Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Bruce Waterfield
Cowgirls Host Oklahoma on Senior Day
April 13, 2017 | Cowgirl Tennis
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STILLWATER – The eighth-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team rounds out its home regular season schedule this Friday as it hosts No. 34 Oklahoma at 5 p.m. at the Greenwood Tennis Center. Admission to the match is free.
Senior Day
Fans coming to Friday's match are encouraged to stay after, as the Cowgirl tennis team will pay tribute to its three standout seniors Viktoriya Lushkova, Carla Tur Mari and Katarina Adamovic.
Watch and Follow the Matches
Fans can catch all home matches online at okstate.com/watchtennis. Live scoring is available on okstate.statbroadcast.com.
About the Cowgirls
Oklahoma State enters this weekend's conference bouts at 17-4 overall with a 5-1 mark in Big 12 action. The Cowgirls return five contributing letterwinners from a 2015-16 campaign that saw the Cowgirls post the best finish in program history, earning the title of NCAA Runners-Up. Last season, OSU racked up a 29-5 record on the way to earning the program's first Big 12 Championship in 13 years, thanks in part to a 9-0 conference record.
The OSU roster is headlined by three standout seniors in Katarina Adamovic, Viktoriya Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari. Adamovic is coming off an impressive junior season that saw the Cacak, Serbia native earn her first ITA All-American honor by way of advancing to the NCAA individual quarterfinals last summer. A two-time All-American and the 2015 Big 12 Co-Player of the Year, Lushkova has been a key to the Cowgirls' unprecedented success as well, racking up a team-leading 93 wins during her time in Stillwater. Tur Mari provided a major boost to the back end of the OSU singles lineup in 2016, going 22-8 in the No. 6 spot.
Also returning for the Cowgirls are junior Vladica Babic and sophomore Katarina Stresnakova. Babic tallied six victories over ranked opponents in 2016, including a triumph over No. 28 Kennedy Shaffer of Georgia to help push the Cowgirls to a win over the Bulldogs in the NCAA Sweet 16. The highlight of Stresnakova's first season in Stillwater came in the NCAA Tournament, when the Slovakia product took down Ferny Angeles Paz of Ohio State in the NCAA quarterfinals to clinch the win over the Buckeyes and push the Cowgirls in to the national semifinals.
Oklahoma State newcomers Sofia Blanco, Aliona Bolsova and Lena Ruppert have been key pieces to the Cowgirls' strong start as well, going a combined 58-17 overall in singles.
The Cowgirls boasted one of the most impressive doubles records in the country in 2016, winning all but one doubles point in 34 matches. That trend has continued this season, as OSU has taken 18 of 21 possible doubles points on the year.
Head coach Chris Young enters his eighth season at the helm of the Cowgirl tennis program after earning his 100th win with the program last season. Young is assisted by second-year assistant coach Matt Manasse and volunteer assistant coach Jaime Jaime Sánchez-Cañamares Rios.
Notable Streaks and Trends
?The Cowgirls have spent 54 consecutive weeks in the ITA top 25. The last time OSU was outside the top 25 was March 18, 2014.
?The Cowgirls have won 20 or more matches in each of the last two seasons.
?Since 2012, OSU has made five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. That streak is the second-longest in program history behind a 10-year streak that saw the Cowgirls earn NCAA Tournament berths from 1982-91.
?OSU has won 31-straight matches at the Greenwood Tennis Center, dating back to March of 2015.
?The Cowgirls were impressive during the fall, racking up a 65-16 (.802) overall singles record and a 28-14 (.667) overall mark in doubles.
?That success has continued this spring, as OSU opened the 2017 dual season with 10 sweeps in its first 21 matches.
Last Time Out
The ninth-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team closed out a perfect home weekend Sunday afternoon with its second-straight sweep, dropping No. 23 Kansas, 4-0, at the Greenwood Tennis Center. The win marked the Cowgirls' 10th sweep of the season and sixth-straight shutout of the Jayhawks.
