Austin, TX

No. 9 Women’s Tennis preview: No. 1 Georgia – University of Texas Athletics

Published

5 hours ago

March 13, 2026

No. 9 Women’s Tennis preview: No. 1 Georgia – University of Texas Athletics

No. 9 Texas vs. No. 1 Georgia

Team Records: Texas (10-3, 5-1 SEC), Georgia (10-2, 5-1 SEC)

When: Saturday, March 14, 2026, 12 p.m. CT

Where: Texas Tennis Center, Austin, Texas

Live Stats: https://hookem.at/WTN-Stats

Live Video: https://hookem.at/WTN-Watch

Updated Stats

Notes

-Georgia Series: Georgia leads, 14-5

Georgia leads the all-time series with Texas, 14-5, dating back to 1979, however the Longhorns have won the last two, both of which have been played in Austin where Texas leads the all-time series, 4-3. Last year, in their first meeting as conference opponents, the Longhorns took a 4-2 victory over No. 1 Georgia at the Texas Tennis Center. It was one of only three losses for the Bulldogs all year, as they went on to win the National Championships. The year before, the teams played a non-conference match at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center in Austin, and the Longhorns won, 4-3, (clinching at 4-2). Prior to that, the last contest came in 2018 at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Madison, Wisc., which Georgia won, 4-2. Texas’ last win prior to 2024 was a 5-1 decision in 1994 in Austin with the Bulldogs winning 10-straight until the Longhorns snapped that streak in 2024, including UGA’s visit to Austin in 2000.

Last Two Box Scores

#14 Texas 4, #1 Georgia 2

Friday, April 11, 2025

Austin, Texas • Texas Tennis Center

Singles – Order of Finish (4,1,2,5,3)

1. #1 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. #56 Sabina Zeynalova (TEX) 6-1, 6-2

2. #55 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) def. #32 Carmen Herea (TEX) 6-2, 6-3

3. #93 Ashton Bowers (TEX) def. Mell Reasco (UGA) 7-6 (6), 6-3

4. #74 Eszter Meri (TEX) def. #42 Aysegul Mert (UGA) 6-1, 6-1

5. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz (TEX) def. #91 Guillermina Grant (UGA) 7-6 (3), 6-2

6. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEX) vs. Sofia Rojas (UGA) 6-3, 6-7 (4), 0-1, unf.

Doubles – Order of Finish (1,3,2)

1. #5 Dasha Vidmanova/Mell Reasco (UGA) def. #24 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo/Ashton Bowers (TEX) 6-2

2. Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz/Salma Drugdova (TEX) def. #74 Guillermina Grant/Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) 7-5

3. Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea (TEX) def. #90 Aysegul Mert/Hayden Mulberry (UGA) 6-3

#10 Texas 4, #4 Georgia 3

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Austin, Texas • Weller Indoor Tennis Center

Singles – Order of Finish (6,2,4,3,5,1)

1. #35 Alexandra Vecic (UGA) def. Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4)

2. #30 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) def. #20 Tanya Sasnouskaya (TEXAS) 6-3, 6-3

3. #45 Malaika Rapolu (TEXAS) def. #116 Mell Reasco (UGA) 7-6 (6), 7-5

4. #106 Charlotte Chavatipon (TEXAS) def. #70 Anastasiia Lopata (UGA) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2

5. Taisiya Pachkaleva (TEXAS) def. Guillermina Grant (UGA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3

6. #108 Mai Nirundorn (UGA) def. Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1)

1. Sabina Zeynalova/Taisiya Pachkaleva (TEXAS) def. #58 Aysegul Mert/Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 6-3

2. Malaika Rapolu/Tanya Sasnouskaya (TEXAS) vs. #15 Guillermina Grant/Mai Nirundorn (UGA) 2-5, unf.

3. Charlotte Chavatipon/Vivian Ovrootsky (TEXAS) def. Mell Reasco/Alexandra Vecic (UGA) 6-1

-ITA Team Rankings

Texas was tabbed No. 12 in the preseason poll released January 7 by the ITA after finishing last season at No. 13. The Longhorns were then No. 17 on January 21 and No. 18 on January 28. After a pair of top-10 wins, Texas moved back up to No. 10 on February 11, became No. 16 on February 19, No. 14 on February 24, and now No. 9 on March 10. The Longhorns closed the 2023-24 season No. 11, just outside of the Top 10 where they had finished each of the previous six years. UT earned a No. 6 ranking in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020, No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022, and No. 7 in 2023.

