The Longhorns advance to the NCAA Championship Match for the second-straight year and sixth time in program history.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The No. 3 University of Texas Women's Tennis team (25-4) claimed a 4-2 victory against No. 1 North Carolina (28-3) in a NCAA Semifinals match on Saturday evening at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Longhorns captured the doubles point and earned singles wins from Sabina Zeynalova, Peyton Stearns and Allura Zamarripa to clinch the dual-match win.

With the victory, Texas advances to face No. 2 Oklahoma in the NCAA Championship Match on Sunday, May 22 at 7 p.m. Central. Oklahoma earned its spot in the finals with a 4-3 win against No. 3 Duke in Saturday's second semifinal contest.

Texas earned its sixth appearance in the NCAA Championship Match with Saturday's victory, including the second-straight under head coach Howard Joffe. The Longhorns have now earned trips to the NCAA Championship Match in 1992, 1993, 1995, 2005, 2021 and 2022 and have claimed three previous NCAA team titles in 1993, 1995 and 2021.

Saturday's semifinal contest against the top-ranked Tar Heels began outside at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex at 4 p.m. Central. Rain forced the suspension of play at 5:39 p.m. Central, and the match resumed indoors at the Atkins Tennis Center at 6 p.m. Central.

Texas grabbed a 1-0 advantage by winning the doubles point. The No. 67-ranked sophomore duo of Charlotte Chavatipon and Kylie Collins earned a 6-1 victory on court 2 against Alle Sanford and Carson Tanguilig. Chavatipon and Collins jumped out to a 3-0 lead, before Sanford and Carson held serve to close to within 3-1. Chavatipon and Collins held serve on a deuce point in the following game and followed with a service break to build a 5-1 cushion. Chavatipon and Collins served out the match to improve to 17-3 in doubles overall this season, including a 12-1 mark in dual-match action.

The No. 11-ranked tandem of sophomore Peyton Stearns and Allura Zamarripa clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win on court 1 over the No. 2-ranked pair of Fiona Crawley and Elizabeth Scotty. Stearns and Zamarripa claimed the opening two games of the match, but Crawley and Scotty answered by winning back-to-back games to tie the set at 2-2. Stearns and Zamarripa earned a service break and then held serve on a deuce point to build a 4-2 cushion. Stearns and Zamarripa claimed a service break on a deuce point to take a 5-2 lead, before Crawley and Scotty responded with a service break of their own to pull to within 5-3. Stearns and Zamarripa closed out the match with another service break to move to 11-3 in dual-match doubles play this spring.

Singles play began outdoors, and Texas captured first-sets convincingly on the top three courts. The Longhorns dropped the opening set on court 4 and were even on courts 5 and 6 in the first set when rain forced the action indoors.  

North Carolina evened the overall dual-match score at 1-1, as No. 55 Crawley posted a 6-0, 6-4 victory on court 4 against Chavatipon. Trailing 1-0 to open her second set, Chavatipon rallied to hold serve on a deuce point, earned a service break and held serve again to build a 3-1 advantage before the match was moved indoors. Crawley responded by winning four-straight games, including a pair on deuce points, to take a 5-3 lead. Chavatipon forced a service break to close to within 5-4, but Crawley answered with a service break to close out the win. Chavatipon dropped a singles match for the first time this postseason (6-1), falling to 4-1 in the NCAA Tournament.

Immediately following Chavatipon's defeat, No. 93 Zeynalova finished off a 6-3, 6-3 win on court 3 over No. 35 Reilly Tran. Leading 3-2 in her opening set, Zeynalova held serve and followed with a service break on a deuce point to build a 5-2 cushion. Tran answered with a service break, but Zeynalova responded with a service break of her own to claim the 6-3 first-set victory. Tied at 3-3 in the second set and playing indoors, Zeynalova held serve on a deuce point and earned a service break in the following game to gain a 5-3 advantage. Zeynalova again held serve to close out the win and improve to 22-1 in dual-match singles play this year, including a 5-0 mark in singles during the NCAA Tournament.

No. 2 Stearns gave the Longhorns a 3-1 advantage with a 6-2, 7-6 (11-9) victory on court 1 against No. 5 Cameron Morra. Stearns raced out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set, before Morra won back-to-back games to trim the margin to 4-2. Stearns responded with a service break and then held serve to close out the 6-2 first-set win. Stearns trailed 2-1 in the second set when the rain forced action indoors, and both players held serve for the next nine-straight games to force a tiebreaker. Stearns saved a pair of set points by winning a pair of deuce points at 4-5 and again at 5-6.

Tied at 4-4 in the breaker, Morra won back-to-back points to take a 6-4 lead. Stearns responded by winning the next three points to grab a 7-6 advantage. Later with the breaker even at 9-9, Stearns held serve to take a 10-9 lead and won match point while receiving serve to close out her victory and move to 26-2 overall in singles this year, including a 23-2 mark in dual-match action on court 1.

Anika Yarlagadda pulled the Tar Heels to within 3-2 with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 win on court 6 over freshman Vivian Ovrootsky. Tied at 2-2 in the opening set, Ovrootsky won three of the next four games to build a 5-3 lead. Yarlagadda held serve on a deuce point and followed with a service break to even the set at 5-5 before rain forced play indoors. Both players traded service breaks to send the first set to a tiebreaker. Tied at 2-2 in the breaker, Yarlagadda won back-to-back points to build a 4-2 cushion. After Ovrootsky closed to within 5-4, Yarlagadda won the next two points to close out the 7-4 tiebreak win. Tied at 4-4 in the second set, Yarlagadda earned a service break and then held serve on a deuce point to finish off the victory.

For the second-straight day, Allura Zamarripa clinched the overall dual-match win for the Longhorns. She rallied for a 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-5 victory on court 5 over No. 51-ranked Tanguilig. Trailing 5-3 in her opening set, Zamarripa held serve and followed with a service break to even the set at 5-5. Both players held serve in the next two games to force a tiebreaker. Tanguilig jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the breaker before rain forced play indoors. Tanguilig won the first point indoors, but Zamarripa claimed the next three points to pull to within 5-4. Tanguilig responded by winning the next two points to close out the 7-4 tiebreak victory.

Trailing 3-1 in the second set, Zamarripa held serve and followed with a service break to even the set at 3-3. She then won the next three games to earn a 6-3 second-set win. After exchanging service breaks to open the third set, both players stayed on serve until the score reached 5-5. Zamarripa held her serve to take a 6-5 lead and then closed out the match with a service break. She moved to 10-2 in dual-match singles action this spring, including a 4-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament on court 5.

The remaining singles match featuring No. 49 Collins on court 2 against No. 30 Scotty was stopped once Allura Zamarripa clinched the dual-match win. Collins jumped out to a 3-1 lead in her opening set. After both players held serve, Collins broke Scotty on a deuce point to take a 5-2 advantage. Scotty responded with a service break, but Collins answered with another service break on a deuce point to finish the 6-3 first-set win.

Collins held serve on a deuce point to open the second set before rain forced play indoors. Collins won back-to-back games to build a 3-0 cushion, but Scotty answered by holding serve and forcing a service break to cut the deficit to 3-2. The players exchanged service breaks in each of the next three games to give Collins a 5-3 lead. Scotty responded by winning the next four games to close out the 7-5 second-set victory. Leading 3-2 in the third set, Collins earned a service break and then held serve on a deuce point to grab a 5-2 cushion. Scotty held serve in the ensuing game to make it 5-3, when Zamarripa finished off the overall dual-match win.

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