The Cowgirls (17-4, 5-1 Big 12) handled the shorthanded Jayhawks in an hour and 45 minutes.
No. 9 Oklahoma State 4, No. 23 Kansas 0
April 9, 2017 | Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Okla.
Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 1
No. 1: No. 9 Babic/Tur Mari (OSU) def. No. 35 Bernard-Feigenbaum/Khmelnitckaia (KAN) 6-2
No. 2: No. 34 Bolsova/Blanco (OSU) vs. Koch/Rychagova (KAN) 5-2, unf.
No. 3: No. 52 Adamovic/Lushkova (OSU) won by forfeit
Singles | Order of finish: 6, 3, 4
No. 1: No. 7 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) vs. No. 81 Rychagova, Anastasia (KAN) 6-4, 0-6, unf.
No. 2: No. 52 Katarina Adamovic (OSU) vs. Bernard-Feigenbaum (KAN) 5-7, 2-1, unf.
No. 3: No. 49 Aliona Bolsova (OSU) def. Koch, Janet (KAN) 6-2, 6-2
No. 4: No. 67 Vladica Babic (OSU) def. Khmelnitckaia, Nina (KAN) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5: Lena Ruppert (OSU) vs. Toran Ribes, Maria (KAN) 6-1, 5-4, unf.
No. 6: Katarina Stresnakova (OSU) won by forfeit
Dominating the Big 12
The Cowgirls have arisen as a force in the Big 12 Conference over the last several seasons. Since 2013, OSU has won 34 conference matches, which ranks second only to Texas Tech's 35
Overall, OSU has lost only one conference match in the last two years. The last time the Cowgirls lost more than two conference matches in a season was 2013, before the Greenwood Tennis Center was opened.
The Cowgirls have made three of the last four Big 12 Championship matches, finally breaking through to win their first since 2003 last year with a 4-0 win over Texas Tech.
Home Court Advantage
Since it opened for the 2013-14 season, the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center has proven a tough place to play for Cowgirl opponents.
The Cowgirls have won 31-straight matches at the new facility, which stands as the second-longest streak in the nation behind South Alabama's 40 and the longest in Power Five women's tennis.
After an undefeated 18-0 mark at home last year and a 9-0 home start this season, OSU has racked up a 44-2 overall record in the facility over the last four seasons. A look at the numbers:
Season OSU Record at GTC
2013-14 6-1
2014-15 13-1
2015-16 18-0
2016-17 9-0
Total 46-2
No Trouble in Doubles
Over the last two seasons, Oklahoma State has made a name for itself around the country for its strong doubles play. This year, the Cowgirls have won 18 of 21 doubles points. Over the last two seasons total, OSU has taken 51 of 55 doubles points.
Series Notes: Oklahoma
?This Friday's Bedlam match will serve as the 56th meeting in the series between the Cowgirls and Sooners.
?OSU is 17-7 in Stillwater against the Sooners, with its last home loss in the series coming in 2012.
?The Cowgirls have won four-straight matches over Oklahoma, and six of the last seven going back to 2013.
?The series has lived up to its name in recent years. Since 2003, 13 of the 19 matches between the two programs have been decided by two points or less.
?OSU holds the longest win streak in the series, running off 19-straight wins from 1981 to 1993.
?Head coach Chris Young is 6-6 in his career against Oklahoma.
Bedlam Highlight -- 2014
The Cowgirls turned heads around the nation in March when they knocked off 14th-ranked Oklahoma, 4-2, in a thrilling, nationally-televised match that brought College MatchDay and over 500 tennis fans to the Greenwood Tennis Center. After wins by Karyn Guttormsen, Carla Tur Mari and Kanyapat Narattana, the Cowgirls held a 3-2 lead, and then freshman Viktoriya Lushkova would need to pick up a victory on one over Sooner senior Whitney Ritchie to put the Sooners away.
