Cowgirl Tennis Overwhelms No. 16 Kansas in Lawrence

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The 11^th-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team tallied one of its most impressive wins of the season on Friday night, overwhelming No. 16 Kansas at the Jayhawk Tennis Center, 4-1.

The Cowgirls and Jayhawks battled it out in a tightly-contested doubles point, with OSU ultimately pulling out the win to open with a 1-0 advantage. In singles, it seemed the Pokes had an answer for everything the Jayhawks threw at them, allowing them to put the match away in about two hours. The Cowgirls are now 12-0 when taking the doubles point.

"I thought this was one of our complete performances of the year," head coach Chris Young said. "We really talked this week about how we were going to respond and finish the year after a tough loss last Sunday. I thought the girls came out great. We've been working a lot on our doubles and the doubles set the tone today. Give Kansas credit. They kept fighting and made it tight, but we made the big plays when we needed to."

"In singles, once we got those first four sets, we kind of got off and running," Young said. "I thought we played a lot of the big deuce points really well and out-grinded them. We had kind of had tough conditions today, cold and windy, but that's where all of our mental toughness stepped forward."

After Kansas pulled away on court three to take the first win of the day, Cowgirls Marina Guinart and Katarina Stresnakova responded at No. 2. Leading, 5-1, at one point, Kansas' Janet Koch and Amber Policare won four-straight games to tie the match at five games apiece; however, the Poke tandem stepped up big with their backs against the wall, picking up two consecutive games of their own to lock up the 7-5 victory.

Matched up with the 76^th-ranked duo of Nina Khmelnitckaia and Tatiana Nikolaeva, OSU's Vladica Babic and Sofia Blanco stifled a would-be Jayhawk comeback on the way to a 6-4 decision to clinch the doubles point. It was the Cowgirl pair's ninth0straight win and 11^th over a ranked doubles team so far this year.

Kansas struck first in singles, notching a 6-0, 6-1 win on court six; however, the Cowgirls were able to respond quickly in tallying three straight-set wins on the way to clinching the match.

Stresnakova got back to her winning ways after a tough loss against Texas Tech last week, defeating Nina Khmelnitckaia, 6-3, 6-1, on three to put the Cowgirls up, 2-1. It was the OSU junior's 14^th win in 16 completed matches this spring.

Marina Guinart pushed the Cowgirls' advantage to 3-1 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Maria Toran Ribes on court four. With the win, Guinart pushed her overall record to 19-8 this season.

For the seventh time this season, senior Megan McCray tallied the match-clinching win in a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kansas' Janet Koch. McCray has stayed hot throughout the year in winning 10-straight matches and 14 of her 15 total contests.

The Cowgirls will now travel to Manhattan, Kan., for a matchup with No. 38 Kansas State on Sunday at 11 a.m.

No. 11 Oklahoma State 4, No. 16 Kansas 1
April 20, 2018 | Jayhawk Tennis Center | Lawrence, Kan.

Doubles | Order of finish: 3,1,2
1. #12 Vladica Babic/Sofia Blanco (OKST) def. #76 Nina Khmelnitckaia/Tatiana Nikolaeva (KU) 6-4
2. Marina Guinart/Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) def. Janet Koch/Amber Policare (KU) 7-5
3. Maria Toran Ribes/Despoina Vogasari (KU) def. Sami Court/Megan McCray (OKST) 6-3

Singles.| Order of finish: 6,3,4,2
1. #68 Despoina Vogasari (KU) vs. #21 Vladica Babic (OKST) 3-6, 2-3, unfinished
2. #37 Megan McCray (OKST) def. Janet Koch (KU) 6-4, 6-3
3. #99 Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) def. Nina Khmelnitckaia (KU) 6-3, 6-1
4. #121 Marina Guinart (OKST) def. Maria Toran Ribes (KU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Tatiana Nikolaeva (KU) vs. Sofia Blanco (OKST) 6-1, 4-2, unfinished
6. Amber Policare (KU) def. Sami Court (OKST) 6-0, 6-1

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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