Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Fall in Season Opener
January 30, 2005 | Cowgirl Tennis
“This was a good test for our team,” head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski said. “SMU is a good team with a lot of experienced players. This match will help us prepare for the rest of the season and gives us something good to begin with. We had a chance to win from the very beginning.”
At the No. 2 doubles slot, the freshman tandem of Jana Kubicikova and Jessica Collins held on for the 9-8 (7-4) victory over Jenny Langer and Jennifer Chay. OSU was defeated in the No. 3 slot.
At the top doubles position, SMU's Svetlana Kouzmenko and Lynsie Jones rallied from a 6-2 deficit to pick up the team point, 8-6, over junior Zana Masnic and freshman Iryna Tkachenko. The Cowgirls (0-1) lone team point against the Mustangs (5-0) was at the top singles position. Tkachenko was victorious in her first match at OSU, downing No. 72 Langer in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.
“Iryna is going to be a tough competitor for us,” Lubicz-Majewski said. “She is very talented and was ready to play today. She was able to defeat a very good player.”
SMU tallied victories at the No. 2, 3 and 6 singles positions to win the match.
Collins and sophomore Lauren Simmons were leading in the third sets of the No. 3 and 5 singles positions, respectively, when SMU picked up the fourth team point.
“We had some chances to win the match,” Lubicz-Majewski said. “Our girls played well and as a team we have a better idea of what we need to do to improve. We may juggle our line-up a little to find a combination that we will be successful with.”
The Cowgirls will return to action on Feb. 6 when they face No. 63 Arkansas in Tulsa at 3:30 p.m.
Doubles
1. Kouzmenko/Jones (SMU) def. Tkachenko/Masnic (OSU) 8-6
2. Kubicikova/Collins (OSU) def. Langer/Chay (SMU) 9-8 (7-4)
3. Leuszler/Rambally (SMU) def. Simmons/Blajer (OSU) 8-4
Singles
1. Iryna Tkachenko (OSU) def. No. 72 Jenny Langer (SMU) 7-5, 6-3
2. No. 90 Svetlana Kouzmenko (SMU) def. Jana Kubicikova (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Jennifer Chay (SMU) def. Zana Masnic (OSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Jessica Collins vs Allison Leuszler (SMU) DNF (1-6, 6-4, 1-0 OSU)
5. Lauren Simmons (OSU) vs Lynsie Jones (SMU) DNF (7-5, 2-6)
6. Brooke Rambally (SMU) def. Jennifer Poskitt (OSU) 6-3, 6-0