"It was incredible," Cowgirl tennis coach Chris Young said after the match. "This is what we dreamed about when we built the facility. The guys that were doing the commentating told me that it was the best atmosphere at any MatchDay so far. That's what we want. People at Oklahoma State are just realizing how fun tennis matches can be and what we can do here. Hopefully this is the start of something special."
Ritchie seemed to be too much for the Cowgirl freshman to handle in the first set, taking it convincingly, 6-1. Lushkova bounced back in a big way, storming through the second set to force a third. The match's final set came down to a tiebreaker after Ritchie tied the set at six. Lushkova and Ritchie traded points early in the match-deciding tiebreaker, but the freshman pulled away, winning four of the tiebreaker's final five points to clinch the Bedlam triumph for Oklahoma State.
The Bedlam win was the team's second in an eight-match winning streak that ultimately made the Cowgirls a player for the Big 12 regular season championship. A loss to eventual champion Baylor put those dreams just out of reach, but the Cowgirls followed it up with a huge win over No. 22 Texas to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and become only the second Cowgirl team to knock off the Longhorns in Austin.
Oklahoma from a Distance
The Sooners enter Friday's Bedlam match boasting a 12-6 overall record with a 2-4 mark in Big 12 action, following a weekend in which they picked up their first conference wins of the season against Kansas State and then-No. 23 Kansas.
Junior Lily Miyazaki leads the Sooners with an 11-4 mark in the No. 1 singles spot, which is good for a No. 29 national ranking by the ITA. The 80th-ranked tandem of Julie Byrne and Malene Stripp figures to get the start for Oklahoma at No. 1 doubles with a 7-4 dual record thus far.
Oklahoma is led by first-year head coach Audra Cohen.
Record Watch
?Viktoriya Lushkova's .810 career win percentage in singles ranks second all-time in program history. She is the first player since Kate Vasylyeva in 2003 to break onto that list.
?With 93 career singles wins, Viktoriya Lushkova is currently second on the Big 12 era career list, and only one win away from sealing the No. 1 spot. She is sixth on the doubles Big 12 era list with 87 career wins.
?With 88 career doubles wins, Katarina Adamovic sits in fifth on the program Big 12 era career doubles wins list. With a .798 win percentage in doubles, Adamovic's doubles win percentage leads the Big 12 era list in that category as well, along with Vladica Babic.
?With 92 career doubles wins, Carla Tur Mari is currently the program's active leader in that category, while also sitting in second in the Big 12 era program record book. She is also fourth in singles with 88 career wins.
Cowgirls in the ITA Rankings
The Oklahoma State women's tennis team moved up a spot to No. 8 in this week's national team rankings, released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tuesday. Senior Viktoriya Lushkova also eclipsed a new program-high singles ranking, coming in at No. 6 in this week's poll.
With her new position in the ITA singles poll, Lushkova bested her previous mark of No. 7 in last week's rankings for a new program record. The Cowgirl senior is 20-8 on the season with a 9-7 record against ranked opponents and a 10-4 mark in dual action.
Aside from Lushkova, four other Cowgirls represent OSU in the singles rankings, while four doubles teams remain ranked this week.
Freshman Aliona Bolsova comes in at No. 57 in this week's singles rankings, followed by senior Katarina Adamovic at No. 61. Junior Vladica Babic is up three spots to No. 64 in the poll after a pair of wins last weekend, while senior Carla Tur Mari is slotted at No. 101.
In doubles, Babic and Tur Mari hold steady at No. 9 to lead the Cowgirls. Bolsova and sophomore Sofia Blanco jump a spot to No. 33 this week. Lushkova and Adamovic come in at No. 54. Adamovic and Babic also appear in the poll at No. 22.
Super Seniors
The experienced Cowgirl roster includes three seniors this season, all of which have been major contributors to the growth of the OSU women's tennis program. Katarina Adamovic, Carla Tur Mari and Viktoriya Lushkova have combined for 250 singles wins, 267 doubles wins, three All-America honors and 10 All-Big 12 accolades while helping the Cowgirls to an 85-24 dual record (.780 win pct.).
