Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Tennis Prepares for Indoor Nationals
February 05, 2015 | Cowgirl Tennis
The Basics
The No. 16 Oklahoma State women's tennis team heads to Virginia this weekend to compete in its first ITA Team Indoor Championship in program history. In their first round, the Pokes will face No. 3-seed and third-ranked North Carolina in the first match of the weekend. It's slated to begin at 8 a.m. CT.
The Cowgirls earned a spot at the prestigious event when they dominated No. 29 Texas Tech and No. 18 Georgia Tech at the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 24-25.
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 virginiasports.com. The tournament hubpage can be found on itatennis.com
In the ITA Rankings
The Cowgirls check in at No. 16 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. The Cowgirls open the ITA Team Indoor Nationals against No. 3 North Carolina. The bracket features seven teams ranked in the top 10 of the ITA rankings. Big 12 rival TCU is also featured in the bracket.
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. North Carolina features three ranked singles players in Jamie Loeb (No. 8) Caroline Price (No. 22) and Hayley Carter (No. 31).
Lushkova and doubles partner Kelsey Laurente, a transfer from the University of Miami, pair up as the nation's fifth-ranked doubles team. The Tar Heels also have the No. 13 doubles pair in Ashley Dai and Katie Vialle.
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Cowgirls hosted a big weekend at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center, bringing in caliber teams such as No. 24 Ole Miss and No. 41 Arkansas on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. On Saturday, Coach Young and his squad defeated the 24th-ranked Rebels handily, 6-1, before taking out No. 41 Arkansas, 5-0.
No. 16 Oklahoma State 5, No. 41 Arkansas 0
Feb. 1, 2014 :: Stillwater, Okla. (Greenwood Tennis Center) :: Attendance - 173
Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 1
1. #5 Lushkova/Laurente (OSU) def. Lysa/Hudson (ARK), 6-3
2. Adamovic/Babic (OSU) def. Craft/Jurasic (ARK), 6-2
3. Alvarez/Tur Mari (OSU) vs. Shkorupeieva/Araujo (ARK), 4-4 unf.
Singles | Order of finish: 2, 6, 1*, 3
1. #10 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. Shannon Hudson (ARK), 6-3, 6-0
2. Kelsey Laurente (OSU) def. Makenzie Craft (ARK), 6-0, 6-1
3. Vladica Babic (OSU) def. Yuliya Lysa (ARK), 5-7, 6-0, 1-0 (5)
4. Karyn Guttormsen (OSU) vs. Nastassia Rubel (ARK), 7-6 (6), 2-1 unf.
5. Maria Alvarez (OSU) vs. Oleksandra Shkorupeieva (OSU), 4-6, 3-2, unf.
6. Carla Tur Mari (OSU) def. Mia Jurasic (ARK), 6-1, 6-4
Making History
The Cowgirls make history this weekend with their first Team Indoor Nationals. To get there, the Cowgirls defeated No. 29 Texas Tech, 4-2, in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, before knocking off host and 18th-ranked Georgia Tech, 4-3, in the championship match.
Event Format
At this weekend's tournament, OSU women are guaranteed to play at least three matches. The "clinch-clinch" format will be used, meaning doubles play will be stopped once the doubles point is won, and singles play will be stopped once the team match is clinched.
Owning the Opponents
The Cowgirls have cruised to a perfect 6-0 record this season as they have outscored their opponents 33-6 in total dual match points. The Cowgirls have won five out of six doubles points and have also collected 34 singles wins. Of those 34 wins, 23 have come in straight sets.
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 Cowgir l 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)
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
