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Cowgirls Drop Regular Season Finale, 4-3
April 19, 2014 | Cowgirl Tennis
April 19, 2014
NORMAN, Okla. -
Oklahoma State's women's tennis team wrapped up its regular season on Saturday afternoon, falling to 18th-ranked Oklahoma, 4-3, at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla.
“I thought we played okay,” Cowgirl tennis coach Chris Young said. “We could have played better. We fought hard at the end. Megan (McCray) had a match point and missed it by maybe an inch, and the last two matches came down to tiebreakers. I think that the girls played tough. We just didn't execute the way we needed to.”
The Cowgirls (13-7, 7-2 Big 12) were the first to notch a win in doubles play. Carla Tur Mari and Maria Alvarez knocked off the Sooner tandem of Hermon Brhane and Zita Engbroks, 8-4, on two. The Sooners responded, however, with an 8-4 win over Kanyapat Narattana and Viktoriya Lushkova on one. Oklahoma clinched the point when Sooners Mia Lancaster and Whitney Wofford defeated Karyn Guttormsen and Katarina Adamovic in a 7-3 tiebreaker on three.
Singles competition was tight on Saturday, with four of the six matches being decided in three sets.
The Sooners notched their first singles point after Whitney Ritchie handed Viktoriya Lushkova her third loss of the season in a 6-1, 6-1 match on one to expand the Oklahoma lead to two.
The Cowgirls trimmed the deficit to one with a Kanyapat Narattana straight-set triumph over Morgan Chumney on three.
Maria Alvarez came through in her third set on six to upend Oklahoma's Emma Devine, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 and even the score at two. With the win, the sophomore picked up her seventh-straight victory.
The Sooners answered with two quick wins on two and five, respectively, to clinch the win. Oklahoma's Hermon Brhane downed Megan McCray on two, taking the third set from the Cowgirl freshman, 6-2, and putting the Sooners one point away from the Bedlam win.
Sooner Abbi Melrose clinched the win for Oklahoma after taking a tiebreaker in the third set to defeat Carla Tur Mari, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4).
After the match was decided, Cowgirl freshman Katarina Adamovic picked up her second-straight victory. Adamovic bounced back from dropping her second set, 6-2, to Oklahoma's Mia Lancaster by taking the third set and the match in a 7-5 tiebreaker.
The Cowgirls will begin postseason play on Friday afternoon when they begin competition at the Big 12 Tennis Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. Oklahoma State will compete as the second seed, the team's highest seeding since 2001. The Cowgirls will face the winner of Thursday's match between Kansas State and West Virginia at 3 p.m.
Doubles | Order of finish: 2,1,3
1. Ritchie/Chumney (OU) def. Narattana/Lushkova (OSU) 8-3
2. Tur Mari/Alvarez (OSU) def. Engbroks/Brhane (OU) 8-4
3. Lancaster/Wofford (OU) def. Adamovic/Guttormsen (OSU) 8-7 (7-3)
Singles | Order of finish: 1,3,6,2,5,4
1. Whitney Ritchie (OU) def. Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Hermon Brhane (OU) def. Megan McCray (OSU) 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-2
3. Kanyapat Narattana (OSU) def. Morgan Chumney (OU) 6-4, 6-0
4. Katarina Adamovic (OSU) def. Mia Lancaster (OU) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5)
5. Abbi Melrose (OU) def. Carla Tur Mari (OSU) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Maria Alvarez (OSU) def. Emma Devine (OU) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
Players Mentioned