Young Guns
While the 2016-17 Cowgirl roster boasts plenty of experience, the young talent that head Coach Chris Young has brought on board over the last couple of seasons is evident as well, especially with a pair of newcomers.
Freshman Aliona Bolsova (Spain) joined the Cowgirls this fall after finishing one of the most decorated junior careers of any signee in Cowgirl history, having been been ranked as high as No. 4 in the ITF world junior rankings with a number of impressive wins under her belt.
Freshman Lena Ruppert (Germany) has been ranked as high as the No. 70 player in Germany, while recording five wins against players in the top-50. Ruppert came to OSU this fall rated as one of the top-10 players under the age of 18.
Impressively, the Cowgirl underclassmen (Bolsova, Ruppert, and sophomores Sofia Blanco and Katarina Stresnakova) have combined for a 77-22 record (.778 win pct.) so far this season.
Babic Named Big 12 Player of the Week
Oklahoma State women's tennis player Vladica Babic has been named Big 12 Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. The recognition marks the junior's second career time to earn the award.
Babic had a big weekend for the Cowgirls, going 2-0 in both singles and doubles to lead OSU to sweeps of Kansas State and No. 23 Kansas. Babic, along with teammate Carla Tur Mari, clinched both doubles points on the weekend, while also scoring the Cowgirls' match-clinching point in both of her singles matches.
The Podgorica, Montenegro, native broke a two-match slump Friday night as she dropped Kansas State's Ines Mesquita, 6-1, 6-3 on the third singles court. Babic would then clinch the Cowgirl win over Kansas with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Nina Khmelnitckaia at No. 4 on Sunday.
Playing in the top doubles position, Babic and Tur Mari defeated Ana Garcia Navas and Millie Stretton, 6-1, on Friday, before a 6-2 victory over No. 35 Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum and Nina Khmelnitckaia of Kansas on Sunday.
Babic's recognition is the fourth for a Cowgirl tennis player this season, following up weekly awards from seniors Katarina Adamovic and Viktoriya Lushkova earlier this year.
Live Scoring
Live Stream
STILLWATER – The eighth-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team rounds out its home regular season schedule this Friday as it hosts No. 34 Oklahoma at 5 p.m. at the Greenwood Tennis Center. Admission to the match is free.
Senior Day
Fans coming to Friday's match are encouraged to stay after, as the Cowgirl tennis team will pay tribute to its three standout seniors Viktoriya Lushkova, Carla Tur Mari and Katarina Adamovic.
Watch and Follow the Matches
Fans can catch all home matches online at okstate.com/watchtennis. Live scoring is available on okstate.statbroadcast.com.
About the Cowgirls
Oklahoma State enters this weekend's conference bouts at 17-4 overall with a 5-1 mark in Big 12 action. The Cowgirls return five contributing letterwinners from a 2015-16 campaign that saw the Cowgirls post the best finish in program history, earning the title of NCAA Runners-Up. Last season, OSU racked up a 29-5 record on the way to earning the program's first Big 12 Championship in 13 years, thanks in part to a 9-0 conference record.
The OSU roster is headlined by three standout seniors in Katarina Adamovic, Viktoriya Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari. Adamovic is coming off an impressive junior season that saw the Cacak, Serbia native earn her first ITA All-American honor by way of advancing to the NCAA individual quarterfinals last summer. A two-time All-American and the 2015 Big 12 Co-Player of the Year, Lushkova has been a key to the Cowgirls' unprecedented success as well, racking up a team-leading 93 wins during her time in Stillwater. Tur Mari provided a major boost to the back end of the OSU singles lineup in 2016, going 22-8 in the No. 6 spot.
Also returning for the Cowgirls are junior Vladica Babic and sophomore Katarina Stresnakova. Babic tallied six victories over ranked opponents in 2016, including a triumph over No. 28 Kennedy Shaffer of Georgia to help push the Cowgirls to a win over the Bulldogs in the NCAA Sweet 16. The highlight of Stresnakova's first season in Stillwater came in the NCAA Tournament, when the Slovakia product took down Ferny Angeles Paz of Ohio State in the NCAA quarterfinals to clinch the win over the Buckeyes and push the Cowgirls in to the national semifinals.
