Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Match Up With Golden Hurricane in Tulsa
February 27, 2013 | Cowgirl Tennis
Feb. 27, 2013
STILLWATER -
Oklahoma State's women's tennis team is set to take on 28th-ranked Tulsa at the Michael Case Tennis Center this Friday at 4 p.m in Tulsa, Okla.
Last Time Out
No. 27 Oklahoma State (6-1) has won five straight matches, and is coming off of an impressive weekend in Mississippi, defeating 26th-ranked Ole Miss 6-1 in Oxford, Miss., on Feb. 15th, and then downing Mississippi State 6-0 the following day. Malika Rose highlighted the weekend by upsetting No. 27 Caroline Rohde-Moe of Ole Miss, 2-6, 6-4, 6-5.
Oklahoma State 6, Ole Miss 1
Feb. 15, 2013 | Palmer/Saloum Tennis Center | Oxford, Miss.
Doubles | Order of finish: 1,3,2
No. 1 -No. 39 Caroline Rohde-Moe/Marija Milutinovic (Ole Miss) def. Malika Rose/Kanyapat Narattana (OSU) 8-1
No. 2 -Meghan Blevins/Karyn Guttormsen (OSU) def. Erin Stephens/Santa Shumilina (Ole Miss) 8-5
No. 3 -Maria Alvarez/Lorena Garcia (OSU) def. Julia Jones/Mai El Kamash (Ole Miss) 8-5
Singles | Order of finish: 5,3,2,6,4,1
No. 1 –No. 75 Malika Rose (OSU) def. No. 27 Caroline Rohde-Moe (Ole Miss) 2-6, 6-4, 6-5
No. 2 –No. 125 Meghan Blevins (OSU) def. Mai El Kamash (Ole Miss) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
No. 3 – C.C. Sardinha (OSU) def. Erin Stephens (Ole Miss) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Maria Alvarez (OSU) def. Julia Jones (Ole Miss) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 -Marija Milutinovic (Ole Miss) def. Kanyapat Narattana (OSU) 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 – Karyn Guttormsen (OSU) def. Vief Vlaar (Ole Miss) 6-0, 3-6, 6-1
Oklahoma State 6, Mississippi State 0
Feb. 16, 2013| A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre | Starkville, Miss.
Singles| Order of finish: 2,1,3,4,5,6
No. 1 –No. 75 Malika Rose (OSU) def. Alexandra Perper (MSU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
No. 2 –No. 125 Meghan Blevins (OSU) def. Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) 7-6(4), 6-4
No. 3 – C.C. Sardinha (OSU) def. Naomi Tran (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Maria Alvarez (OSU) def. Petra Ferancova (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 – Kanyapat Narattana (OSU) def. Lien Van Geel (MSU) 8-3
No. 6 – Lorena Gheorghe (OSU) def. Sarai Flores (MSU) 8-0
Matchup History
Friday's meeting with Tulsa will be the Cowgirls' 26th meeting with the Golden Hurricane. The Cowgirls are 13-12 in their prior meetings with Tulsa. Tulsa notched the win the last time the two teams collided in March of 2012. In that matchup, the Golden Hurricane defeated the Cowgirls 5-2 in Stillwater.
Cowgirls in the Rankings
Oklahoma State's women's tennis team jumped five spots to No. 27 in the latest team rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday. The ranking is the program's highest since the team was ranked 25th in 2003.
Cowgirl senior Malika Rose made a major leap in the ITA singles rankings after defeating the 39th-ranked player in the nation in Caroline Rohde-Moe of Ole Miss earlier this month. Rose's dominant play of late has moved her up to the No. 58 spot after being ranked 75th in the singles rankings released two weeks ago.
Eyeing the Opponent
No. 28 Tulsa (7-4) is coming off of a close 4-3 loss to No. 44 Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. The Golden Hurricane's seven wins have come in matches against Arkansas-Little Rock, Oral Roberts, Wichita State, Rice, Memphis, Kansas, and Ohio State.
Tulsa's roster boasts one ranked doubles team in the 19th-ranked tandem made up of Samantha Vickers and Isaura Enrique. Vickers also makes an appearance in the singles rankings at the 59th spot.
Guns Blazing
The Cowgirls are currently on a five match winning streak for the first time since the 2007 season. During that streak, Oklahoma State racked up wins over Abilene Christian, Kansas State, Iowa State, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. The Cowgirls also had a six match winning streak during that season.
Climbing the Record Books
With her victory over Minnesota's Natallia Pintusava, Cowgirl senior Malika Rose notched her 56th singles victory, and claimed sole possession of the tenth spot on the school's all-time singles wins list. Rose passed Martina Hautova, who had 55 singles wins during her time at Oklahoma State.
In the matches since, Rose has racked up three more singles victories to give her 59 wins and move her up to ninth on the list, passing Lauren Simmons, who holds 57 wins. Rose is only one victory away from tying Sasha Belova in eighth place at 60 wins.
Battle Tested
The Cowgirls will be well prepared when they enter Big 12 play in March. Of their ten nonconference matches, nine are against opponents appearing in the ITA team rankings. Through five matches, every opponent the Oklahoma State played this spring has been ranked.
Phenomenal Freshman
Freshman Maria Alvarez has gotten off to a strong start in her first spring season, notching a 7-0 record in singles play thus far. On Friday, Alvarez defeated Mississippi's Julia Jones 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, playing in the fourth spot. In the match against Mississippi State, Alvarez defeated Petra Ferancova 7-5, 6-2. In the first set of her match with Ferancova, Alvarez was able to win four straight games after falling behind 5-3 to win the set and eventually the match.
