Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Tennis Falls to SMU
February 15, 2010 | Cowgirl Tennis
Feb. 14, 2010
DALLAS, Texas – The No. 73 Oklahoma State women's tennis team fell to 3-2 on the year Sunday, dropping a close match against No. 30 Southern Methodist at the Bent Tree Country Club.
The match was originally scheduled to take place at noon at the Turpin Tennis Center, but was moved to 5:30 p.m. at the country club due to cold temperatures in Dallas.
With the late start time and four courts available, the match started with singles play, where the Cowgirls fell behind 3-1 after dropping matches at position No. 2, 4 and 1 and getting a win from Sasha Belova at No. 3.
With only two singles matches remaining, Oklahoma State's Malika Rose and Alexandra Cristello stepped up to keep the Cowgirls' hopes alive, both winning in straight sets at No. 5 and 6 respectively.
Rose fell behind early in the first set against SMU's Pavi Francis, but won 10 consecutive games on her way to claiming a 6-4, 6-3 win.
After the wins at No. 5 and 6 singles, the match entered doubles play tied at 3-3.
Belova and doubles partner Nataliya Shatkovskaya won the No. 1 doubles match, but the Cowgirls gave up wins at No. 2 and 3 to give the Mustangs a 4-3 win.
“I am really proud of how the girls fought today against one of the best teams in nation,” coach Chris Young said. “That's the best team we've faced this year and our girls are right there with them. The bottom girls stepped up and laid it all out on the line and we almost pulled off a huge win. This was a major step forward for our program and I'm really proud of the girls.”
The Cowgirls look to continue building on their progress when they return to action for the first home dual match of the year against Wichita State Feb. 20 at 4 p.m.
Southern Methodist 4, Oklahoma State 3
SINGLES
No. 1 – Marta Lesniak (SMU) def. Alisa Buslaieva (OSU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 – Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU) def. Nataliya Shatkovskaya (OSU), 6-0, 6-3
No. 3 – Sasha Belova (OSU) def. Shahzoda Hatamova (SMU), 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 – Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) def. Sarah Meghoufel (OSU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 – Malika Rose (OSU) def. Pavi Francis (SMU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 – Alexandra Cristello (OSU) def. Sophie Quist (SMU), 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6
DOUBLES
No. 1 – Sasha Belova/Nataliya Shatkovskaya (OSU) def. Marta Lesniak/Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU), 8-5
No. 2 – Edyta Cieplucha/ Pavi Francis (SMU) def. Sarah Meghoufel/Malika Rose (OSU),8-3
No. 3 – Shahzoda Hatamova/Casey Kennedy (SMU) def. Alisa Buslaieva/Alexandra Cristello (OSU), 8-5
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