Oklahoma State newcomers Sofia Blanco, Aliona Bolsova and Lena Ruppert have been key pieces to the Cowgirls' strong start as well, going a combined 58-17 overall in singles.
The Cowgirls boasted one of the most impressive doubles records in the country in 2016, winning all but one doubles point in 34 matches. That trend has continued this season, as OSU has taken 18 of 21 possible doubles points on the year.
Head coach Chris Young enters his eighth season at the helm of the Cowgirl tennis program after earning his 100th win with the program last season. Young is assisted by second-year assistant coach Matt Manasse and volunteer assistant coach Jaime Jaime Sánchez-Cañamares Rios.
Notable Streaks and Trends
?The Cowgirls have spent 54 consecutive weeks in the ITA top 25. The last time OSU was outside the top 25 was March 18, 2014.
?The Cowgirls have won 20 or more matches in each of the last two seasons.
?Since 2012, OSU has made five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. That streak is the second-longest in program history behind a 10-year streak that saw the Cowgirls earn NCAA Tournament berths from 1982-91.
?OSU has won 31-straight matches at the Greenwood Tennis Center, dating back to March of 2015.
?The Cowgirls were impressive during the fall, racking up a 65-16 (.802) overall singles record and a 28-14 (.667) overall mark in doubles.
?That success has continued this spring, as OSU opened the 2017 dual season with 10 sweeps in its first 21 matches.
Last Time Out
The ninth-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team closed out a perfect home weekend Sunday afternoon with its second-straight sweep, dropping No. 23 Kansas, 4-0, at the Greenwood Tennis Center. The win marked the Cowgirls' 10th sweep of the season and sixth-straight shutout of the Jayhawks.
The Cowgirls (17-4, 5-1 Big 12) handled the shorthanded Jayhawks in an hour and 45 minutes.
No. 9 Oklahoma State 4, No. 23 Kansas 0
April 9, 2017 | Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Okla.
Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 1
No. 1: No. 9 Babic/Tur Mari (OSU) def. No. 35 Bernard-Feigenbaum/Khmelnitckaia (KAN) 6-2
No. 2: No. 34 Bolsova/Blanco (OSU) vs. Koch/Rychagova (KAN) 5-2, unf.
No. 3: No. 52 Adamovic/Lushkova (OSU) won by forfeit
Singles | Order of finish: 6, 3, 4
No. 1: No. 7 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) vs. No. 81 Rychagova, Anastasia (KAN) 6-4, 0-6, unf.
No. 2: No. 52 Katarina Adamovic (OSU) vs. Bernard-Feigenbaum (KAN) 5-7, 2-1, unf.
No. 3: No. 49 Aliona Bolsova (OSU) def. Koch, Janet (KAN) 6-2, 6-2
No. 4: No. 67 Vladica Babic (OSU) def. Khmelnitckaia, Nina (KAN) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5: Lena Ruppert (OSU) vs. Toran Ribes, Maria (KAN) 6-1, 5-4, unf.
No. 6: Katarina Stresnakova (OSU) won by forfeit
Dominating the Big 12
The Cowgirls have arisen as a force in the Big 12 Conference over the last several seasons. Since 2013, OSU has won 34 conference matches, which ranks second only to Texas Tech's 35
Overall, OSU has lost only one conference match in the last two years. The last time the Cowgirls lost more than two conference matches in a season was 2013, before the Greenwood Tennis Center was opened.
The Cowgirls have made three of the last four Big 12 Championship matches, finally breaking through to win their first since 2003 last year with a 4-0 win over Texas Tech.
Home Court Advantage
Since it opened for the 2013-14 season, the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center has proven a tough place to play for Cowgirl opponents.
