Cowgirls Rally to Defeat No. 8 California

Sunday, February 12

New Haven, CT

11:30 A.M.

Oklahoma State University

California

Photo by: Bruce Waterfield

February 12, 2017 | Cowgirl Tennis

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The fifth-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team rallied back to knock off eighth-ranked California Sunday afternoon in consolation action at the ITA Indoor Championships.

After dropping the doubles point and falling back, 2-0, in singles, the Cowgirls (8-1) would rattle off four-straight wins to drop the defending indoor champion Golden Bears, with senior Viktoriya Lushkova notching the match-clinching point.

"This was a classic college tennis match," head coach Chris Young said. "Both teams competed well on every court and it was a total team effort after we lost the doubles point for the first time this season. I am proud of our freshmen for getting us back even quickly, and then (Vladica Babic) and (Lushkova) stepped up big.

"At the end you had two of the best players in college tennis battling it out in a third set tiebreaker. What can you say about Viki? She has come through clutch for us so many times in her career. I am so proud of how we bounced back and competed today, and this will help us moving forward."

OSU dropped only its second doubles point in the last two seasons Sunday, as California got 6-3 wins on courts one and three to take the point. The Cowgirls did get a nice win on the second doubles court, however, with Sofia Blanco and Aliona Bolsova shutting out the 20th-ranked tandem of Olivia Hauger and Karla Popovic, 6-0.

Cowgirl sophomore Sofia Blanco would drop a 6-2, 6-2 match to California's Maya Jansen on the fifth singles court, giving the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead.

Freshman Lena Ruppert would serve up the Cowgirl comeback in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Maria Smith on court six to bounce back from a tough loss against Ohio State on Saturday. Ruppert wrapped up a 2-1 weekend holding down the No. 6 spot for OSU to move her overall record to 16-3.

Shortly after the conclusion of Ruppert's match, freshman Aliona Bolsova wrapped up a straight-set win as well. Bolsova upended Olivia Hauger, 6-2, 7-5, at No. 4 to tie the match at two and bump her dual record to 5-0 this season.

Each of the top three singles courts went to third sets with the Cowgirls coming up victorious on Nos. 1 and 3.

Junior Vladica Babic finished off her match first, bouncing back from a 6-2, first-set loss to Denise Starr to take the final two frames, 6-3, 6-4, and put the Cowgirls in the lead for good. As the match was tied at four in the third set, Babic remained composed and went on to get a break and a hold to finish off the win.

Viktoriya Lushkova controlled the first set of her match against California standout Maegan Manasse, 6-1; however, the Golden Bear stormed back to edge Lushkova in the second, 7-5. The two battled it out in an epic third set that was decided by a tiebreaker that the Cowgirl senior would take easily, 7-1, to lock up OSU's eighth win of the season.

The Cowgirls now look forward to a huge weekend in Florida that will present their toughest tests yet. The weekend will begin in Lake Nona, Fla., where OSU will face No. 4 Stanford in a national championship rematch before heading to Gainesville for a match against the top-ranked Florida Gators.

No. 5 Oklahoma State 4, No. 8 California 2
Feb. 12, 2017 | Tennis and Fitness Center of Rocky Hill | Rocky Hill, Conn.

Doubles | Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
No. 1: No. 49 Maya Jansen/Maegan Manasse (CAL) def. No. 5 Vladica Babic/Carla Tur Mari (OSU) 6-3
No. 2. Sofia Blanco/Aliona Bolsova (OSU) def. No. 20 Olivia Hauger/Karla Popovic (CAL) 6-0
No. 3. Alexis Nelson/Denise Starr (CAL) def. Viktoriya Lushkova/Katarina Adamovic (OSU), 6-3

Singles | Order of Finish: 5, 6, 4, 3, 1
No. 1: No. 10 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. No. 36 Maegan Manasse (CAL), 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(1)
No. 2: No. 20 Karla Popovic (CAL) vs. No. 56 Katarina Adamovic (OSU), 6-4, 3-6, 5-2, unf.
No. 3: No. 33 Vladica Babic (OSU) def. Denise Starr (CAL), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 4: Aliona Bolsova (OSU) def. Olivia Hauger (CAL), 6-2, 7-5
No. 5: Maya Jansen (CAL) def. No. 77 Sofia Blanco (OSU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: No. 86 Lena Ruppert (OSU) def. Maria Smith (CAL), 6-2, 6-3