Cowgirls Look For Season Sweep Against Oklahoma

The Basics

Oklahoma State's women's tennis squad, ranked No. 14, head to Norman for the second Bedlam match against the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.

The Cowgirls improved to 4-0 in Big 12 play over the weekend with a pair of victories against Baylor and Texas.

Keep Up With The Match

Fans can follow all of this weekend's action by following the Cowgirls on Twitter, @CowgirlTennis.

In the ITA Rankings

The Cowgirls enter the match ranked No. 14 in the Oracle/ITA rankings.

Kelsey Laurente and Maria Alvarez are ranked as the No. 30 doubles tandem in the country.

Viktoriya Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari are ranked No. 41 in the latest doubles rankings.

Vladica Babic and Katarina Adamovic hold the No. 50 ranking.

Adamovic is the highest ranked Cowgirl in singles, earning the No. 45 spot. Babic is ranked No. 48.

Lushkova checks in at the No. 65 spot in the latest ITA rankings.

Grind Together, Shine Together

Oklahoma State has built one of the best resumes in women's tennis so far this season.

The Cowgirls own 12 wins against teams that have appeared in the Oracle/ITA rankings so far this season through 20 matches.

The Cowgirls also own two wins against Alabama, who was ranked as high as No. 13 in the country. OSU picked a midweek win against No. 21 Tulsa last week before taking down No. 34 Texas and No. 51 Baylor over the weekend.

Welcome to Our House

The Cowgirls have taken advantage of tremendous crowds inside the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center during the first half of the season.

11 of the 16 Cowgirl wins have come at home and the Pokes have outscored opponents, 85-26, through the first 20 matches of the spring season.

The Pokes have recorded eight shutouts inside the Greenwood Tennis Center this season.

Scouting The Opponent

Oklahoma enters this weekend's match coming off two loses against Baylor and Texas last weekend in Texas. The Sooners are 2-2 in Big 12 play with wins coming against West Virginia and Iowa State.

The Sooners have one player ranked in singles, as Lily Miyzaki checks in at No. 110. The Sooners do not have any doubles pairings that are ranked.

Chasing History

The current Cowgirl lineup is one of the most successful in school history and multiple Cowgirls are rewriting the record books with each match.

Maria Alvarez currently ranks 5th in career singles wins during the Big 12 era with 74. A trio of juniors are also quickly making Cowgirl history. Carla Tur Mari's 68 wins are good enough for the 8th spot on the career wins list during the Big 12 era, Viktoriya Lushkova's 63 wins are good for the 10th spot and Katarina Adamovic is currently 16th on the career wins list.

Dominant Doubles

The Cowgirls have had one of the most dominant doubles lineups in the country. OSU has won 19 of 20 doubles points so far this season.

All three main Cowgirl duos are ranked in the ITA doubles rankings. Kelsey Laurente and Maria Alvarez, ranked No. 30, leading the charge for the Pokes at the No. 1 position.

Viktoriya Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari, ranked No. 41, have accounted for 23 doubles victories this season, including a 16-1 record in dual matches.

Katarina Adamovic and Vladica Babic, ranked No. 50, have put together a 19-3 record this season, with 14 wins in spring competition.

Manasse Joins The Coaching Staff

Oklahoma State Director of Tennis and women's head coach Chris Young announced the addition of Matt Manasse as an assistant coach for the Cowgirls.

Manasse, a graduate from Purdue University, was a three-time letterwinner for the Boilermakers. Manasse was voted a team captain by his teammates for his senior year in 2010-11.

Manasse enters his first season with the Cowgirls after serving as an assistant at Wisconsin.

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

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Katarina Adamovic

Maria Alvarez

Kelsey Laurente

Carla Tur Mari

Oklahoma State University Athletics