-ITA Individual National Rankings

Texas

Singles

No. 1 Carmen Herea

No. 16 Anastasia Abbagnato

No. 81 Eszter Meri

Doubles

No. 29 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo/Anastasia Abbagnato

No. 47 Elizabeth Ionescu/Carmen Herea

No. 50 Elizabeth Ionescu/Christasha McNeil

Georgia

Singles

No. 6 Aysegul Mert

No. 36 Anastasiia Gureva

No. 37 Anastasiia Lopata

No. 48 Deniz Dilek

No. 61 Sofia Rojas

No. 115 Patricija Paukstyte

Doubles

No. 8 Deniz Dilek/Aysegul Mert

No. 43 Anastasiia Gureva/Aysegul Mert

No. 49 Emma Dong/Deniz Dilek

-Conquering Carolina

The Longhorns defeated No. 22 South Carolina, 4-2, on March 12 at the Texas Tennis Center. Texas won its fifth-straight match, the last four of which have been against top-40 opponents, and posted its eighth victory in their last nine contests. The Longhorns opened by taking the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles wins by Eszter Meri at No. 3 and Carmen Herea at No. 1, along with the clinch from Christasha McNeil at No. 4. Meanwhile, South Carolina had taken singles wins at Nos. 2 and 6, and Elizabeth Ionescu was sitting on three match points at No. 5 when play stopped.

-Downing the Dogs

Texas downed No. 33 Mississippi State, 4-1, on March 7 in match that was moved indoors to the Weller Indoor Tennis Center. The Longhorns swept singles against the Bulldogs to win their fourth-straight match. Mississippi State secured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1, however Texas answered with singles victories by Carmen Herea at No. 1, Christasha McNeil at No. 4, Anstasia Abbagnato at No. 2, and Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 5 to clinch. Eszter Meri was also in a second-set tiebreaker in an attempt to win her match at No. 3 when play stopped.

-Sweep the Tide to open SEC home play

Texas swept No. 31 Alabama, 4-0, in their SEC home opener on March 5 at the Texas Tennis Center. The Longhorns completed the sweep after five decisive victories with two in doubles and three in singles. Texas captured the doubles point with a 6-0 win at No. 2 and a 6-1 victory at No. 3. The Longhorns then followed with singles wins by Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 5, Eszter Meri at No. 3, and Mathilde Ngijol-Carré at No. 6 for the clinch. Anastasia Abbagnato was also two points from a potential win at No. 2 when play stopped.

-Singles No. 1

Carmen Herea rose to No. 1 in the ITA singles rankings released on March 3. In doing so, she became the fourth Longhorn since 1995 to ascend to the top spot, including Peyton Stearns in 2022, Bianca Turati in 2018 and Kelly Pace in 1995.

-Ionescu named SEC Women’s Tennis Co-Freshman of the Week

Elizabeth Ionescu was named the SEC Women’s Tennis Co-Freshman of the Week on March 4. It marks the second weekly SEC honor for her this season after she earned the same accolade on February 4. Ionescu went a combined 4-0 in helping Texas to two road wins with a 7-0 sweep at Missouri and a 5-2 victory at No. 39 Vanderbilt. Against the Commodores, Ionescu and partner Christasha McNeil earned a top-10 doubles victory over No. 10 Valeria Ray and Bridget Stammel. She later closed the overall match with a win over Erin Pearce at No. 5. She played No. 4 singles versus the Tigers and was first off the court with a decisive win over Andrea Artimedi. Prior to that, she and McNeil clinched the doubles point with over Zoe Lazar and Lara Quaglia at No. 2.

-Music City comeback

Texas rallied past No. 39 Vanderbilt, 5-2, on March 1 at the Lummis Family Tennis Center in Nashville. The Longhorns twice trailed by one point but used five singles victories to win their second-straight SEC road match. Vanderbilt captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1 and 3, but in between, Texas secured a top-10 win at No. 2. The Longhorns then tied it with a singles win by Anasatsia Abbagnato at No. 2, and although the Commodores retook the lead with a win at No. 4, Texas ran off four-straight victories by Mathilde Ngijol-Carré at No. 6, Eszter Meri at No. 3, Carmen Herea at No. 1 for the clinch, and Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 5 for the final margin.

-Sweep for first SEC win

Texas swept Missouri, 7-0, at the Columbia Country Club on February 28 to move to 1-1 in SEC play. Texas did not drop a set throughout the match, opening with doubles wins at Nos. 3 and 2 and following with singles wins at all six positions by Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 4, Christasha McNeil at No. 3, Carmen Herea at No. 1, Eszter Meri at No. 2, Mathilde Ngijol-Carré at No. 5 and Salma Drugdova at No. 6.

