Baylor Women’s Tennis Heads to the Northeast for Key Weekend Matchups vs. Brown and Harvard
The Baylor women’s tennis team is hitting the road this weekend for a two-match swing through the Northeast, with a pair of Ivy League opponents on deck. The Bears will take the court Friday afternoon against Brown, followed by a Sunday morning showdown with Harvard at the Murr Tennis Center in Boston.
At 2-3 on the season, Baylor’s record doesn’t tell the full story of a team that’s shown flashes of high-level play, especially in doubles. And historically, the Bears have had the upper hand in these matchups - they’re a perfect 2-0 all-time against Brown and 5-0 versus Harvard.
Their most recent meeting with Brown came just last February, when Baylor rolled to a convincing 6-1 win in Waco. This time, the Bears will face a Brown squad that’s already logged seven matches this spring and is coming off a 1-2 showing at the ECAC Championships.
While Brown doesn’t feature any nationally ranked singles players, they do bring a bit of firepower in doubles. Daniella Benabraham and Abigail Lee come in ranked No. 85 nationally, with a 6-5 record - all from fall tournament play.
Sunday’s matchup against Harvard could present a tougher test. The Crimson, sitting at 4-4, just edged out a 4-3 win over Dartmouth but had dropped two straight at the ECACs before that - falling to Princeton and Brown.
Still, Harvard has some serious talent at the top of its lineup. Doubles duo Kavya Karra and Stephanie Yakoff are ranked No. 42 nationally, boasting an 11-3 record.
Yakoff also headlines the singles side, checking in at No. 66 with an impressive 14-2 mark.
Baylor, meanwhile, enters the weekend with five nationally ranked entries following the release of the first spring rankings - a clear sign of the program’s depth and potential. In doubles, Kennedy Gibbs and Na Dong come in at No. 70, followed closely by Dong and Zuzanna Kubacha at No.
- That’s a rare back-to-back ranking for a team, and it speaks volumes about Dong’s impact as a doubles anchor.
On the singles side, Dong is once again in the spotlight at No. 62, with Kubacha at No. 89 and freshman Mu-Jie Tzeng breaking into the rankings at No. 98 - a strong early-season showing for the newcomer.
The Bears are looking to bounce back from a tough loss to Washington, where they dropped the doubles point despite a dominant 6-1 win from Kubacha and Dong on Court 1. Singles play didn’t go their way, with three straight defeats sealing a 4-0 result for the Huskies.
This weekend offers a chance for Baylor to reset and pick up momentum against two teams they’ve historically handled well - but who also bring enough talent to make things interesting. If the Bears can capitalize on their doubles strength and get a few key wins in singles, they’ll be in a strong position to head back to Waco with a pair of road victories.
First serve against Brown is set for Friday at 2 p.m. CT, with the Harvard match scheduled for Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
CT. Live stats and streaming will be available for both matches at the Murr Tennis Center.