TCU Falls to Wisconsin on the Road

Thursday, January 27

Madison, WI

12 PM

TCU

Wisconsin

TCU Falls to Wisconsin on the Road

1/27/2022 6:37:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Alisa Soloveva wins an epic match at No. 1 singles in first loss of 2022

MADISON, Wisc. -- TCU women's tennis (4-1) suffered its first setback of the season, falling to Wisconsin, 5-2, on Thursday afternoon inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisc. Alisa Soloveva defended seven match points before taking down No. 59 Xinyu Cai in an impressive three-set match (3-6, 7-6(9), 7-6(3-0, ret.)) but Wisconsin would win four singles matches and the doubles point to earn the dual.

"Credit to Wisconsin for coming out with a lot more energy and confidence in doubles than us," head coach Lee Taylor Walker said. "Alisa [Soloveva] and Jade [Otway] were in cruise control at two, but we fell behind early at one and three and they just ran away with them. In singles, we started well but let some leads in first sets get away from us and that seemed to give Wisconsin a lot of resilience to stay in the battle all the way through. Alisa fought off 7 match points and really showed great courage in her match. It was a great display of why she's one of the toughest in college tennis. The good news for us as a team is that we have several opponents this year that are going to be just like this match - where just a few points here and there, it's a 5-2 victory instead of loss. We have a great opportunity to clean up some things and get right back on track Tuesday with Houston."

TCU dropped the doubles point with losses at No. 1 and No. 3. Soloveva and Jade Otway were leading their match at No. 2, 5-1, when play was halted after UW clinched the point. Otway was locked in at the net, winning multiple points with quick reflexes and excellent racquet control. Otway/Soloveva won in their only previous pairing, a 6-1 victory over Arkansas State this past Sunday (1/23).

In singles play, Otway held her serve for the entire opening set at No. 6, winning 6-4 thanks to an early break. She held her level into the second set, winning the final four games to claim the match, 6-4, 6-2. Otway has been in tremendous form over her last three duals, winning three singles and two doubles matches, with her only unfinished match coming in doubles play today, while serving for the match, 5-1.

Soloveva earned the best victory of the season for TCU when she took down No. 59 Cai at No. 1 singles. The match started slow for Soloveva, falling behind, 1-5, before dropping the opening set, 3-6. In the second, she jumped ahead, 4-1, before suffering a pair of breaks to fall behind, 4-5. But Soloveva kept fighting, breaking back and forcing a tiebreak, which she would win in dramatic fashion, 11-9. Soloveva had to come from behind again in the third, erasing a 3-5 deficit to force yet another tiebreak. Up, 3-0, in the tiebreak, her opponent began to suffer from cramping and was forced to retire. In total, the match lasted just over three hours (3:08) and Soloveva had earned a ranked win in just her second singles match since suffering a torn ACL in October, 2020.

Doubles Results
1. Aleksa Cveticanin/Stevie Kennedy (TCU) L, 1-6
2. Jade Otway/Alisa Soloveva (TCU) 5-1, unfinished
3. Isabel Pascual/Mercedes Aristegui (TCU) L, 2-6
Order of finish: 1, 3

Singles Results
1. Alisa Soloveva (TCU) def. #59 Xinyu Cai (UW) 3-6, 7-6(9), 7-6 (3-0, ret.)
2. Ara Markham (UW) def. Mercedes Aristegui (TCU) 7-6, 6-1
3. Alina Mukhortora (UW) def. Aleksa Cveticanin (TCU) 7-5, 6-2
4. Charmaine Seah def. Stevie Kennedy (TCU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
5. Antonela Stoica (UW) def. Helena Narmont (TCU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5
6. Jade Otway (TCU) def. Taylor Cataldi (UW) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish – 3, 2, 6, 4, 5, 1

Up Next
The Horned Frogs return to Fort Worth to prepare for a Tuesday afternoon (2:30 p.m.) dual against Houston at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. Admission is free to the public.

For more information on TCU women's tennis, visit gofrogs.com and follow the team on social media: @TCUWomensTennis on twitter and Facebook, @tcuwomenstennis on Instagram.