-So close on the road against the top-five

Texas fell at No. 5 Texas A&M, 4-3, on Feb. 23 in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station. The Longhorns went the distance in the doubles point, pushing the deciding match at No. 1 to a deuce point that resulted in a 7-5 win by the Aggies. Just before that, Texas had taken a 6-4 victory at No. 2 after Texas A&M claimed a 6-2 win at No. 3. The Aggies followed with singles wins at Nos. 2 and 5 for a 3-0 lead, but the Longhorns had won the first set in the other four matches. Texas secured two of those matches by Christasha McNeil at No. 4 and Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 6 to pull within 3-2, but Texas A&M rallied from down a set for a win at No. 3 to clinch. Carmen Hera then completed the match with a three-set victory at No. 1 for the final.

-Sweeping the Vaqueros

Texas swept UTRGV, 7-0, on February 15 at the Texas Tennis Center in just their second home match of the season to move to 5-2 overall. Both doubles and singles were played out with the Longhorns only dropping one set throughout the match, which came in a tiebreaker. They took the doubles point with wins at Nos. 1-3 in that order, and then followed with singles victories by Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 3, Mathilde Ngijol-Carré at No. 4, Eszter Meri at No. 2 for the clinch, Kate Mansfield at No. 5, Salma Drugdova at No. 6, and Carmen Herea at No. 1.

-Abbagnato named SEC Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Week

Anastasia Abbagnato was named the SEC Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Week on February 11. It marked the first weekly SEC honor of her career and she became the second-straight Longhorn to earn the accolade, following Elizabeth Ionescu the week before. Abbagnato posted a combined 5-1 singles and doubles record, including four ranked victories with three in singles and one in doubles in wins over No. 12 Vanderbilt and No. 7 Duke after a narrow 4-3 defeat to No. 6 Oklahoma at the ITA National Indoor Championships. Abbagnato’s singles wins all came at No. 2 over No. 12 Julia Garcia Ruiz of Oklahoma, No. 40 Bridget Stammel of Vanderbilt, and No. 120 Liv Hovde of Duke. The win over Stammel also clinched the overall match against Vanderbilt. She also won doubles matches with both Anazagasty-Pursoo and Mathilde Ngijol-Carré.

-Two top-12 wins at the ITA Indoors

After pushing No. 6 Oklahoma to the limit in a 4-3 defeat in the round of 16 of the ITA Indoors on February 6, the Longhorns earned a pair of top-12 wins over No. 12 Vanderbilt (4-1) and No. 7 Duke (4-3) in consolation matches in Urbana, Ill., on February 7 and 8, respectively. After the Commodores claimed a tight doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 1 that surrounded a win for the Longhorns at No. 3, Texas rattled of four-straight singles victories by Christasha McNeil at No. 3, Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 5, Carmen Herea at No. 1, and Anastasia Abbagnato at No. 2 for the clinch. Against the Blue Devils, the Longhorns had rallied from a 2-0 deficit after Duke claimed the doubles point and the first singles contest at No. 4. Texas then put together three-straight singles wins by Eszter Meri at No. 3, and Ionescu at No. 6, and Abbagnato at No. 2. The Blue Devils evened the overall match at 3-3 with a win at No. 1, setting the stage for the clinch by Kate Mansfield.

-Ionescu named SEC Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Week

Elizabeth Ionescu was named the SEC Women’s Tennis Freshman of the Week for the week of January 28-February 3. It marks the first weekly SEC honor of her career and first for the Longhorns this season. Ionescu went a combined 4-0 in singles and doubles, including the first singles win of her collegiate career, which came over Pia Kranholdt of Iowa at No. 4 that clinched the overall match. Ionescu and partner Carmen Herea also clinched the doubles point against Wisconsin. Ionescu joined the team in January and had only played one singles and one doubles match in her collegiate career prior to this past weekend.

-Nine-straight trips to the ITA National Indoor Championships

In advancing out of the 2026 ITA Kickoff Weekend Texas Regional, the Longhorns advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the ninth-straight year. Texas reached the quarterfinals in six of those trips, including five of the last six (2019, 2021-25), while advancing all the way to the final in 2021 when they were edged by then No. 1 North Carolina, 4-3, in what would be the only loss of the season on the way to winning the first of back-to-back NCAA National Championships. That was UT’s second all-time appearance in the final, along with 2006 against Stanford. The Longhorns have also won two matches in six of the last seven tournaments, including consolation matches in 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2026 (2021 began in the quarters).

