice.
Clean sweep to hit off-season
Houston began its tennis season with a win against the UT Arlington Mavericks 4-0 at the Barbara Winston Tennis Facility in Houston, Texas on Jan. 25.
In addition to the Mavericks, the Cougars were scheduled to play a doubleheader against the Portland Pilots. However, the match was canceled due to poor weather conditions, and there are no plans to reschedule.
In doubles play, sophomores Iva Sepa and Valeriia Krokhotina secured their point for Houston, defeating UT Arlington’s sophomore Valeriia Ivanoskaia and senior Mialy Ranaivo 6-2 in court one.
In court three, sophomores Elizaveta Morozova and Heta Nuutinen were able to secure a win themselves as they won by forfeit due to a lack of opponents from the Mavericks.
In singles play, junior Sophie Schouten held senior Ioana Dumitrescu at bay 6-3, 6-1 on court four, adding another point for the Cougars. On Court 5, Krokotina gave a strong start and an even stronger finish as she defeated senior Nika Novikova 6-3, 6-0.
The Cougars secured their winning point on court six through a win by forfeit, as junior Gabriela Cortes did not have an opponent from UT Arlington.
Houston earns another 4-0 victory
Finally, after rescheduling twice due to the weather, the Cougars faced off against the North Texas Eagles Friday morning at the Barbra Wallace Winston Tennis Facility, winning 4-0 on Jan. 31.
They kicked things off with doubles in match one. Fifth-year Santa Strombacha and Morozova dominated with a 6-1 win.
Then, in match two, Sepa and Krokhotina battled back and forth off of two great serves but ultimately fell short in a 6-2 loss.
In the finals duo match, Schouten and Cortes wrapped up the game with a forehand that caught the Eagles off guard, achieving a 5-2 and giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead for the day.
Houston dominated in singles play, with Strombacha winning both her matches 6-2 and 6-3. Morozova won both her matches 6-1 and 6-4, while Schouten won her matches 6-2 and 6-4.
Houston tennis starts season 3-0 with win over Tarleton State
The team defeated Tarleton State 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility on Feb. 2.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2018, capping off an undefeated homestand.
Houston faced an early challenge in doubles play when Tarleton State took the first win on court two. Senior Noelia Lorca and junior Ximena Morales defeated Sepa and Krokhotina 6-3.
However, the Cougars responded with two hard-fought victories to secure the doubles point.
Cortes and Schouten edged out freshman Maria Castano and junior Clara Sobius 7-5 on court three.
While Strombacha and Morozova secured the point with another 7-5 victory over TSU junior Emma Persson and senior Maretha Burger on court one.
With a 1-0 lead heading into singles play, Houston wasted no time extending its advantage.
Krokhotina made quick work of Sobius on court six, winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-1.
Strombacha followed with another dominant performance, defeating 6-1, 6-1, putting the Cougars up 3-0.
Tarleton State got on the board with a win on court five, as Castano took down Schouten 6-1, 6-4.
But any hopes of a comeback were quickly shut down when Morozova secured the match for Houston with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Morales on court four.
Two matches remained unfinished when the overall contest was decided.
Sepa was leading Kuscu 7-6, 5-2 on court two, while Nuutinen had just forced a third set against Lorca on court three.
With their opening homestand complete, the Cougars now begin a five-match road trip.
Houston handed first loss of the season
The Cougars suffered their first loss of the season 4-0 to the Rice Owls at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in Houston, Texas on Feb. 5.
In doubles play, Strombacha and Morozova fell to freshman Fernanda Martinez and junior Darya Schwartzman 6-2 on court one.
On court three, the Owls were able to gain their point as Schouten and Cortes gave a hard-fought match against Rice’s freshman Francesca Maguina and senior Saara Orav 7-6 (7-3).
In singles play, sophomore Heta Nuutinen was able to win a single game before falling to sophomore Nithesa Selvaraj on court three, 6-1, 6-0.
On court two, despite winning two games of her own, Sepa lost to sophomore Divna Ratkovic 6-2, 6-0.
On court five, Rice was able to seal a point, handing Houston its first loss as Schouten fell to Martinez, 6-2, 6-1.
Second straight defeat for Houston
Houston conceded another loss to the SMU Mustangs 4-2 at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 7.
In doubles play, on court two, Sepa and Krokhotina fell to SMU’s freshman Sophie Llewellyn and senior Ellie Pittman 6-0.
The Cougars were able to rally behind the following doubles matches as Morozova and Strombacha defeated freshman June Bjork and sophomore Caroline McGinley 6-1 on court one, and Cortes and Schouten defeated graduate Arianna Stavropoulos and senior Drew Morris 6-2 on court three.
In singles play, it was the Mustangs who took control of the matchday, despite Strombacha defeating Llewellyn 6-2, 6-2 on court one.
On court two, Sepa lost to Pittman 6-2, 6-1; meanwhile, on court three, Nuutinen conceded to Morris, coming close at 6-2, 6-4.
The Cougars didn’t go down without a fight. Morozova gave a strong performance but lost to Stavropoulos 7-5, 6-3 on court four.
Court six sealed the result of the match despite Krokhotina winning the second set, as she lost to sophomore Millie Skelton 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Losing streak extends to three
Houston tennis was defeated in a road contest Sunday afternoon against the UTSA Roadrunners. Houston’s late match resurgence proved to be too little, too late, with a final score of 4-3.
The Afternoon began with a doubles play that saw Cortez and Schouten lose 0-6 to the freshman duo of Natalia Guerrero and Aoka Nagasawa on court three.
This was followed by Sepa and Nuutinen losing 3-6 to freshman Valeria Sanchez and sophomore Ekua Youri, which secured the Roadrunners’ doubles point.
In singles play Krokhotina scored Houston’s first point defeating Nagasawa 6-4, 6-3 to tie up the teams at one apiece.
Court four would see Morozona lose 5-7, 5-7 to Sanchez followed very quickly by Schouten losing 3-6, 6(7)-7(9) to junior Arina Babenko on court five to put the Cougars down 1-3 a point away from losing the match.
Houston would showcase great resilience as Sepa picked up a win against Youri 6-4, 6(5)-7(7), 6-3.
Momentum shifted when Strombacha won on court one with scores of 1-6, 7-6, 6-4, against junior Letizia Corsini, officially tying the match at 3-3, with the next singles match determining the winner.
All eyes turned to court three as Nuutinen faced sophomore Vittoria Baccino. After exchanging victories in sets one and two 5-7 and 6-4 respectively, Nuutinen and Baccino would play a third set that would end in a loss for Nuutinen 6(3)-7 giving UTSA the final point needed for the win.
