Cowgirls Hold Off Horned Frogs, 4-2

Sunday, April 2

Fort Worth, TX

1 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

TCU

Photo by: Bruce Waterfield

April 02, 2017 | Cowgirl Tennis

FORT WORTH, Texas – The seventh-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team rebounded from last Friday's tough loss to No. 6 Texas Tech with a 4-2 victory at No. 33 TCU on Sunday afternoon. The win marked the sixth-straight win for the Cowgirls over the Horned Frogs and the second this season.

"I am really proud of our girls for bouncing back after a tough match on Friday," head coach Chris Young said. "Our league is tough and every match is a battle, so I am happy to get this one and return home for a couple of matches this weekend."

With play moved inside due to weather, the Cowgirls (15-4, 3-1 Big 12) came out firing in doubles, tallying wins on courts two and three to overpower the Horned Frogs and take early control of the match.

Finding themselves trailing, 3-2, against TCU's Seda Arantekin and Aleksandra Zenovka on court two, Cowgirls Aliona Bolsova and Sofia Blanco won four-straight games to win, 6-3, and claim the first win of the day for OSU. Seniors Viktoriya Lushkova and Katarina Adamovic sealed the point, handling Alexis Pereira and Sofiko Kadzhaya, 6-2, for the tandem's fifth doubles clincher of the season.

The Horned Frogs put up a fight in singles, taking a couple of matches on three and four; however, the Cowgirls' depth in singles proved to be too much for TCU to handle, as seniors Adamovic and Lushkova shut the door on the Horned Frogs and led OSU to its third win of the conference season.

Due to action being moved inside and the indoor facility only having five courts, singles play began with matches one through five starting first and the sixth match starting up as soon as a court became available.

Freshman Lena Ruppert quickly inflated the Cowgirls' lead, dropping TCU's Caroline Wegner, 6-1, 6-0, on court five. With the win, Ruppert moved to 19-4 overall on the year, and expanded her win streak to four. Of her 19 wins this season, 16 have come in straight sets.

Following Ruppert's victory, the Cowgirls and Horned Frogs traded victories on courts two and three, beginning with a 6-2, 6-3 Sofiko Kadzhaya win over Bolsova on No. 3 to cut the OSU advantage to 2-1.

Katarina Adamovic would respond with a 6-2, 6-2 handling of Aleksandra Zenovka in the second singles spot to push the lead back to two and put OSU just a point away from the win. The Cowgirl senior collected her 10th dual win of the season, moving to 17-6 overall.

For the seventh time this season, Viktoriya Lushkova secured the victory for the Cowgirls on court one. Lushkova gutted out a three-set tally over No. 81 Seda Arantekin, taking the first set in a tiebreaker and rebounding from a tough second-set loss to take the third, 6-2. It marked the senior's 93rd win, putting her just one away from tying Linda Faltynkova as the winningest Cowgirl in the Big 12 era.

As the match was clinched, sophomore Katarina Stresnakova was a game away from locking up her eighth-straight win, leading TCU's Marie Norris, 5-0, in the third set on No. 6.

The Cowgirls will return home this weekend for a pair of matches against No. 22 Kansas and Kansas State at the Greenwood Tennis Center. OSU will open the weekend Friday at 5:30 against the Wildcats before returning on Sunday to host the Jayhawks at 1 p.m. Admission to both matches is free.

No. 7 Oklahoma State 4, No. 33 TCU 2
April 2, 2017 | Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center | Fort Worth, Texas

Doubles | Order of finish: 2, 3
No. 1: No. 5 Babic/Tur Mari (OSU) vs. Bashota/Wegner (TCU) 5-2
No. 2: No. 23 Bolsova/Blanco (OSU) def. Arantekin/Zenovka (TCU) 6-3
No. 3: No. 44 Lushkova/Adamovic (OSU) def. Pereira/Kadzhaya (TCU) 6-2

Singles | Order of finish: 5, 3, 2, 4, 1
No. 1: No. 10 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. No. 81 Seda Arantekin (TCU) 7-6, 3-6, 6-2
No. 2: No. 66 Katarina Adamovic (OSU) def. Aleksandra Zenovka (TCU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 3: Sofiko Kadzhaya (TCU) def. No. 42 Aliona Bolsova (OSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 4: Donika Bashota (TCU) def. No. 73 Vladica Babic (OSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
No. 5: Lena Ruppert (OSU) def. Carolina Wegner (TCU) 6-1, 6-0
No. 6: Katarina Stresnakova (OSU) vs. Marie Norris (TCU) 6-0, 3-6, 5-0.