-Sweep of Big Ten road trip

Texas completed a sweep of their two-match Big Ten road trip with a 5-2 victory over Wisconsin at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on February 1. The Longhorns used a top-five win at No. 1 doubles and combined it with a win at No. 3 to claim the doubles point. After Wisconsin picked up a win at No. 3 singles, Texas followed with singles wins by Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 5, Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 6, Carmen Herea at No. 1, and Eszter Meri at No. 4. The Badgers then closed the scoring with a win at No. 2.

-First win in first visit to Iowa City

The Longhorns earned a 6-1 win at Iowa on January 30 in their first-ever road match against the Hawkeyes. Texas captured the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3 and followed with singles wins by Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 5 and Carmen Herea at No. 1, Elizabeth Ionescu at No. 4 for the clinch, Salma Drugdova at No. 6, and Christasha McNeil at No. 3.

-Joffe in Year 11

Head Coach Howard Joffe is in his 11th season leading the UT program. Under Joffe’s leadership, Texas claimed back-to-back NCAA team championships in 2021 and 2022 and has finished each of the last eight years in the top 13 of the final ITA national polls, earning year-end rankings of No. 6 in 2018, No. 9 in 2019, No. 4 in 2020, No. 1 in both 2021 and 2022, No. 7 in 2023, No. 11 in 2024, and No. 13 in 2025. The Longhorns also captured four Big 12 regular-season championships (2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023-co) and four Big 12 postseason tournament titles (2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023) in their last six chances (2020 season canceled due to COVID-19).

The 2021 ITA Division I Women’s National Coach of the Year, Joffe has registered a 216-60 (.783) mark in his time at Texas. During his 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he has tallied a 347-121 (.741) dual-match record. Peyton Stearns claimed the Honda Sport Award for Tennis and the ITA National Player of the Year in 2022. Joffe has helped six Longhorns earn a total of eight ITA All-America honors in singles (Breaunna Addison in 2016, Bianca Turati in 2018, Anna Turati and Bianca Turati in 2020, Stearns in both 2021 and 2022, Kylie Collins in 2022, and Malaika Rapolu in 2024) and two duos earn ITA All-America accolades in doubles (Kylie Collins and Lulu Sun in 2021 and Stearns and Allura Zamarripa in 2022). Stearns became the first player in program history to win the NCAA Singles Championship in 2022, while Collins and Sun reached the finals of the NCAA Doubles Championship in 2021. In addition, 19 players have registered a combined 26 All-Big 12 singles and 22 All-Big 12 doubles selections in Joffe’s tenure in Austin.

-Back from 2025

Texas will have a different look from 2025, but at the same time return a few familiar faces. The roster will feature six returners, four of whom had match experience, including sophomores Carmen Herea, Eszter Meri, Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo and Salma Drugdova, along with redshirt freshman Audrey Deatherage and Lucy Schmeil.

-Five newcomers arrive for their first dual match season on the 40

The Longhorns add five new faces for 2026, all who are expected to be impact players, starting with Christasha McNeil of Lindenhurst, N.Y., and Mathilde Ngijol-Carré of Paris, France, who arrived in the fall. Three more joined the team in January, including Anastasia Abbagnato from Palermo, Italy, Elizabeth Ionescu from York, Pa., and Kate Mansfield of London, England.

-Summer/Fall Wrap-up

A number of players on the roster spent the summer and fall nursing injuries, leading to some of them not qualifying for fall ITA rankings. However, Eszter Meri captured the singles gold medal at the FISU World University Games in July, while Carmen Herea finished as the singles runner-up at one of the fall majors in the ITA All-Americans, and then was a quarterfinalist in the NCAA Singles Championships.

Source link

Austin, TX

Applications for new Texas education savings accounts close Tuesday, March 17

Published

17 hours ago

March 13, 2026

Press Room

Applications for new Texas education savings accounts close Tuesday, March 17

Families have until 11:59 p.m. March 17 to apply for the first year of Texas’ education savings account program, according to the state comptroller’s office.

Under the $1 billion program, participating students will receive state funds for private education or homeschooling during the 2026-27 school year. It is unlikely that all applicants will be accepted, as application data shows more students have applied than the program can fund.

The application is available through Odyssey, a New York-based company administering the program in partnership with the comptroller’s office. Here’s what to know as the application deadline nears.

The big picture

State lawmakers created the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program in 2025, which Republican leaders called a “victory” after years of bipartisan opposition to the plan. Proponents of the program have said it will expand education options for families who do not want to send their children to a public school.

“For years, parents have asked for more control and more choices when it comes to their children’s education. Texas is delivering,” acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock said in a Feb. 16 statement.

Some public school advocates, Democratic lawmakers and other opponents of the TEFA program have expressed concerns that it will unfairly benefit students already enrolled in private schools and divert funding from public school districts facing financial challenges, Community Impact reported.

