Oklahoma State University Athletics
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Cowgirls Drop Tight Match to Rice in Montgomery
February 21, 2014 | Cowgirl Tennis
Feb. 21, 2014
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Oklahoma State's women's tennis team dropped its first match of the 2014 Blue Gray National Tennis Classic on Friday, falling to the 24th-ranked Rice Owls in a tight 4-3 match at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala.
The Cowgirls (3-4) got out to an early lead after taking the doubles point with a pair of wins on one and two. Viktoriya Lushkova and Kanyapat Narattana grabbed the win on one, defeating Natalie Beazant and Liat Zimmermann, 7-5. Carla Tur Mari and Maria Alvarez clinched the point with a 6-4 victory over Katherine Ip and Dominique Harmath on two.
The Owls responded in singles play when Harmath notched a 6-1, 2-6, 10-8 win over Cowgirl freshman Megan McCray on two to tie the score at one. Junior Carla Tur Mari regained the lead for the Cowgirls when she defeated Rice's Kemberly Anicete in a straight-set win on five.
Soon after Tur Mari's win on six, Rice's Zimmermann snagged the 6-3, 6-2 win on four over Cowgirl freshman Katarina Adamovic to tie the match back up at two.
After Maria Alvarez took the first set on six, Rice's Katherine Ho bounced back to take the second and force a third-set tiebreaker. Ho edged the Cowgirl sophomore 10-7 in the tiebreaker to take the match and give the Owls a 3-2 lead.
Viktoriya Lushkova turned in sixth straight win on Friday, edging Natalie Beazant in a 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 match to tie the match at three.
After dropping her first set on three and falling down, 5-3, in her second, senior Kanyapat Naratanna responded by winning four of her next five games against Katherine Ip to force a third-set tiebreaker. Ip prevailed in the tiebreaker, however, knocking off Narattana, 6-4, 6-7, 10-3, and clinching the match for the Owls.
"This was a great match," Cowgirl tennis coach Chris Young said. "Both teams competed great and Rice came up with the shots when the match was on the line. We've lost our share of tight matches early, but our kids are competing and hopefully we learn from it and keep progressing throughout the season."
The Cowgirls will look to bounce back on Saturday when they face the loser of this afternoon's match between No. 75 Tulane and No. 19 Auburn. The start time for that match will be released as soon as it is made available.
For the latest updates on the team, follow @CowgirlTennis on Twitter.
No. 24 Rice 4, No. 29 Oklahoma State 3 Feb. 21, 2014 | Lagoon Park Tennis Center | Montgomery, Ala.
Doubles | Order of finish: 1,2*,unf. No. 1 - Lushkova/Narattana (OSU) def. Beazant/Zimmermann (RICE) 7-5 No. 2 - Tur Mari/Alvarez (OSU) def. Ip/Harmath (RICE) 7-4 No. 3 - Adamovic/Guttormsen (OSU) vs. Zinko/Ho (RICE) 6-6, unf.
Singles | Order of finish: 2,5,4,6,1,3* No. 1 - Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. Natalie Beazant (RICE) 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 No. 2 - Dominique Harmath (RICE) def. No. 64 Megan McCray (OSU) 6-1, 2-6, 10-8 No. 3 - Katherine Ip (RICE) def. No. 88 Kanyapat Narattana (OSU) 6-4, 6-7, 10-3 No. 4 - Liat Zimmermann (RICE) def. Katarina Adamovic (OSU) 6-3, 6-2 No. 5 - Carla Tur Mari (OSU) def. Kimberly Anicete (RICE) 6-2, 6-3 No. 6 - Alison Ho (RICE) def. Maria Alvarez (OSU) 4-6, 6-4, 10-7
Players Mentioned
