Cowgirl Tennis Drops Bedlam Match

Saturday, April 23

Stillwater, Okla.

1:00 PM

Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma

April 23, 2011 | Cowgirl Tennis

April 23, 2011

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma State women's tennis team wrapped up its regular season Saturday in front of the biggest home crowd of the year as the Cowgirls fell to No. 20 Oklahoma at the DeBois Tennis Complex, 6-1.

“The crowd was great and we had a lot of positives today,” coach Chris Young said. “We just came up short and that's been the telling point of the season. It's not that we're getting blown out by anybody. Although it was 6-1, all the matches were really tight and close. That little bit is what we're missing and we've got to improve on that.”

More than 150 fans were on hand to watch the match, as the Sooners picked up the first team point after a close doubles competition.

OU's No. 2 duo took the first match finished, 8-3, but Cowgirl senior Nataliya Shatkovskaya and freshman Kanyapat Narattana teamed for a convincing 8-4 upset win over OU's 40th-ranked Ana-Maria Constantinescu and Alice Radu, the top team in the region, to even the doubles count at 1-1.

Although the decisive No. 3 match came down to the wire, Oklahoma's Tara Eckel and Marie-Pier Huet fought through a Cowgirl comeback and two potentially tying break points to eventually defeat OSU's C.C. Sardinha and Leyla Simmons, 8-6, and give the Sooners a 1-0 team lead entering singles play.

Oklahoma carried its momentum into singles play as it claimed the first five matches finished to seal the team victory. OSU's Narattana, however, earned a super tiebreaker win on court No. 5 to give the Cowgirls a team point make the final score 6-1.

The Cowgirls resume competition for the Big 12 Championship in Waco, Texas, held April 28-May 1.

No. 20 Oklahoma 6, Oklahoma State 1
April 23, 2011 | Stillwater, Okla. | DeBois Tennis Complex

DOUBLES | Order of finish: 2,1,3
No. 1 – Kanyapat Narattana/Nataliya Shatkovskaya (OSU) def. #40 Ana-Maria Constantinescu/Alice Radu (OU) 8-4
No. 2 – Whitney Ritchie/Mia Lancaster (OU) def. Sasha Belova/Malika Rose (OSU) 8-3
No. 3 – Tara Eckel/Marie-Pier Huet (OU) def. C.C. Sardinha/Leyla Simmons (OSU) 8-6

SINGLES | Order of finish: 3,4,2*,6,1,5
No. 1 – #119 Ana-Maria Constantinescu (OU) def. Nataliya Shatkovskaya (OSU) 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 – Alice Radu (OU) def. Sasha Belova (OSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
No. 3 – Marie-PierHuet (OU) def. Malika Rose (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 – Whitney Ritchie (OU) def. C.C. Sardinha (OSU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 – Kanyapat Narattana (OSU) def. Mia Lancaster (OU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(10-4)
No. 6 – Maria Kalashnikova (OU) def. Sarah Meghoufel (OSU) 6-2, 6-4