“I have a message to the working family communities in Texas: vouchers are a scam intended to benefit rich people,” Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, D-Richardson, said on the Texas House floor in April. “These private schools are not required to accept your children. You give up the rights you had in public schools. The full cost of tuition, transportation and textbooks will almost never be covered fully by the voucher.”

Students enrolling in private schools for the 2026-27 school year will receive $10,474 to spend on tuition and related expenses. The average cost of Texas private school tuition during the 2023-24 academic year was $10,965 for kindergarten through eighth-grade students and $14,986 for high school students, according to the Texas Private Schools Association.

Homeschool students are eligible for $2,000, and students with disabilities can receive up to $30,000, depending on their individual needs.

Applying for the program

TEFA applications are not first-come, first-served. The comptroller’s office has said that families who apply at the last minute will not be treated differently from those who signed up when applications opened in early February, and Odyssey will not begin reviewing applications until after the window closes March 17.

The application is designed to be completed in about 15 minutes, and families can edit their submissions through March 17, per the comptroller’s office. Families must provide information about their residency and household income, each child’s educational history and whether a child will need special education supports. An application checklist is available here, and a 13-page program guide from the comptroller’s office is available here.

Under state law, any student who is a U.S. citizen, resides in Texas and is eligible to attend a Texas public school, open-enrollment charter school or pre-K program can apply for the program.

Families must submit separate applications to their chosen private schools, although state law does not require private schools to accept all students. As of press time, over 2,100 in-person and online schools were participating in the program, alongside hundreds of other service providers. A majority of the schools are located in and around Texas’ largest cities, per a map on the program website.

Zooming in

With funding capped at $1 billion for the 2026-27 school year, between 90,000 and 100,000 students will likely be accepted. Approximately 156,000 applications had been submitted as of March 6, according to the comptroller’s office.

About 36,000 of those applications were submitted on behalf of students currently enrolled in a Texas public or open-enrollment charter school, according to data obtained by the Texas Center for Voucher Transparency, a public school advocacy group tracking the program’s rollout.

Applications will be prioritized in the following order through a need- and income-based lottery system:

First tier: Students with disabilities whose annual household incomes are at or below 500% of the federal poverty line, or about $165,000 for a family of four
Second tier: Families with incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty line, which is about $66,000 for a family of four
Third tier: Families earning between 200%-500% of the federal poverty line
Fourth tier: Families above 500% of the federal poverty line—limited to 20% of total program funding

Students in Tier 1 made up about 11% of the first 123,000 applications, Feb. 22 data from the comptroller’s office shows. Families in the second tier comprised about 30% of applications, while 31% of applicants were in Tier 3.

Another 28% of applicants were in Tier 4. Some of these families likely will not be accepted into the first year of the program, as state law limits funding for higher-income families whose children do not have disabilities to 20% of total program funds.

The size of the program’s waitlist could shape how much state lawmakers choose to spend on education savings accounts when they return to the Capitol in 2027. The nonpartisan Texas Legislative Budget Board previously projected that due to demand, the program would grow to $3.3 billion by 2028 and $4.8 billion by 2030.

What’s next?

The comptroller’s office said it will begin notifying families if they are accepted into the program in early April, and families must select the private school they plan to send their children to, if applicable, by July 15.

Families will be able to access at least 25% of their education savings account funding in July, according to a timeline on the program website. At least 50% of the funds are scheduled to be available to families Oct. 1, and all funding for the 2026-27 school year will be available in April 2027. If families do not spend all their allotted money, it will roll over for the next school year.

Source link

Austin, TX

#22 Gamecocks Fall to #9 Longhorns in Austin

Published

1 day ago

March 12, 2026

Press Room

#22 Gamecocks Fall to #9 Longhorns in Austin

AUSTIN, TEXAS – The No. 22 South Carolina women’s tennis team came up short against No. 9 Texas in Austin on Thursday afternoon. The Gamecocks move to 9-5 (2-4 SEC).

No. 21 Lauren Friedman and Helena Buchwald picked up right where they left off, securing another doubles win, defeating the top pair from Texas, 6-2. Sara Borkop and Jane Dunyon dropped their match on court three, 6-1. It all came down to Kaitlyn Carnicella and Jana Stojanova on court five. The duo from South Carolina battled back to tie things up at four apiece before Texas claimed the court and doubles point with a 6-4 win.

