Cowgirl Tennis Finishes Regular Season with Win at Kansas State

Sunday, April 22

Manhattan, KS

11 AM

Oklahoma State University

Kansas State

Cowgirl Tennis Finishes Regular Season with Win at Kansas State

April 22, 2018 | Cowgirl Tennis

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The 11^th-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team wrapped up its regular season Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 win against No. 38 Kansas State at Mike Goss Tennis Stadium.

"I give a lot of credit to Kansas State today," head coach Chris Young said. "They really battled and competed well. I thought that we didn't play our best tennis but were just tough in the end. We played the big points really well and that was the key for us this weekend.

"At the end of the season, everyone is playing well and everyone has something to play for, so for us to have two good wins over teams that are having good years, I thought that was important for us."

With the win and Kansas' victory over Oklahoma this afternoon, the Cowgirls (18-3, 7-2 Big 12) clinched the No. 2 seed for next week's Big 12 Championships. OSU comes out on top of a three-way tiebreaker over Kansas and Texas Tech for the No. 2 spot. The Pokes will learn their first-round opponent on Sunday evening.

The Cowgirls claimed their second doubles point of the weekend with wins on the top two singles courts to open the match with a 1-0 lead.

Tied at three with Kansas State's Maria Linares and Anna Turco midway through the match, Cowgirls Marina Guinart and Katarina Stresnakova won three-straight games to pull away from the Wildcats and take the 6-3 win. It marked the OSU tandem's second win of the weekend and pushed their overall record to 18-10 this season.

Vladica Babic and Sofia Blanco stretched their win streak to 10 with a 6-4 triumph over Margot Decker and Carolina Costamagna in the top doubles spot. Babic and Blanco enter the postseason on fire, now 24-7 overall this season with a No. 12 national ranking.

In singles, the Cowgirls got off to a bit of a slow start out of the gate, but ultimately took three first sets and wrapped up the match with three straight-set wins.

Kansas State briefly tied the match at one apiece with a Carolina Lewis win over Cowgirl Katelyn Blumenthal. It marked Blumenthal's first career start.

Stresnakova put the Pokes back on top to stay, overwhelming Wildcat Carolina Costamagna in a 6-1, 6-3 tally on court three. With her second singles win of the weekend, the Cowgirl junior pushed her team-leading season win total to 26. Of her 15 dual wins this season, 14 have come in straight sets.

Shortly after Stresnakova wrapped up her match, senior Megan McCray locked up her 11^th-straight victory in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Maria Linares at No. 2. McCray has now won 15 of her 16 matches this season.

Guinart secured the win for the Cowgirls with a straight-set win on court four over Anna Turco. Trailing, 4-2, in the first set, Guinart battled back to eventually take the set in a 7-5 tiebreaker. The junior controlled the second set, winning by a final score of 7-6(5), 6-3.

The Cowgirls now turn their attention towards the Big 12 Championships in Austin. OSU's first-round match will be played on Friday. Stay tuned to the team's Twitter account (@CowgirlTennis) for further updates.

No. 11 Oklahoma State 4, No. 38 Kansas State 1
April 22, 2018 | Mike Goss Tennis Stadium | Manhattan, Kan.

Doubles | Order of finish: 3,2,1
1. #12 Vladica Babic/Sofia Blanco (OKST) def. Margot Decker/Carolina Costamagna (KSU) 6-4
2. Marina Guinart/Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) def. Maria Linares/Anna Turco (KSU) 6-3
3. Ines Mesquita/Rosanna Maffei (KSU) def. Megan McCray/Sami Court (OKST) 6-3

Singles | Order of finish: 6,3,2,4
1. #21 Vladica Babic (OKST) vs. Margot Decker (KSU) 4-6, 6-0, 2-2, unfinished
2. #37 Megan McCray (OKST) def. Maria Linares (KSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. #121 Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) def. Carolina Costamagna (KSU) 6-1, 6-3
4. #99 Marina Guinart (OKST) def. Anna Turco (KSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
5. Sofia Blanco (OKST) vs. Rosanna Maffei (KSU) 6-7 (6-8), 2-1, unfinished
6. Carolina Lewis (KSU) def. Katelyn Blumenthal (OKST) 6-0, 6-0