Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Set to Kick Off 2006 Fall Season
September 22, 2006 | Cowgirl Tennis
Cowgirls Set to Kickoff 2006 Fall Season
The Oklahoma State Cowgirl tennis team will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. for its first action of the fall season Sept. 22-24 to compete at the New Mexico State Invitational.
The individual tournament will feature three flights with players from OSU, New Mexico State, UTEP, Northern Arizona, Lee College and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski is impressed with his team's hard work so far.
“I am looking forward to seeing how our girls perform in the first tournament of the season,” Lubicz-Majewski said. “We have some new faces in the program so we are excited to get started.”
The Cowgirl tennis squad went 14-10 a season ago and finished 49th in the final ITA rankings.
Cowgirl Returners
The Cowgirl lineup features a wealth of experience as head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski's squad features seven returning letterwinners. Junior Iryna Tkachenko, the Cowgirl's No. 1 player a year ago, will look to regain the form that made her an All-Big 12 selection her freshman season.
Senior Lauren Simmons, who split time between No. 2 and No. 3 singles last season, also returns to the Cowgirls. Simmons was an Academic All-American last season, as well as a Big 12 Player of the Week selection.
The Cowgirls also return another former Big 12 Player of the Week in Yawna Allen. The junior spent most of the 2006 spring season at the No. 4 spot.
Also returning are senior Jennifer Poskitt, junior Jessica Collins and sophomore Zuzanna Osinska. The trio all split time at No. 6 singles last season, with Poskitt leading the way with a 7-4 record.
Marta Tsivka, the Big 12 Champion at No. 5 singles last season, also returns this season but will not travel to the Aggie Invitational.
Newcomers
The only scholarship newcomer this season is freshman Natalia Shatkouskaya. The talented newcomer hails from Minsk, Belarus. The Cowgirls only had one scholarship available after losing only Zana Masnic from last season's squad. Masnic exhausted her eligibility in the spring of 2006 and left the program with over 50 career singles victories and 40 doubles wins.
Head Coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski
Head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski is entering his 18th season leading the Cowgirl tennis program. His 18-year tenure is the longest in the program's history and is currently third among active coaches at Oklahoma State, trailing only men's tennis coach James Wadley and men's track and field coach Dick Weis.
Lubicz-Majewski has a career record of 241-161 (.600), with all of his school-record 241 wins coming at OSU. He also led the Cowgirls to four conference titles.
New Assistance
Lubicz-Majewski will have a new assistant coach this season in former Cowboy tennis star Mark Van Elden. Van Elden replaces Dominika Olszewska, who assisted Lubicz-Majewski for three seasons.
Van Elden played at Oklahoma State from 2003-05 under Cowboy head coach James Wadley and was an All-Big 12 selection and NCAA invitee in each of his three seasons in Stillwater.
Van Elden won 59 matches during his Cowboy career and was ranked as high as 13th in the ITA rankings. The Cowboys won 55 matches during his stay in Stillwater and hosted an NCAA Regional in 2005.
Fall Records
Senior Lauren Simmons leads the current Cowgirl squad with 20-career fall wins. Junior Iryna Tkachenko is the next closest to Simmons' mark with 11-career fall victories.
Simmons also leads the Cowgirls in fall winning percentage with a .741 mark. Junior Jessica Collins is actually undefeated in the fall but has only competed in three matches during her career. Tkachenko is also second to Simmons in career winning percentage with a .611 winning mark.
Successful in the Classroom
Over the summer, the Cowgirl tennis program was recognized by the ITA for its hard work in the classroom during the 2005-06 school year. The team was named an Academic All-American team for the fourth straight season and Zana Masnic, Lauren Simmons and Zuzanna Osinska were each named Academic All-Americans.
ITA Women's Hall of Fame
Former Cowgirl star Lori McNeil was inducted into the ITA Women's Hall of Fame Sept. 15 in Williamsburg, Va.
McNeil was an All-American in 1982 and was a three-time conference champion while a part of the Cowgirl program. McNeil went on to a successful 19-year pro career that featured 10 singles championships and 32 doubles titles. She also made a memorable run to the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1994 and was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004.