Moving into singles, the Gamecocks picked up three first-set wins, including Buchwald defeating her ranked opponent 6-3. Buchwald went on to defeat the No 16 player in the country in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). Jana Stojanova stormed back and won her first set 7-5 on court six. She claimed the Gamecocks’ second overall point, defeating her opponent from Texas in straight sets. Taylor Goetz claimed her first set on court four, but her opponent forced a third frame after winning the second. After a back-and-forth battle, Texas was able to pick up the set win, the court and the overall match. Jane Dunyon fought back hard in the second frame, earning a 7-5 win, forcing a third. Her court was marked unfinished as the Longhorns clinched the match.

The Gamecocks remain on the road as they take on No. 8 Texas A&M on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

No. 22 South Carolina 2, No. 9 Texas 4

Doubles (order of finish: 2,1,3)

No. 21 Helena Buchwald & Lauren Friedman (SC) def. Salma Drugdova & Anastasia Abbagnato (UT), 6-3
No. 50 Elizabeth Ionescu & Christasha McNeil (UT) DEF. Jane Dunyon & Sara Borkop (SC) 6-1
Carmen Herea & Mathilde Ngijol-Care (UT) def. Kaitlyn Carnicella & Jana Stojanova (SC) 6-4

Singles (order of finish:)

1. No. 1 Carmen Herea (UT) def. No. 47 Kaitlyn Carnicella (SC) 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 77 Helena Buchwald (SC) def. No. 16 Anastasia Abbagnato (UT) 6-3, 6-4
3. No. 81 Eszter Meri (UT) def. Sara Borkop (SC) 6-2, 6-0
4. Christasha McNeil (UT) def. Taylor Goetz (SC) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Jane Dunyon (SC) vs. Elizabeth Ionescu (UT) 3-6, 7-5, 3-5 unf,
6. Jana Stojanova (SC) vs. Salma Drugdova (UT) 7-6, 6-4

Source link

Austin, TX

Remembering three women who helped shape Austin

Published

2 days ago

March 12, 2026

Press Room

Remembering three women who helped shape Austin

Emma Lou Linn as Rodeo Queen in 1958, flanked by Old Settlers Queens, Mrs. Whitworth and Mrs. Young.

Austin American-Statesman

The theater shimmered in shades of lavender, rose and purple. Images of the departed leader emerged from the surrounding darkness.

For some 90 minutes, a full house of family, friends and admirers hung on every word and note delivered by the speakers and performers during the tribute.

Article continues below this ad

On the afternoon of March 1, the Boyd Vance Theater was entirely devoted to memories of the late Bernadette Miles Phifer, community advocate and former curator and director of the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural Center and Genealogical Center.

She died Jan. 6 at age 77.

Phifer was one of three significant women Austin lost in recent weeks, along with professor and City Council member Emma Lou Linn and business and philanthropy executive Retta Kelley van Auken.

Although their deaths have been reported in the American-Statesman and elsewhere around town, it seems particularly apt to gather together some thoughts about their singular roles in Austin’s story in honor of Women’s History Month.

Article continues below this ad

1948-2026: Bernadette Miles Phifer

On March 1, family, friends and admirers saluted Bernadette Miles Phifer at the Boyd Vance Theater in the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogical Center.

Michael Barnes/American-Statesman

Born July 12, 1948, in Montgomery, Alabama, to David Miles and Hazel Smiley Miles, Bernadette Miles attended St. Jude Educational Institute in Montgomery. She graduated in 1966.

Trained as a dietician, she moved to Texas to lead the marketing efforts of the Texas Department of Agriculture. Soon she joined Austin’s active cultural and social scene.

Article continues below this ad

“I cannot imagine Austin without her,” said Parra Agboda, who led the March 1 memorial ceremony. Agboda recalled Phifer’s laughter, faith, tenacity and — shared lovingly — her bossiness. “A life like Bernadette’s should not turn into a whisper in the wind.”

In Austin, Phifer took on one particular cause — the Carver Museum. Often working behind the scenes, she campaigned to give this key East Austin institution an expanded home beyond the small structure that had once served as a temporary downtown library. It was moved in 1933 to a site above what is now Kealing Middle School to become the segregated “Colored Branch.”

During the 1990s, Phifer supported a Carver expansion project, and one for the Mexican American Cultural Center. The campaign lost a city bond election in 1992, but triumphed in 1998 when the Carver and MACC were bundled with other cultural projects.

Designed by Donna Carter, the handsome new museum and cultural center opened in 2005 on a campus that now includes a 1979 branch library and, in the 100-year-old museum building, a critical genealogical center. It was among the first such centers in Texas to focus on the African American experience.

