Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Tennis Starts Spring Season with Double Header
January 16, 2015 | Cowgirl Tennis
The Basics
The No. 19 Oklahoma State Cowgirl Tennis team will kick off the 2015 spring campaign with a double header, hosting San Jose State and Louisiana Tech on Jan. 17 at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.
Keep Up with the Match
Fans can follow all the action this weekend through updates on Twitter by following @CowgirlTennis and through live stats on okstate.com. Simply go to the Cowgirl Tennis homepage and the link will be prominently displayed.
In the ITA Rankings
The Cowgirls check in at No. 19 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings on opening weekend. Neither San Jose State nor Louisiana Tech are ranked in the top 75.
Two OSU players make appearances in the ITA singles rankings with sophomore All-American Viktoriya Lushkova as No. 10 and sophomore Katarina Adamovic at No. 53. There are no opponents in the singles rankings.
Lushkova and doubles partner Kelsey Laurente, a transfer from the University of Miami, start the season as the nation's fifth-ranked doubles team. There are no opponents in the doubles rankings.
Fall Review
Oklahoma State is coming off a fall season, where several Cowgirls produced strong performances. Three Oklahoma State players won tournament titles, including Viktoriya Lushkova, Kelsey Laurente and Katarina Adamovic.
Lushkova won the singles bracket of the ITA Central Region Championship, which was held at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla. Lushkova teamed up with Laurente in the doubles portion of the event to take the title and earn them trips to New York City to compete in the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships.
Adamovic won the singles division of the Dickie V Clay Court Classic, knocking off No. 89 Belinda Woolcock of Florida, 6-4, 6-0.
At the ITA Central Region Championships the Cowgirls dominated as three Pokes competed in the singles semifinals and both teams in the doubles finals were clad in orange and black.
Lushkova and Laurente at the USTA/ITA Indoor Championships
Cowgirls Viktoriya Lushkova and Kelsey Laurente earned the opportunity to play at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in New York City in November, when they won the ITA Central Region doubles championship in October. The Cowgirls had a strong showing, advancing to the semifinals of the 32-team bracket before falling to the No. 2 duo of Pleun Burgmans and Emily Flickinger of Auburn, 6-3, 6-3.
Lushkova also competed in the singles portion of the tournament after becoming the second-consecutive Cowgirl to win the ITA Central Region singles championship. Lushkova, a 2014 All-American, made it to the quarterfinals before getting bumped out of the tourney with a three-set loss to fourth-seeded Brooke Austin of Florida.
Cowgirls vs. Opponents
The Cowgirls have gone head-to-head with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs once in program history. OSU met up with La Tech during the 1982-83 season, where the Cowgirls, who were the eventual Big 8 Champions, shut out the Bulldogs, 9-0, to take a 1-0 series lead.
Saturday's match versus San Jose State will be the first meeting between the two programs.
From Coach Young
"This weekend is going to be a really good way for us to open up the season. There are two good teams coming in here, and two matches in one day will really challenge our girls in their fitness. The two teams coming in are very capable of coming in and playing well against us, so we have to be ready. I know our girls are really anxious to get the season started, and we're going to kick it off with some good opponents to give us a good test."
The Squad
Coach Chris Young returns six Cowgirls from the 2013-14 season. Among them is Cowgirl standout Viktoriya Lushkova, who achieved All-America status last season as a freshman. Joining her is senior Karyn Guttormsen, who is primed for her third season with the team. Maria Alvarez also returns for her third season as she begins her junior season. Besides Lushkova, the Pokes have three other sophomores in the lineup, including Katarina Adamovic, Mariah Burke and Carla Tur Mari.
New to Oklahoma State is junior Kelsey Laurente, a transfer from the University of Miami, and freshman Vladica Babic of Montenegro.
Pluskova Joins the Coaching Staff
Oklahoma State Director of Tennis and women's head coach Chris Young announced the addition of Natalie Pluskota as a volunteer assistant coach for the Cowgirls.
Pluskota, a graduate from the University of Tennessee, was a four-time All-American, earning the doubles honor three times and the singles honor once. While a Lady Vol, she was ranked as high as No. 1 in doubles and No. 24 in singles in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
After graduating from Tennessee, Pluskota went on to play professionally and has won four ITF doubles titles with five more finals appearances. She reached a No. 157 world ranking in doubles and a No. 478 world ranking in singles.
ITA Introduces New Dual Match Format
In December, the ITA Division I Operating Committee made changes to the dual match format so that it shortens the length of the match. Changes include:
-No-ad scoring in singles and doubles.
-Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tie-break at 6-all.
-Followed (after a 5-minute intermission) by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tie-breaks at 6-all.
-No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles)
Follow Cowgirl Tennis
Stay up to date with the Oklahoma State women's tennis team on the following social media sites:
Twitter: @CowgirlTennis
Facebook: Oklahoma State Women's Tennis
Snapchat: OSUathletics
YouTube: youtube.com/osuathletics
