Oklahoma State University Athletics
WTT National Championship Photos
October 17, 2001 | General
OSU Netters Top South Alabama to Claim WTT National Championship
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Oklahoma State beat defending champion South Alabama 27-20 in the championship match at the 2001 World TeamTennis (WTT) National Collegiate Tennis Championships, administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.
OSU `s win over the Jaguars capped a weekend that saw the squad go 5-0 and capture the school's first-ever ITA national championship. The event is one of three, the NCAA Championships and the National Team Indoors being the other two, recognized by the ITA as a national championship
The teams used the WTT format at these national championships, with each team being comprised of at least two men, two women and a coach. Each team match consists of five sets, with one set each of men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
Oklahoma State's Linda Faltynkova delivered the final match's clutch performance, registering a 6-0 win in women's singles to give Oklahoma State its first lead of the match, 21-18, heading into the final set of mixed doubles (she was leading Silvia Sosnarova 2-0 in the set when South Alabama substituted Vicki Stoklasova for the last four games, which is allowed in the WTT format).
From there, Faltynkova teamed with Fran Krepelka for a 6-2 win in mixed doubles over South Alabama's Vicki Stoklasova and Evan Fowler to close out the match.
"We were so close in the first three sets, but couldn't quite pull them out," Oklahoma State coach Brad Chiller said. "But Linda really came through for us in singles, and that was the difference."
"This is such a great format," Oklahoma State's Chiller said. "Our players really enjoyed it and it was nice to be able to put them in so many pressure situations this early in the season and see them respond the way they did."
Final: Oklahoma State 27, South Alabama 20
Katarina Pelenikova/Vicki Stoklasova (USA) d. Katya Kolodynska/Linda Faltynkova (OSU), 6-5
Zlatko Stupavsky (USA) d. Matt Prentice (OSU), 6-5
Stupavsky/Evan Fowler (USA) d. Prentice/Fran Krepelka (OSU), 6-5
Faltynkova (OSU) d. Silvia Sosnarova (USA), 6-0
Krepelka/Faltynkova (OSU) d. Fowler/Stoklasova (USA), 6-2