Article continues below this ad

“The place where you are sitting, this grand museum, we have her to thank for it,” said Texas state Rep. Sheryl Cole, who observed Phifer’s unstinting efforts during the Carver campaigns. This day, Cole and Austin City Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison were among the public servants who saluted Phifer from the museum’s Boyd Vance Theater stage.

“Celebrating the Life of Bernadette Miles Phifer” vent organizer Terri Burditt speaks at the March 1 memorial. Burditt is a member of the George Washington Carver Ambassadors.

Pamela Vance

Currently, museum supporters are organizing to triple the size of the current 36,000-square-foot space.

“I grew up on the East Side,” Harper-Madison said. “I learned the importance of community gathering places like this one. They make us whole.”

Article continues below this ad

Always attired with flair, Phifer lent her posed presence and leadership skills to Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas, the Texas Music Museum, and The Links, Incorporated, a service group. After she retired as director, Phifer worked as president of the George Washington Carver Ambassadors, a group that advocates for the Carver Museum, and that organized this day’s tribute.

Phifer was an active member of Holy Cross Catholic Church. She loved gospel and jazz music. During the tribute, LaMonica Lewis contributed her gospel voice, while Pam Hart shared her jazz stylings.

“She gave of herself and tried to make a difference in this world,” said the Rev. Sylvester Chase, retired pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church. “She was always offering an open hand. As long as she helped those in need, her life was not in vain.”

“She was strong in her faith and spoke courage in all her steps forward,” wrote her daughter, Dawnyale Micol for the memorial’s printed program. “Her gifts of love showed in many ways personally and professionally. She knew not to turn away from a stranger, knowing they each held their own gifts.”

Article continues below this ad

One thing Phifer said regularly and persuasively — and this was repeated by Agboda at the close of the March 1 ceremony: “We must all tell our own stories.”

1936-2026: Emma Lou Linn

Austin Council Member Emma Lou Linn at a press conference in the early 1970s.

Contributed

To put it succinctly, Emma Lou Linn was a hoot. At the same time, the longtime professor at St. Edward’s University took the academic field of psychology seriously, served on the Austin City Council during a time of noisy social change in the 1970s and spearheaded efforts to preserve the fabric of historical Austin. She was among the first of those who returned to live downtown. She set up house in the East Sixth Street entertainment district in the old St. Charles House, which she and a friend converted.

Article continues below this ad

“I’ve always loved old buildings and old people,” Linn, who died Jan. 12 at age 89, told the Statesman.

She was born Sept. 14, 1936, in tiny Rocksprings in South Texas. “I was really fortunate to be born in 1936. I’d hear stories from hobos camping on the back property. Daddy would take them canned goods and hear the ghost stories and tall tales. I would go to Mexico with my daddy and ranchers on rainy days, and there I heard stories of the Alamo and cathedrals in Mexico. Years later, I saw a three-story building in Philadelphia restored with an apartment on top. I thought this would be a neat, neat way to live.”

Funny, sporty and even a little outrageous, she grew up among ranching folks on the Edwards Plateau, where she wanted to be a sheriff or maybe an astronomer. Linn didn’t become either, but she did run a gang of kids as a youngster and she recorded a comet somewhat like Halley’s Comet.

Austin entertainer and humanitarian Turk Pipkin grew up nearby on the South Llano River.

Article continues below this ad

“There’s no retrieving our lost childhoods, but around Emma Lou, I always felt that my time on the river was still close,” Pipkin said. “And I eventually made it back to the river, though nearly a hundred miles downstream and on 5,000 less acres.”

Interviewed for a 2014 Statesman profile that ran under the headline, “The truly remarkable life of Austin’s Emma Lou Linn,” she remembered being propped up on the back of a flatbed truck during a statewide political campaign for musician and flour salesman W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel when he was running for Texas governor or U.S. senator.

Emma Lou Linn taught psychology at St. Edward's University for some five decades. — Emma Lou Linn taught psychology at St. Edward’s University for some five decades.

Laura Skelding/Austin American-Statesman

At the University of Texas, Linn studied psychology and played three women’s sports. She served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and did research on Texas school districts. In Austin, she served on several commissions and was among the founding backers of what became the Pecan Street Festival.

Article continues below this ad

Fond of big hats, Linn was sworn in for a special term by groundbreaking lawyer Sarah Weddington.

“We had a group called ‘Uppity Women Unite,’” Linn remembered. She followed up that service with a regular term that ran from later in 1975 to 1977. Among her proudest achievements was an anti-discrimination ordinance that included age, physical disabilities and sexual orientation.

