Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Tennis Set to Take on No. 35 Tulsa
February 20, 2015 | Cowgirl Tennis
The Basics
The 13th-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team will take on No. 35 Tulsa at the Case Tennis Center on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Cowgirls are looking for their first win over Tulsa since 2006.
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 tulsahurricane.com. Live video is also available on Tulsa's website.
In the ITA Rankings
The Cowgirls check in at No. 13 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. Oklahoma State faces a Tulsa squad that dropped three spots recently, ranking No. 35 in the nation.
Three Cowgirls make appearances in the ITA singles rankings with sophomore All-American Viktoriya Lushkova at No. 11, No. 58 Kelsey Laurente and No. 110 Katarina Adamovic. Tulsa features one ranked singles player in No. 100 Rongrong Leenabanchong.
Lushkova and doubles partner Laurente, a transfer from the University of Miami, pair up as the nation's third-ranked doubles team, while Tulsa does not have a ranked doubles team.
Last Time Out
On Feb. 6-8, the Cowgirls made their first trip to the ITA Team Indoor Nationals, where they faced top caliber teams. The Pokes fell to No. 3 North Carolina and No. 7 Alabama in their first two days of competition, but went on to finish strong, taking down 11th-ranked Vanderbilt, 4-2.
No. 16 Oklahoma State 4, No. 11 Vanderbilt 2
Feb. 8, 2015 :: Charlottesville, VA (Boar's Head Sports Club)
Doubles | Order of finish: 1, 2
1. #5 Lushkova/Laurente (OSU) def. #32 Colton/Campbell (VANDY) 6-1
2. Babic/Adamovic (OSU) def. Antal/Casares (VANDY) 6-3
3. Tur Mari/Alvarez (OSU) vs. Altick/Sharma (VANDY), 5-2 unf.
Singles | Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1, 6*
1. #10 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. #15 Sydney Campbell (VANDY) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Courtney Colton (VANDY) vs. Kelsey Laurente (OSU) 3-6, 7-5, 5-1, unf.
3. Frances Altick (VANDY) def. #53 Katarina Adamovic (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Astra Sharma (VANDY) def. Vladica Babic (OSU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Carla Tur Mari (OSU) def. #77 Marie Casares (VANDY) 6-3, 6-1
6. Maria Alvarez (OSU) def. Ashleigh Antal (VANDY) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(1)
Series History vs. Tulsa
The Cowgirls hold a 12-14 all-time record against the Golden Hurricane. Oklahoma State has lost seven-straight matches to Tulsa, the last win being a 5-2 victory over the Golden Hurricane in Stillwater in 2006. The most recent clash between the two teams was last season when a No. 28 Tulsa squad edged the 31st-ranked Cowgirls, 4-3, at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
Success Against the Best
Oklahoma State has compiled a 7-2 record coming into the weekend, but the number in the loss column doesn't define the Cowgirls' season. Of the nine matches the Cowgirls have played this season, seven were against ranked opponents. The Cowgirls have surpassed tough tests against No. 24 Ole Miss, No. 29 Texas Tech and No. 41 Arkansas. Oklahoma State has a 2-2 record against higher-ranked opponents, including upset wins against No. 18 Georgia Tech and No. 11 Vanderbilt. Both of its losses come from teams ranked in the top ten.
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
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.
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.
Pluskota 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)
