Oklahoma State University Athletics
Photo by: Bruce Waterfield
Babic and Blanco Advance to Doubles National Title Match
May 27, 2018 | Cowgirl Tennis
WINSTON SALEM, N.C. – The Oklahoma State women's tennis tandem of senior Vladica Babic and junior Sofia Blanco will be looking to make program history on Monday when they compete for the program's first individual national title. The Cowgirl duo defeated ninth-ranked Ellyse Hamlin and Kaitlyn McCarthy of Duke in the semifinals Sunday.
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Babic and Blanco will match up with LSU's Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson on Monday not before 12Â p.m. CT for the national championship. The Tiger doubles squad is ranked No. 29 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
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"It is an incredible feeling, especially for her (Babic), because it is her last year," Blanco said. "I want her go out with a victory. To make it to the final feels so good."
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The Cowgirls opened the match strong as they cruised to a first set victory. After Hamlin and McCarthy held serve to take the first game of the match it was all Cowgirls for the remainder of the opening frame, notching six-straight games to snag the 6-1 set win.
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In the second set, Babic and Blanco strung together another couple of games to open and go up a break. Duke responded by taking three-straight games of their own, and from that point the two teams traded blows for the remainder of the match. Tied up at five games apiece, the Cowgirls were able to hold to go up, 6-5, before a final break to finish off the 6-1, 7-5 triumph.
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"We played really well in the first set and did all the right things," Babic said. "It was normal for them to adjust their game in the second set. Whenever you lose a set, 6-1, you have to change some things, so we were expecting that. We knew we had to stick to our patterns and keep the pressure on them. In the end, it worked."
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The win was the pair's fourth of the week, with each one coming over top-20 teams. The two Cowgirls became the first OSU doubles team to earn All-America honors on Friday with a three-set win over No. 8 Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirezon of Syracuse.
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Live scoring and streaming for Monday's match can be found here.
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Babic and Blanco will match up with LSU's Jessica Golovin and Eden Richardson on Monday not before 12Â p.m. CT for the national championship. The Tiger doubles squad is ranked No. 29 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
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"It is an incredible feeling, especially for her (Babic), because it is her last year," Blanco said. "I want her go out with a victory. To make it to the final feels so good."
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The Cowgirls opened the match strong as they cruised to a first set victory. After Hamlin and McCarthy held serve to take the first game of the match it was all Cowgirls for the remainder of the opening frame, notching six-straight games to snag the 6-1 set win.
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In the second set, Babic and Blanco strung together another couple of games to open and go up a break. Duke responded by taking three-straight games of their own, and from that point the two teams traded blows for the remainder of the match. Tied up at five games apiece, the Cowgirls were able to hold to go up, 6-5, before a final break to finish off the 6-1, 7-5 triumph.
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"We played really well in the first set and did all the right things," Babic said. "It was normal for them to adjust their game in the second set. Whenever you lose a set, 6-1, you have to change some things, so we were expecting that. We knew we had to stick to our patterns and keep the pressure on them. In the end, it worked."
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The win was the pair's fourth of the week, with each one coming over top-20 teams. The two Cowgirls became the first OSU doubles team to earn All-America honors on Friday with a three-set win over No. 8 Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirezon of Syracuse.
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Live scoring and streaming for Monday's match can be found here.
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Players Mentioned
/ Cowgirl Tennis
/ Cowgirl Tennis
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
Wednesday, May 27
Monday, May 18
