Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Look to Stop Two-Match Slide
March 14, 2007 | Cowgirl Tennis
Oklahoma State's 50th-ranked women's tennis squad will look to stop its current two-match slide when they host a pair of dual this weekend at the DeBois Tennis Center in Stillwater.
The action will start Saturday at 2 p.m. when the Cowgirls host the Idaho Vandals (6-4). The Cowgirls and Vandals have never met in women's tennis. OSU will then return to Big 12 play when the 75th-ranked Missouri Tigers (5-5, 1-3) come to town Saturday at 11 a.m.
The Cowgirls got off to their best start under Julius Lubicz-Majewski, 6-0, but have lost two-straight after a tough stretch against No. 25 Baylor and No. 30 Colorado.
In singles play, OSU continues to feature a balanced lineup in which every girl in the starting six has either four or five wins. Iryna Thachenko, Nataliya Shatkovskaya and Marta Tsivka all have recorded five wins this spring. Yawna Allen, Lauren Simmons and Jennifer Poskitt are close behind with four wins a piece. Tsivka paces the Cowgirls with an .833 winning percentage in dual matches.
The situation is similar in doubles where Allen and Shatkovskaya led the team with six wins. The tandems of Simmons and Tkachenko and Poskitt and Tsivka trail closely with four and five wins, respectively.
Scouting Idaho (6-4)
The Vandals play out of the WAC and are coached by Jeff Beaman, who is in his first season leading the program. UI is currently 6-4 this season and 0-2 against ranked opponents. They are led in wins by Efrat Leopold who has a 7-2 mark, playing mostly at No. 3 singles. Patricia Ruman has played all season at No. 1 singles and has a 5-5 mark. Ruman teams with Mariel Tinnirello at No. 1 doubles. The pair is 4-3.
Scouting #75 Missouri (5-5, 1-3)
The Tigers are led by Blake Starkey who has headed the program for 10 seasons. Amanda Pratzel and Kaitlin Dunham currently led the squad with six wins a piece. Pratzel has split time between No. 1 and 2 singles while Dunham has spent the season at No. 3 singles. The Tigers will enter the weekend on their own two-match losing streak after dropping duals to Colorado and Louisville.
While the Cowgirls hold a decisive 22-4 advantage in the series, it has been competitive of last as OSU holds a slight 3-2 lead the past three seasons. OSU defeated Missouri, 5-2, in Columbia last season and, 4-0, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. OSU and MU have faced off in the Big 12 Tournament the past two seasons and have split those matches. Missouri has never won in Stillwater. The Tigers will take on Oklahoma on Friday.
Last Time Out
Oklahoma State was stopped short in its upset bid at No. 30 Colorado. The Cowgirls took the doubles point but the Buffalos managed to win four singles matches. OSU got individual wins froms seniors Marta Tsvika and Jennifer Poskitt.
Tiger Hunter
Don't blame senior Jennifer Poskitt if she looks forward to playing the Missouri Tigers every year. In her career the Cowgirls and Tigers have faced off five times and Poskitt has notched a singles win every time out. More impressive than her 5-0 record against MU, is that all of her wins have come in straight sets.
More on the streak
As stated already, OSU's 6-0 start this season is the best under Lubicz-Majewski and also the most wins to open a season since the 1988-89 season. Overall , OSU best start came in 1980 when the Cowgirls started the 1980-81 season 18-0 under Ike Groce. They would finish the season 29-2 to win the program's first Big 8 crown. Overall OSU has started the season with at least five wins eight times and each season they have gone on to win the conference title.
Start Season Coach Result
1. 18-0 1980-81 Ike Groce Big 8 Champions
2. 12-0 1986-87 Brad Louderback Big 8 Champions
3. 10-0 1981-82 Ike Groce Big 8 Champions
10-0 1984-85 Ike Groce Big 8 Champions
10-0 1985-86 Groce/Louderback Big 8 Champions
6. 7-0 1988-89 Brad Louderback Big 8 Champions
7. 6-0 1987-88 Brad Louderback Big 8 Champions
6-0 2006-07 Julius Lubicz-Majewski ?
9. 5-0 2002-03 Julius Lubicz-Majewski Big 12 Champions
Cowgirl Returners
The Cowgirl lineup features a wealth of experience as head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski's squad features seven returning letter winners. 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.
Marta Tsivka, the Big 12 Champion at No. 5 singles last season, also returns for her senior season.
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.
Newcomers
The only scholarship newcomer this season is freshman Natalia Shatkovskaya. 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 247-163 (.602), with all of his school-record 247 wins coming at OSU. He has 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. The Australia natives primary focus will be on recruiting.
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.
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.
