Texas Wins NCAA Women’s Tennis Title

Freshman Lulu Sun Elevates Texas to NCAA Women’s Tennis Title; First Since 1995

Tomer Barazani | May 23, 2021

On Saturday night, the Texas Longhorns women's tennis team won its third national title, the first since 1995. Freshman Lulu Sun made history by securing a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 win over Pepperdine’s Taisiya Pachkaleva.

Sun admitted that her road to victory was challenging, feeling the fatigue as the matches dwindled down. Her body was tired, but her spirit wouldn't extinguish.

“Honestly, at the end, I was going to cramp," Sun said Saturday evening. "So I was just like, survive the last few games and just throw everything I have. I guess it worked.”

Sun won the first set 6-4, but Pachkaleva rebounded, taking the second with a 7-6 final, including three tiebreakers. The final set, everyone in the facility was watching to see which program would be crowned winners of the year.

Sun went up 5-3 in the third set, but Pachkaleva — who helped Pepperdine win against No. 1 North Carolina earlier this month — faltered, but never fell. Finally, having reached championship match point, Sun put it away with a serve too tough for Pachkaleva to respond towards.

The ball hit the center net and the girls stormed the court — bombarding Sun and in a sea of orange and white.

“Many, many questions were asked of Lulu tonight, and she answered them all," Texas women's tennis coach Howard Joffe said. "And that’s why Texas has this trophy right here.”

Freshman Peyton Stearns expressed that the men's team showed out to support the women's team and motivate them to win it all. Down 6-2 to the Waves' Ashley Lahey, something clicked in a pivotal match that evening.

After losing the second set, Stearns took the court once more and dominated Lahey on the way to victory. She scored eight straight points before allowing one to pass her in the third set. When the match concluded Stearns closed it out with dominating 12-2 scoring, finishing a 6-0 second set and 6-2 final frame.

"It got me going," Stearns said of the men's team being there. "I was like, ‘I want to win for Texas.' And they were helping push me the whole time."

Joffe, who left Texas A&M in 2015 to coach the Longhorns, conveyed that he was quite shocked by his team's 4-3 win over Pepperdine, who managed to put themselves in a winning situation each match over the past several weeks.

Nothing seems to quiet the long-time tennis coach. Saturday night in Orlando, Fla. was one where words couldn't paint the picture.

"It’s such a cliché, but the kids on the team know I’m never one to be speechless," Joffe said. "But I’m a little bit speechless."

Coach Howard Joffe, who left Texas A&M for Texas in 2015 because he thought UT was a better long-term destination, holds up the NCAA trophy. pic.twitter.com/SNHoeE8aJ2
— Brian Davis (@byBDavis) May 23, 2021

More success is likely coming for Texas, too in both programs. With one national title now on the books, Joffe’s squad has the taste of victory and a team with young talent to keep it that way

Consider this the start of something special found in Austin with Sun and Stearns leading the Horns.

“I felt like one way or the other, we'd get over the line today,” Joffe said. “But the idea that we’d actually get to the final with the obstacles and the difficulty and the inexperience, it really is a pretty remarkable.”

The win adds to the Longhorns’ series of successes this spring. Here’s how the other programs fared throughout the 2020-21 campaign:

Men's swimming: National title

Women's tennis: National title

Volleyball: National runner-up

Women’s Basketball: Elite Eight

M/W Golf: NCAAs

Men's Basketball: NCAAs Round of 64, Big 12 Tournament winner

Rowing: No. 1 ranking

Softball: NCAA regionals

Baseball: Big 12 title

CONTINUE READING: CBS Sports Predicts Texas' Robinson To Win 2021 Heisman

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Published May 23, 2021

TOMER BARAZANI