The Cowgirls have won 31-straight matches at the new facility, which stands as the second-longest streak in the nation behind South Alabama's 40 and the longest in Power Five women's tennis.
After an undefeated 18-0 mark at home last year and a 9-0 home start this season, OSU has racked up a 44-2 overall record in the facility over the last four seasons. A look at the numbers:
Season OSU Record at GTC
2013-14 6-1
2014-15 13-1
2015-16 18-0
2016-17 9-0
Total 46-2
No Trouble in Doubles
Over the last two seasons, Oklahoma State has made a name for itself around the country for its strong doubles play. This year, the Cowgirls have won 18 of 21 doubles points. Over the last two seasons total, OSU has taken 51 of 55 doubles points.
Series Notes: Oklahoma
?This Friday's Bedlam match will serve as the 56th meeting in the series between the Cowgirls and Sooners.
?OSU is 17-7 in Stillwater against the Sooners, with its last home loss in the series coming in 2012.
?The Cowgirls have won four-straight matches over Oklahoma, and six of the last seven going back to 2013.
?The series has lived up to its name in recent years. Since 2003, 13 of the 19 matches between the two programs have been decided by two points or less.
?OSU holds the longest win streak in the series, running off 19-straight wins from 1981 to 1993.
?Head coach Chris Young is 6-6 in his career against Oklahoma.
Bedlam Highlight -- 2014
The Cowgirls turned heads around the nation in March when they knocked off 14th-ranked Oklahoma, 4-2, in a thrilling, nationally-televised match that brought College MatchDay and over 500 tennis fans to the Greenwood Tennis Center. After wins by Karyn Guttormsen, Carla Tur Mari and Kanyapat Narattana, the Cowgirls held a 3-2 lead, and then freshman Viktoriya Lushkova would need to pick up a victory on one over Sooner senior Whitney Ritchie to put the Sooners away.
"It was incredible," Cowgirl tennis coach Chris Young said after the match. "This is what we dreamed about when we built the facility. The guys that were doing the commentating told me that it was the best atmosphere at any MatchDay so far. That's what we want. People at Oklahoma State are just realizing how fun tennis matches can be and what we can do here. Hopefully this is the start of something special."
Ritchie seemed to be too much for the Cowgirl freshman to handle in the first set, taking it convincingly, 6-1. Lushkova bounced back in a big way, storming through the second set to force a third. The match's final set came down to a tiebreaker after Ritchie tied the set at six. Lushkova and Ritchie traded points early in the match-deciding tiebreaker, but the freshman pulled away, winning four of the tiebreaker's final five points to clinch the Bedlam triumph for Oklahoma State.
The Bedlam win was the team's second in an eight-match winning streak that ultimately made the Cowgirls a player for the Big 12 regular season championship. A loss to eventual champion Baylor put those dreams just out of reach, but the Cowgirls followed it up with a huge win over No. 22 Texas to lock up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and become only the second Cowgirl team to knock off the Longhorns in Austin.
Oklahoma from a Distance
The Sooners enter Friday's Bedlam match boasting a 12-6 overall record with a 2-4 mark in Big 12 action, following a weekend in which they picked up their first conference wins of the season against Kansas State and then-No. 23 Kansas.
Junior Lily Miyazaki leads the Sooners with an 11-4 mark in the No. 1 singles spot, which is good for a No. 29 national ranking by the ITA. The 80th-ranked tandem of Julie Byrne and Malene Stripp figures to get the start for Oklahoma at No. 1 doubles with a 7-4 dual record thus far.
Oklahoma is led by first-year head coach Audra Cohen.
Record Watch
?Viktoriya Lushkova's .810 career win percentage in singles ranks second all-time in program history. She is the first player since Kate Vasylyeva in 2003 to break onto that list.
?With 93 career singles wins, Viktoriya Lushkova is currently second on the Big 12 era career list, and only one win away from sealing the No. 1 spot. She is sixth on the doubles Big 12 era list with 87 career wins.
