Cowgirls Ride Past Missouri; Advance at Big 12 Championships

COLLEGE STATION, Texas Â– Oklahoma State's women's team advanced to the second round of the Big 12 Championships with a 4-1 win over Missouri at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on Thursday.

The No. 6 seed Cowgirls got off to a rocky start as the No. 11 seed Missouri clinched the doubles point to go up 1-0. OSU seniors Iryna Tkachenko and Yawna Allen hung an 8-3 win on Missouri's Sofia Ayala and Kaitlin Dunham at No. 2, but it wasn't enough as the Lady Tigers won at No. 1 and No. 3.

In singles play, OSU wasted little time climbing back as Iryna Tkachenko defeated Mallory Weber, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 1 to tie the match at 1-1. The Cowgirls then took a 2-1 lead with freshman Jo-Anne Karaitiana's win over Chrissy Svetlic at No. 3.

After freshman Sasha Belova defeated Katelyn Ritchie, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 4, Allen brought home the win for the Cowgirls with a win over Jessica Giuggioli at No. 2.

It is the Cowgirls second win over Missouri this season. OSU hosted the Lady Tigers last week in Stillwater, winning the match, 5-2.

“They (Missouri) were pretty good,” said Cowgirl head coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski. “I think they were excited and wanted some revenge after our match in Stillwater when we won 5-2. It was closer than it looked. Our players fought and Yawna (Allen), our No. 2 player, really came back beautifully and won her first set and pulled off the tiebreaker. We are very happy with the win”

Oklahoma State will face No. 3 seed Texas A&M in a 6 p.m. match on Friday. The Aggies were one of four teams to receive a first-round bye.

“We will definitely fight hard (against Texas A&M tomorrow),” said Lubicz-Majewski. “I know it will be very hard to play Texas A&M here with their home crowd and it being a night game. It's going to be tough. We will prepare our players for it and I think we will play well.”

No. 6 Oklahoma State 4, No. 11 Missouri 1

Thursday, April 24, 2008 George P. Mitchell Tennis Center College Station, Texas

SINGLES

1. Iryna Tkachenko, OSU def. Mallory Weber, MU, 6-2, 6-0.

2. Yawna Allen, OSU vs. Jessica Giuggioli, MU, 6-1, 7-6 (3).

3. Jo-Anne Karaitiana, OSU vs. Chrissy Svetlic, MU, 6-2, 6-1.

4. Sasha Belova, OSU vs. Katelyn Ritchie, MU, 6-3, 6-2.

5. Maryna Tkachenko, OSU vs. Maureen Modesto, MU, DNF

6. Jessica Collins, OSU vs. Sofia Ayala, MU, DNF

DOUBLES (Missouri wins the point)

1. Svetlic/Weber, MU def. Belova/Karaitiana, OSU, 8-5.

2. Allen/I. Tkachenko, OSU def. Ayala/Dunham, MU, 8-3.

3. Giuggioli/Ritchie, MU def. Collins/M. Tkachenko, OSU, 8-4.

FINISH ORDER: Singles: 1, 3, 4, 2* Doubles: 3, 2, 1 RECORDS: Oklahoma State 12-9; Missouri 10-13 ATTENDANCE: 239

For a complete Big 12 Championships bracket, go to .

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowgirls Ride Past Missouri; Advance at Big 12 Championships

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