Texas Women’s Tennis Dominates UTRGV with Commanding 7-0 Sweep in Austin
The No. 10 Texas Women’s Tennis team made it clear on Sunday: they’re settling into home court just fine.
In only their second home match of the season, the Longhorns delivered a dominant 7-0 sweep over UTRGV at the Texas Tennis Center, improving to 5-2 on the year. From top to bottom, it was a performance that showcased the program’s depth, poise, and a rising class of young talent.
Let’s break it down.
Doubles: Fast Start, Full Control
Texas wasted no time setting the tone in doubles, sweeping all three courts and grabbing the early point with authority.
At No. 1, the pairing of freshman Anastasia Abbagnato and sophomore Carmen Herea came out firing, blanking UTRGV’s Barbara Martinez and Rhea Makesar, 6-0. Texas broke serve at deuce in every UTRGV service game-textbook pressure tennis from the opening ball.
On Court 2, Eszter Meri and Elizabeth Ionescu found themselves in a tight early battle, with the first three games all going to deuce. Down 1-2, they flipped the switch, rattling off five straight games-including two deuce-point breaks-to close out a 6-2 win and clinch the doubles point.
Court 3 saw a bit more back-and-forth. Mathilde Ngijol-Carré and Salma Drugdova jumped out to a 4-1 lead with a pair of deuce-point breaks, but UTRGV clawed back to 4-all. From there, the Longhorns broke again and held serve to finish off a 6-4 win and complete the doubles sweep.
Singles: Total Team Effort
Once singles play began, the Longhorns never let up. Texas dropped just one set across six courts-and even that didn’t last long.
Elizabeth Ionescu was the first off the court at No. 3, turning in a clinical 6-3, 6-0 win over Luna Buijtenhuijs. After trading early breaks, the freshman settled in and reeled off eight straight games to close the match. That’s the kind of composure you love to see from a young player.
Mathilde Ngijol-Carré, another freshman, followed suit at No. 4.
She swept the first set 6-0 and nearly did the same in the second, wrapping up her first career dual match singles win with a commanding 6-0, 6-1 performance over Makesar. She played with confidence and control, especially in deuce-point moments.
Eszter Meri clinched the overall match for Texas at No. 2, delivering a 6-0, 6-2 win over Hitakamya Narwal. Meri was in the zone from the jump, opening with a deuce-point break and never looking back. Her ability to dictate points early in rallies was key in keeping Narwal on her heels.
With the team result secured, Texas kept the foot on the gas.
Kate Mansfield battled through a tougher second set at No. 5 but still came away with a straight-set win, 6-0, 7-5, over Mariia Bakhtina. After cruising in the first, she had to dig deep in the second, overcoming a 2-4 deficit with a clutch 3-0 run and a break at deuce to close it out.
Salma Drugdova, at No. 6, had to recover from an early break in the first set but responded with a 4-0 run to flip the momentum. She went on to win 6-4, 6-2 over Valentina Urraco, showing resilience and solid baseline play.
And then there was Carmen Herea, the nation’s No. 2-ranked singles player, who had the most dramatic match of the day at No. 1.
After dropping the first set in a tiebreaker to Martinez, she completely flipped the script. Herea stormed back with back-to-back 6-0 sets, closing the match in emphatic fashion.
That’s the kind of response you expect from your top player-reset, refocus, and dominate.
What This Win Means
This was a statement performance from a Texas squad that’s still building chemistry early in the season. The mix of veteran leadership and freshman firepower is starting to click, and Sunday’s sweep is evidence of that.
The Longhorns didn’t just win-they controlled the match from the first serve in doubles to the final point in singles. Every court, every moment, they brought the energy and execution.
Next up, Texas heads to College Station for the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown against Texas A&M. That’s always a high-stakes rivalry matchup, and with the Longhorns riding high, it’s shaping up to be a must-watch.
But for now, Texas fans can take a moment to appreciate a complete team win-and a glimpse at just how good this group can be.