Tur Mari and Babic Earn ITA Central Region Doubles Title

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Oklahoma State women's tennis doubles team of junior Vladica Babic and senior Carla Tur Mari took home the regional doubles crown Monday at the ITA Central Region Championships, while Tur Mari also advanced to the singles finals. It marks the third consecutive year that a Cowgirl doubles team has won the event.

"This was a great weekend for our girls," head coach Chris Young said. "I couldn't be more proud of Carla making the finals of both singles and doubles in her senior year. Her play was excellent, and it was nice to put her and Vladi together and see them gel so quickly. Without (Katarina Adamovic) and (Viktoriya Lushkova), we made a few changes, and all of the girls stepped up and made the most of their opportunity. I believe this event shows the depth of our program, and I am excited about the progress our new players made this weekend as well."

Matched up with Kansas' Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum and Nina Khmelnitckaia in the championship match, Babic and Tur Mari pulled away late in the first set to take the frame, 6-4. It was all Cowgirls in the second set, as the OSU tandem shut out the pair of Jayhawks, 6-0, to take the match.

The win wraps up a successful weekend for top-seeded Cowgirl duo, who won six matches against the region's best to take home the hardware. With the win, Tur Mari and Babic qualify for the National Indoor Championships, set for Nov. 3-6 in Flushing, N.Y.

Tur Mari attempted to earn a regional singles title as well on Monday, coming up short to fifth-seeded Lily Miyazaki of Oklahoma in the finals.

In her semifinal match, Tur Mari picked up a hard-fought win over the No. 3 seed Anastasia Rychagova, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, to advance into the finals where Miyazaki would take the championship, 6-3, 6-3. Overall, the Ibiza, Spain native went a combined 12-1 in both singles and doubles.

Also competing in singles Monday was freshman Aliona Bolsova. Bolsova dropped her semifinal contest to Miyazaki, 7-6(5); 1-6; 6-3 to finish off an impressive week for the newcomer.

Bolsova finishes her second tournament as a Cowgirl with a 6-2 overall record in singles. Bolsova and partner Sofia Blanco raised some eyebrows in doubles as well, advancing to the quarterfinals.

The Cowgirls will be back in action the first weekend of November when they head to the ITA National Indoor Championships and the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic.

ITA Central Region Championships – Minneapolis, Minn.

Doubles – Finals
(1) Babic/Tur Mari (OSU) def. (5) Bernard-Feigenbaum/Khmelnitckaia (KU) 6-4, 6-0

Singles - Semifinals
(5) Lily Miyazaki (OU) def. (5) Aliona Bolsova (OSU) 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3
(9) Carla Tur Mari (OSU) def. (3) Anastasia Rychagova (KU) 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3

Singles - Finals
(5) Lily Miyazaki (OU) def. (9) Carla Tur Mari (OSU) 6-3, 6-3

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Katarina Adamovic

Vladica Babic

Sofia Blanco

Aliona Bolsova

Viktoriya Lushkova

Carla Tur Mari

Related Videos