Cowgirl Tennis Set for First Road Test at No. 10 Auburn

Saturday, February 1

Auburn, AL

12 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Auburn

January 31, 2025 | Cowgirl Tennis

Match Notes (PDF)

The Basics
Oklahoma State is set to face its first ranked opponent of the season as it takes on No. 10 Auburn on Saturday at noon to open the road portion of its 2025 schedule. The Cowgirls are 5-0 for the second consecutive season and fresh off punching their ticket to the ITA Indoor National Championships, where they will defend their title in Chicago, Illinois, beginning on Feb. 7.

Following the Action
Saturday's match will be available to watch via live stream at the following link: auburntige.rs/WTENlivestream. Additionally, live scoring will be available at the following link: statb.us/b/560968

In the Rankings
Oklahoma State moved up one spot to No. 3 in this week's ITA team rankings, marking its 19th consecutive week in the top five, dating back to last season. Along with this week's opponent No. 10 Auburn, four other of Oklahoma State's scheduled opponents appeared in this week's rankings: Michigan (7), Pepperdine (15), Ohio State (17) and UCF (20). No. 23 Texas Tech and No. 25 joined OSU and UCF in the rankings this week, making their first appearances of the season.

The Matchup
Oklahoma State is 3-2 all-time against Auburn, with all five meetings coming on neutral courts. The Cowgirls won the first meeting in 2012, 4-3, as part of the Blue-Gray classic, and they took the advantage back in the series with a 4-0 sweep in the quarterfinals of last year's ITA Indoor National Championships in Seattle, Washington.

History in 2024
Oklahoma State put together one of the most dominant seasons in program history in 2024. The Cowgirls finished 29-1 while breaking program records for win percentage (.967) and win streak (29). They also captured their first-ever ITA Indoor National Championship, third Big 12 Tournament title and fourth Big 12 regular season championship. Sixteen of OSU's 29 wins came against opponents ranked in the top 30, including seven against teams in the top 10 at the time of the match, marking another program record. Individually, the Cowgirls boasted three All-America selections, the Big 12 Player of the Year (Ange Oby Kajuru), Big 12 Newcomer of the Year (Anastasiya Komar), Big 12 Coach of the Year (Chris Young) and nine All-Big 12 selections.

The Title Defense
ITA Kickoff Weekend served as the first step for Oklahoma State as it looks to defend its ITA Indoor National Championship in 2025. The Cowgirls got past Clemson and Arkansas last weekend to earn one of 16 spots at the final site in Chicago, Illinois, with play set to begin on Feb. 7. This is the first time that OSU has made it to the Round of 16 in back-to-back season since 2016-17.

New Faces
Oklahoma State's new additions made a big impact in its five wins to open the season. The new arrivals are 14-0 in singles and 10-2 in doubles to fuel the Cowgirls' undefeated start, highlighted by a 5-0 start from Georgia transfer Gracie Epps in singles and a 5-0 start by freshman Rose Marie Nijkamp in doubles, pairing with Anastasiya Komar.

Up to the Challenge
The Cowgirls take on their first ranked opponent of the season this weekend in No. 10 Auburn. Last season, Oklahoma State went 14-1 against opponents ranked in the top 25, outscoring them 60-25. OSU went 7-0 against opponents ranked in the top 10, including a sweep against No. 7 in the Big 12 Championship match.

Taking Care of Business
With two more wins last weekend, Oklahoma State extended its program-record win streak in regular season matches to 31, while also extending win streaks in regular season home matches (15), against unranked non-conference opponents (15) and in non-conference matches (14). On Saturday, the Cowgirls will put their seven-match road win streak on the line at No. 10 Auburn.

Notable Streaks and Trends
• Oklahoma State has been ranked in the top five nationally for 19 consecutive weeks, dating back to the start of last season.
• New additions to Oklahoma State's 2025 roster are a combined 14-0 in singles.
• Gracie Epps is undefeated in singles without dropping a set this season.
• Oklahoma State has won the doubles point in 31 of its last 35 matches, including all five this season.
• Anastasiya Komar and Rose Marie Nijkamp are undefeated in doubles this season, outscoring opponents 30-8.
• Anastasiya Komar has won 15 consecutive doubles matches, dating back to last season.
• Oklahoma State is 34-3 in doubles in its last 17 matches.
• Oklahoma State is 25-2 on court six since the start of last season.
• Oklahoma State has outscored non-conference opponents 70-17 since the start of last season.

An Oklahoma State Win Would...
• Improve it to 6-0 for the second consecutive season.
• Extend its win streak in regular season matches to 32.
• Extend its win streak against top 10 opponents to eight.
• Extend its win streak in road matches to eight.
• Extend its win streak in non-conference matches to 17.
• Improve it to 4-2 all-time against Clemson.