The Oklahoma State Cowgirl tennis team will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. for its first action of the fall season Sept. 22-24 to compete at the New Mexico State Invitational.
The individual tournament will feature three flights with players from OSU, New Mexico State, UTEP, Northern Arizona, Lee College and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski is impressed with his team's hard work so far.
“I am looking forward to seeing how our girls perform in the first tournament of the season,” Lubicz-Majewski said. “We have some new faces in the program so we are excited to get started.”
The Cowgirl tennis squad went 14-10 a season ago and finished 49th in the final ITA rankings.
Cowgirl Returners
The Cowgirl lineup features a wealth of experience as head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski's squad features seven returning letterwinners. Junior Iryna Tkachenko, the Cowgirl's No. 1 player a year ago, will look to regain the form that made her an All-Big 12 selection her freshman season.
Senior Lauren Simmons, who split time between No. 2 and No. 3 singles last season, also returns to the Cowgirls. Simmons was an Academic All-American last season, as well as a Big 12 Player of the Week selection.
The Cowgirls also return another former Big 12 Player of the Week in Yawna Allen. The junior spent most of the 2006 spring season at the No. 4 spot.
Also returning are senior Jennifer Poskitt, junior Jessica Collins and sophomore Zuzanna Osinska. The trio all split time at No. 6 singles last season, with Poskitt leading the way with a 7-4 record.
Marta Tsivka, the Big 12 Champion at No. 5 singles last season, also returns this season but will not travel to the Aggie Invitational.
Newcomers
The only scholarship newcomer this season is freshman Natalia Shatkouskaya. The talented newcomer hails from Minsk, Belarus. The Cowgirls only had one scholarship available after losing only Zana Masnic from last season's squad. Masnic exhausted her eligibility in the spring of 2006 and left the program with over 50 career singles victories and 40 doubles wins.
Head Coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski
Head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski is entering his 18th season leading the Cowgirl tennis program. His 18-year tenure is the longest in the program's history and is currently third among active coaches at Oklahoma State, trailing only men's tennis coach James Wadley and men's track and field coach Dick Weis.
Lubicz-Majewski has a career record of 241-161 (.600), with all of his school-record 241 wins coming at OSU. He also led the Cowgirls to four conference titles.
New Assistance
Lubicz-Majewski will have a new assistant coach this season in former Cowboy tennis star Mark Van Elden. Van Elden replaces Dominika Olszewska, who assisted Lubicz-Majewski for three seasons.
Van Elden played at Oklahoma State from 2003-05 under Cowboy head coach James Wadley and was an All-Big 12 selection and NCAA invitee in each of his three seasons in Stillwater.
Van Elden won 59 matches during his Cowboy career and was ranked as high as 13th in the ITA rankings. The Cowboys won 55 matches during his stay in Stillwater and hosted an NCAA Regional in 2005.
Fall Records
Senior Lauren Simmons leads the current Cowgirl squad with 20-career fall wins. Junior Iryna Tkachenko is the next closest to Simmons' mark with 11-career fall victories.
Simmons also leads the Cowgirls in fall winning percentage with a .741 mark. Junior Jessica Collins is actually undefeated in the fall but has only competed in three matches during her career. Tkachenko is also second to Simmons in career winning percentage with a .611 winning mark.
Successful in the Classroom
Over the summer, the Cowgirl tennis program was recognized by the ITA for its hard work in the classroom during the 2005-06 school year. The team was named an Academic All-American team for the fourth straight season and Zana Masnic, Lauren Simmons and Zuzanna Osinska were each named Academic All-Americans.
ITA Women's Hall of Fame
Former Cowgirl star Lori McNeil was inducted into the ITA Women's Hall of Fame Sept. 15 in Williamsburg, Va.
McNeil was an All-American in 1982 and was a three-time conference champion while a part of the Cowgirl program. McNeil went on to a successful 19-year pro career that featured 10 singles championships and 32 doubles titles. She also made a memorable run to the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1994 and was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004.
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
Wednesday, May 27
Monday, May 18
