Friday, March 7
Houston, Texas
2 PM
University of Houston
vs
TCU
PREVIEW: Tennis Returns Home to Face #40 TCU and #15 Baylor
3/6/2025 10:54:00 AM | Tennis
Cougars host Horned Frogs at 2 p.m., Friday, and Bears at 1 p.m., Sunday
HOUSTON – The University of Houston Tennis team returns to the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility for its Big 12 home opener against #40 TCU at 2 p.m., Friday, before welcoming #15 Baylor at 1 p.m., Sunday.
Admission is free. Action against TCU and Baylor can be seen on the live stream or by following live stats here.
On Friday, the Cougars will debut their Houston Blue uniforms to pay homage to the City of Houston. Houston Football, Volleyball, Men's Basketball, Women's Golf and Softball have all donned Houston Blue this academic year.
Pizza will be available while supplies last for current University of Houston students. The first 20 students to the match on Friday receive a certificate for a FREE Houston Blue t-shirt to claim following the conclusion of doubles play.
On Sunday, the Cougars will honor Houston Tennis-great Margaret Kitchen Redfearn prior to the match against Baylor as she will deliver the first serve. Redfearn was Houston's first All-American in both singles and doubles and still holds the school record for the most career singles victories with 153.
The 2006 Houston Hall of Honor inductee won the Southwest Conference Championship in singles and doubles in 1983 on top of being named the Conference Player of the Year.
FREE Houston Tennis stickers will be available for fans while supplies last.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Fifth-year Santa Strombacha leads the way with four singles wins on court one, while Strombacha and sophomore partner Elizaveta Morozova, and junior duo Gabriela Cortes and Sophie Schouten have compiled three wins in doubles play.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
TCU
TCU owns a 28-7 series advantage over Houston, with the Horned Frogs taking the previous nine meetings. Last season the Horned Frogs swept the Cougars, 7-0, in Fort Worth (March 8). Houston's last win against TCU was a 5-3 victory in Houston (May 9, 1997).
The Horned Frogs are 7-3 to start the season, with all three losses against ranked foes. Yu-Chin Tsai leads TCU with seven singles victories while Isabel Pascual and Jade Otway pace the Horned Frogs with four doubles wins on court one.
Baylor
Houston has never beaten Baylor as the Bears own a 6-0 record in the series. The two teams have met the last two seasons in Waco, Texas, as the Bears bested the Cougars, 6-1, in both meetings. The Cougars claimed the doubles point in last season's meeting as Schouten and former Cougar Sonya Kovalenko defeated Sierra Berry and Zuzanna Kubacha, 7-6(5).
The Bears are off to an 11-1 start with their only loss coming to then-#12 Texas in January. Kubacha leads the way with an 8-0 singles record on court three, followed by a perfect 6-0 record from Na Dong on court four. In doubles action, Cristina Tiglea and Liubov Kostenko pace the Bears with a 7-0 record on court one.
LAST TIME OUT
The Cougars fell, 4-0, to #25 Oklahoma State on Friday. Houston dropped the doubles point as Cortes and Schouten fell to Gracie Epps and Melisa Ercan, 6-3, and Kylie Collins and Marcela Lopez defeated sophomore duo Heta Nuutinen and Iva Sepa, 6-2.
The Cowgirls earned points on courts two, four and five to take the match.
On Sunday afternoon, the Cougars also fell 4-0, to #73 Kansas State. The Wildcats got a head start, clinching the doubles point as Veronika Kulhava and Maria Santos won, 6-2, over Cortes and Sophie Schouten.
Cortes made her singles debut as she fell, 6-2, 6-1, to Kulhava on court six. The Wildcats also earned points on courts two and five to clinch the match.
SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Tennis by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's very own NIL collective and by joining the Center Court Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Tennis for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarTennis on X, formerly known as Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarTennis or on the team's Instagram page at @uhcougartennis.
Admission is free. Action against TCU and Baylor can be seen on the live stream or by following live stats here.
On Friday, the Cougars will debut their Houston Blue uniforms to pay homage to the City of Houston. Houston Football, Volleyball, Men's Basketball, Women's Golf and Softball have all donned Houston Blue this academic year.
Pizza will be available while supplies last for current University of Houston students. The first 20 students to the match on Friday receive a certificate for a FREE Houston Blue t-shirt to claim following the conclusion of doubles play.
On Sunday, the Cougars will honor Houston Tennis-great Margaret Kitchen Redfearn prior to the match against Baylor as she will deliver the first serve. Redfearn was Houston's first All-American in both singles and doubles and still holds the school record for the most career singles victories with 153.
The 2006 Houston Hall of Honor inductee won the Southwest Conference Championship in singles and doubles in 1983 on top of being named the Conference Player of the Year.
FREE Houston Tennis stickers will be available for fans while supplies last.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Fifth-year Santa Strombacha leads the way with four singles wins on court one, while Strombacha and sophomore partner Elizaveta Morozova, and junior duo Gabriela Cortes and Sophie Schouten have compiled three wins in doubles play.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
TCU
TCU owns a 28-7 series advantage over Houston, with the Horned Frogs taking the previous nine meetings. Last season the Horned Frogs swept the Cougars, 7-0, in Fort Worth (March 8). Houston's last win against TCU was a 5-3 victory in Houston (May 9, 1997).
The Horned Frogs are 7-3 to start the season, with all three losses against ranked foes. Yu-Chin Tsai leads TCU with seven singles victories while Isabel Pascual and Jade Otway pace the Horned Frogs with four doubles wins on court one.
Baylor
Houston has never beaten Baylor as the Bears own a 6-0 record in the series. The two teams have met the last two seasons in Waco, Texas, as the Bears bested the Cougars, 6-1, in both meetings. The Cougars claimed the doubles point in last season's meeting as Schouten and former Cougar Sonya Kovalenko defeated Sierra Berry and Zuzanna Kubacha, 7-6(5).
The Bears are off to an 11-1 start with their only loss coming to then-#12 Texas in January. Kubacha leads the way with an 8-0 singles record on court three, followed by a perfect 6-0 record from Na Dong on court four. In doubles action, Cristina Tiglea and Liubov Kostenko pace the Bears with a 7-0 record on court one.
LAST TIME OUT
The Cougars fell, 4-0, to #25 Oklahoma State on Friday. Houston dropped the doubles point as Cortes and Schouten fell to Gracie Epps and Melisa Ercan, 6-3, and Kylie Collins and Marcela Lopez defeated sophomore duo Heta Nuutinen and Iva Sepa, 6-2.
The Cowgirls earned points on courts two, four and five to take the match.
On Sunday afternoon, the Cougars also fell 4-0, to #73 Kansas State. The Wildcats got a head start, clinching the doubles point as Veronika Kulhava and Maria Santos won, 6-2, over Cortes and Sophie Schouten.
Cortes made her singles debut as she fell, 6-2, 6-1, to Kulhava on court six. The Wildcats also earned points on courts two and five to clinch the match.
SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Tennis by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's very own NIL collective and by joining the Center Court Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Tennis for needs beyond its operating budget.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarTennis on X, formerly known as Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarTennis or on the team's Instagram page at @uhcougartennis.
– UHCougars.com –
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