?With 88 career doubles wins, Katarina Adamovic sits in fifth on the program Big 12 era career doubles wins list. With a .798 win percentage in doubles, Adamovic's doubles win percentage leads the Big 12 era list in that category as well, along with Vladica Babic.
?With 92 career doubles wins, Carla Tur Mari is currently the program's active leader in that category, while also sitting in second in the Big 12 era program record book. She is also fourth in singles with 88 career wins.
Cowgirls in the ITA Rankings
The Oklahoma State women's tennis team moved up a spot to No. 8 in this week's national team rankings, released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Tuesday. Senior Viktoriya Lushkova also eclipsed a new program-high singles ranking, coming in at No. 6 in this week's poll.
With her new position in the ITA singles poll, Lushkova bested her previous mark of No. 7 in last week's rankings for a new program record. The Cowgirl senior is 20-8 on the season with a 9-7 record against ranked opponents and a 10-4 mark in dual action.
Aside from Lushkova, four other Cowgirls represent OSU in the singles rankings, while four doubles teams remain ranked this week.
Freshman Aliona Bolsova comes in at No. 57 in this week's singles rankings, followed by senior Katarina Adamovic at No. 61. Junior Vladica Babic is up three spots to No. 64 in the poll after a pair of wins last weekend, while senior Carla Tur Mari is slotted at No. 101.
In doubles, Babic and Tur Mari hold steady at No. 9 to lead the Cowgirls. Bolsova and sophomore Sofia Blanco jump a spot to No. 33 this week. Lushkova and Adamovic come in at No. 54. Adamovic and Babic also appear in the poll at No. 22.
Super Seniors
The experienced Cowgirl roster includes three seniors this season, all of which have been major contributors to the growth of the OSU women's tennis program. Katarina Adamovic, Carla Tur Mari and Viktoriya Lushkova have combined for 250 singles wins, 267 doubles wins, three All-America honors and 10 All-Big 12 accolades while helping the Cowgirls to an 85-24 dual record (.780 win pct.).
Young Guns
While the 2016-17 Cowgirl roster boasts plenty of experience, the young talent that head Coach Chris Young has brought on board over the last couple of seasons is evident as well, especially with a pair of newcomers.
Freshman Aliona Bolsova (Spain) joined the Cowgirls this fall after finishing one of the most decorated junior careers of any signee in Cowgirl history, having been been ranked as high as No. 4 in the ITF world junior rankings with a number of impressive wins under her belt.
Freshman Lena Ruppert (Germany) has been ranked as high as the No. 70 player in Germany, while recording five wins against players in the top-50. Ruppert came to OSU this fall rated as one of the top-10 players under the age of 18.
Impressively, the Cowgirl underclassmen (Bolsova, Ruppert, and sophomores Sofia Blanco and Katarina Stresnakova) have combined for a 77-22 record (.778 win pct.) so far this season.
Babic Named Big 12 Player of the Week
Oklahoma State women's tennis player Vladica Babic has been named Big 12 Player of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday. The recognition marks the junior's second career time to earn the award.
Babic had a big weekend for the Cowgirls, going 2-0 in both singles and doubles to lead OSU to sweeps of Kansas State and No. 23 Kansas. Babic, along with teammate Carla Tur Mari, clinched both doubles points on the weekend, while also scoring the Cowgirls' match-clinching point in both of her singles matches.
The Podgorica, Montenegro, native broke a two-match slump Friday night as she dropped Kansas State's Ines Mesquita, 6-1, 6-3 on the third singles court. Babic would then clinch the Cowgirl win over Kansas with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Nina Khmelnitckaia at No. 4 on Sunday.
Playing in the top doubles position, Babic and Tur Mari defeated Ana Garcia Navas and Millie Stretton, 6-1, on Friday, before a 6-2 victory over No. 35 Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum and Nina Khmelnitckaia of Kansas on Sunday.
Babic's recognition is the fourth for a Cowgirl tennis player this season, following up weekly awards from seniors Katarina Adamovic and Viktoriya Lushkova earlier this year.
Players Mentioned
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