Four Cowgirls Tally Ranked Wins to Drop No. 11 UCLA

Wednesday, March 14

Los Angeles, CA

3:30 P.M.

Oklahoma State University

UCLA

Image Taken at the Oklahoma State Cowgirls vs Florida Gators Tennis Match, Wednesday, February 7, 2018, Greenwood Tennis Center, Stillwater, OK. Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics

March 14, 2018 | Cowgirl Tennis

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The ninth-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team earned its ninth win in 10 matches so far this season with a 4-2 victory over No. 11 UCLA on Wednesday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The win marked OSU's first over UCLA in program history.

"I am so proud of these girls," head coach Chris Young said. "We had a match point to win the doubles point and that was a big momentum shift for them, but once again these girls showed their toughness and the greatest thing about these girls is the way they compete. UCLA has a very strong team that is well coached, and it took our very best effort today and that's exactly what our girls gave."

In a tightly-contested doubles point, the Bruins edged the Cowgirls on courts two and three to come away with the victory. Cowgirls Megan McCray and Shir Hornung fell, 6-2, to UCLA's Alaina Miller and Ena Shibahara on three; however OSU would respond at No. 1 as Vladica Babic and Sofia Blanco came away with a 7-6(4) triumph in a tiebreaker. UCLA would claim the point on two, with Marina Guinart and Katarina Stresnakova falling, 7-5, to Abi Altick and Ayan Broomfield.

The Cowgirls stormed back in singles, winning four of five completed matches to notch their fourth top-25 victory of the season.

UCLA stretched its lead to 2-0 as freshman Shir Hornung fell in straight sets to No. 118 Alaina Miller on court six, but the Cowgirls would quickly run off three straight-set victories of their own to take the lead.

McCray started the OSU run on court two, knocking off No. 41 Jada Hart, 6-3, 6-2 for her fourth-straight win. The senior controlled the match throughout and was able to finish off Hart to move to 8-1 on the season and 4-0 against ranked opponents this year.

Guinart extended her win streak to seven as she defeated No. 104 Terri Fleming, 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth singles position. The Cowgirl earned her second ranked win of the season and pushed her overall record to 16-6 and 6-0 in dual action.

Babic posted one of the biggest wins of her career to date in a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over No. 8 Ena Shibahara for her sixth ranked win of the year. The victory marked the OSU senior's highest-ranked win since beating then-No. 8 Jasmine Lee of Mississippi State in the 2016 fall season.

Stresnakova clinched the win for the Cowgirls in a strong comeback on court three. Matched up with No. 46 Abi Altick, Stresnakova made up for a slow start in her first set with a 6-4 win in her second to force a third that she would take handily, 6-1. The Cowgirl junior picked up her 20^th win of the season and remained undefeated in dual play, pushing that mark to 9-0.

Cowgirl junior Sofia Blanco was also well on her way to a third-set win on court five, as she led UCLA's Ayan Broomfield, 5-3, in the third set.

The Cowgirls return home this weekend to host Big 12 foes Iowa State and West Virginia. The weekend opens on Saturday at 1 p.m. with the Cyclones before the Mountaineers come to Stillwater on Sunday at noon.

No. 9 Oklahoma State 4, No. 11 UCLA 2
March 14, 2018 | Los Angeles Tennis Center | Los Angeles, Calif.

Doubles | Order of finish: 3,1,2
1. #19 Vladica Babic/Sofia Blanco (OKST) def. #22 Terri Fleming/Jada Hart (UCLA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Abi Altick/Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) def. Marina Guinart/Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) 7-5
3. Alaina Miller/Ena Shibahara (UCLA) def. Megan McCray/Shir Hornung (OKST) 6-2

Singles | Order of finish: 6,2,4,1,3
1. #38 Vladica Babic (OKST) def. #8 Ena Shibahara (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
2. #74 Megan McCray (OKST) def. #41 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2
3. Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) def. #46 Abi Altick (UCLA) 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
4. #96 Marina Guinart (OKST) def. #104 Terri Fleming (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4
5. Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) vs. Sofia Blanco (OKST) 6-3, 5-7, 3-5, unfinished
6. #118 Alaina Miller (UCLA) def. Shir Hornung (OKST) 6-1, 6-0