Oklahoma State University Athletics
“Dominance Central”: Cowgirls Look to Retain Stranglehold on ITA Central Division
October 16, 2017 | Cowgirl Tennis
STILLWATER – This week, when the Oklahoma State women's tennis team heads to Lawrence, Kan., to compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Championships, the Cowgirls will look to continue a dominant trend at the event.
Since 2013, between singles and doubles, the Cowgirls have had six winners at the regional tournament with many more singles players and doubles teams advancing deep into each draw.
Last season, Vladica Babic and Carla Tur Mari took home the regional doubles crown, winning six matches against the region's best to take home the hardware. 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.
Tur Mari attempted to earn a regional singles title as well in 2016, knocking off No. 3 seed Anastasia Rychagova, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, to advance into the finals where she would come up just short to Oklahoma's Lily Miyazaki.
Impressively, the Pokes swept both doubles and singles at the event in 2014 and 2015, both of which were hosted at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
The 2014 doubles title match saw two Cowgirl duos battle it out, with Babic and Katarina Adamovic on one side of the net, and Viktoriya Lushkova and Kelsey Laurente on the other. Adamovic and Babic came out on fire, shutting down their teammates, 6-2, in the first set, but Lushkova and Laurente responded with a dominant, 6-1 win in the second, forcing the match to a super tiebreaker. The 10-point tiebreaker was closely contested, but it was the top-seeded Lushkova/Laurente duo that took the victory, 10-8.
OSU was also guaranteed the ITA Central Region singles champion as well, as Lushkova and Babic went at it for the title. The two Cowgirls fought it out, but it was returning All-American Lushkova who came out victorious with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the freshman.
The two Cowgirls fought it out, but it was returning All-American Lushkova who came out victorious with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the freshman.
Laurente would win again in 2015 as she teamed up with Maria Alvarez to bring home the doubles championship for the Cowgirls. The OSU duo defeated No. 11-ranked Shannon Hudson and Yuliya Lysa of Arkansas, 6-3, 7-5, in the finals.
After a 7-0 performance in singles, Adamovic defeated conference rival Anastasiya Rychagova of Kansas to capture the singles title. Adamovic opened the match in dominant fashion, with a 6-1 victory in the first set. After Rychagova battled back to even the score in the second set, Adamovic was able to put away the Jayhawk, 7-6 (1).
Kanyapat Narattana became the program's first ITA Central Region winner in 2013 in Norman, Okla. Narattana took on fourth-seeded and 47th-ranked Hermon Brhane of Oklahoma in the finals to decide the tournament champion. The senior Cowgirl dropped the match's first set, but dominated the second and third sets to take the match and title from Brhane, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
The Cowgirls will look to make it five-straight years with at least one regional champ beginning on Thursday. For updates throughout the weekend, follow @CowgirlTennis on Twitter.
Since 2013, between singles and doubles, the Cowgirls have had six winners at the regional tournament with many more singles players and doubles teams advancing deep into each draw.
Last season, Vladica Babic and Carla Tur Mari took home the regional doubles crown, winning six matches against the region's best to take home the hardware. 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.
Tur Mari attempted to earn a regional singles title as well in 2016, knocking off No. 3 seed Anastasia Rychagova, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, to advance into the finals where she would come up just short to Oklahoma's Lily Miyazaki.
Impressively, the Pokes swept both doubles and singles at the event in 2014 and 2015, both of which were hosted at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
The 2014 doubles title match saw two Cowgirl duos battle it out, with Babic and Katarina Adamovic on one side of the net, and Viktoriya Lushkova and Kelsey Laurente on the other. Adamovic and Babic came out on fire, shutting down their teammates, 6-2, in the first set, but Lushkova and Laurente responded with a dominant, 6-1 win in the second, forcing the match to a super tiebreaker. The 10-point tiebreaker was closely contested, but it was the top-seeded Lushkova/Laurente duo that took the victory, 10-8.
OSU was also guaranteed the ITA Central Region singles champion as well, as Lushkova and Babic went at it for the title. The two Cowgirls fought it out, but it was returning All-American Lushkova who came out victorious with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the freshman.
The two Cowgirls fought it out, but it was returning All-American Lushkova who came out victorious with a 6-4, 6-2 win over the freshman.
Laurente would win again in 2015 as she teamed up with Maria Alvarez to bring home the doubles championship for the Cowgirls. The OSU duo defeated No. 11-ranked Shannon Hudson and Yuliya Lysa of Arkansas, 6-3, 7-5, in the finals.
After a 7-0 performance in singles, Adamovic defeated conference rival Anastasiya Rychagova of Kansas to capture the singles title. Adamovic opened the match in dominant fashion, with a 6-1 victory in the first set. After Rychagova battled back to even the score in the second set, Adamovic was able to put away the Jayhawk, 7-6 (1).
Kanyapat Narattana became the program's first ITA Central Region winner in 2013 in Norman, Okla. Narattana took on fourth-seeded and 47th-ranked Hermon Brhane of Oklahoma in the finals to decide the tournament champion. The senior Cowgirl dropped the match's first set, but dominated the second and third sets to take the match and title from Brhane, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
The Cowgirls will look to make it five-straight years with at least one regional champ beginning on Thursday. For updates throughout the weekend, follow @CowgirlTennis on Twitter.
Players Mentioned
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