“I was so delighted when she was elected to City Council,” said Alyssa Burgin. “I had known her only from the county Democratic Party, where she was an outspoken advocate for women and an inspiration to younger women like me, but I didn’t know she was such a strong voice for historic preservation until she got on council. And thank goodness for her role in that, because the city would probably have bulldozed everything older than 1999 were it not for her! She’ll be missed, because she was a force of nature.”

As noted in her Statesman profile, a divided Austin City Council in 1975 considered renaming 19th Street after civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Newly minted Council Member Linn — only the second woman, after Emma Long, to serve in that capacity, although she was soon joined by Margaret Hoffman and Betty Himmelblau — listened as J.J. Seabrook, president emeritus of what was then Huston-Tillotson College, spoke eloquently in favor of the proposal.

Article continues below this ad

“As he fell to the ground, I ran to him and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,” Linn, then 78, told one historian. “Seabrook died. But a photographer snapped a photo and it circulated nationally! That brought me great praise from many groups, but threats from a few.”

Linn is survived by her partner of 34 years, Lauren Love.

“Lauren always made sure Emma never skipped a beat,” reads Linn’s obituary. “She took her all over the world and kept the party going. Emma felt incredibly lucky to have Lauren in her life. She was right.”

Article continues below this ad

1942-2026 Retta Kelley van Auken

Former American-Statesman executive Retta Baker Kelley van Auken was a longtime leader business and philanthropy,

American-Statesman File

An executive at the American-Statesman and a public face of Cox Enterprises for decades, Retta Baker Kelley van Auken used her sharp journalistic mind and deep, smoky voice to persuade other leaders in business and philanthropy to do the right thing.

An admiring reporter once commented: “With that voice, you should go on the stage.”

Article continues below this ad

“I was on the stage,” she replied without pausing. “All this comes naturally.”

Turns out, van Auken was the middle daughter of legendary Texas theater director and educator Paul Baker. (The same Statesman reporter spent an awed afternoon at the Baker family ranch near Seguin listening to his theatrical war stories with van Auken.) Supervised by their mother, Kitty Baker, who taught math at Baylor, she and her two sisters, Robyn and Sallie, grew up in the theater. Her father chaired the drama departments at Baylor University and Trinity University. An irascible advocate of new ideas, he founded Dallas Theatre Center and the Dallas school district’s Booker T. Washington School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Kitty founded Baylor Children’s Theatre in Waco, and Retta’s sister, Robyn Flatt, founded Dallas Children’s Theatre.

Van Auken, who was born June 20, 1942 in Waco and died Feb. 16 in Austin, found her way into journalism as a features writer, columnist, features editor, advertising director and business manager with the Dayton Daily News in Dayton, Ohio, part of Cox Enterprises, which owned the Statesman. She moved on to become publisher of the Longview News Journal in Longview. Later, these experiences served her well in her role as editor for the Pew Partnership for Civic Change publication, Community Matters.

Retta Kelley Van Auken, namesake for the Retta's Safe Swim Endowment. , — Retta Kelley Van Auken, namesake for the Retta’s Safe Swim Endowment. ,

Michael Barnes/Austin American-Statesman

“She was my first publisher in Longview, and she had to impart some lessons to shape my, um, youthful nature,” posted Christian McDonald, a journalist formerly with the American-Statesman. He now teaches at UT. “She did so with grace and good will. We crossed paths ever so briefly again in Arizona — one day! — before working together again in Austin. A damn fine person.”

Article continues below this ad

At the Statesman, van Auken ran a large department as director of community development and InfoVentures. In this role, she helped shape Season for Caring, Statesman Cap 10K, Newspapers in Education and Swim Safe, for which she created a charitable foundation to ensure the program’s future after she learned how many disadvantaged kids drowned because they never had the opportunity to learn how to swim.

“Retta wasn’t just a mentor, she was also a great and loyal friend with a wicked sense of humor,” said Jeff Simecek, who picked up where van Auken left off when she retired from the Statesman. “Everyone who worked with her, myself included, was always amazed at her energy and creativity. She managed from a strictly collaborative standpoint; every project, large or small, was about winning together.

“And losing wasn’t in her vocabulary.”

Van Auken served on numerous community boards, such as Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, which she helped found, United Way of the Capital Area, Texas Book Festival, I Live Here, I Give Here and the Austin Theatre Alliance.

Article continues below this ad

In retirement, she founded Gone for Good, a nonprofit group that collected valuable items to be auctioned off at charity events and ran charity estate sales.

Van Auken raised two children, Melissa Ferrell and Marshall Ferrell.

“Retta was an amazing mix of intelligence, compassion, beauty and more,” posted Sharon Roberts, a former Statesman manager. “We all looked up to her.”

Article continues below this ad

Source link