Cowgirl Tennis Set to Travel to Kansas State, Pepperdine

Match Notes (PDF)

The Basics
No. 36 Oklahoma State will be on the road for the second consecutive weekend as it takes on Kansas State on Friday at 4 p.m. CT followed by a meeting with No. 28 Pepperdine on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT. The Cowgirls are coming off back-to-back wins and have won three of their last four, all of which being 4-0 sweeps. OSU is now 9-6 on the season and will look for its first ranked win of the year against Pepperdine on Sunday.

Following the Action
There will be no live stream available for Friday's match against Kansas State. Fans can follow along by way of live scoring, which can be found at the following link: https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/2023/3/3/tennis-live-stats. Sunday's match against Pepperdine will have both live streaming and live scoring options available. The live stream can be found at the following link: https://pepperdinewaves.com/sports/2018/8/7/playsight.aspx. Live scoring can be found here: https://pepperdinewaves.com/sports/2018/8/7/playsight.aspx

In the Rankings
Oklahoma State appeared at No. 36 in this week's ITA team rankings and is one of nine Big 12 teams to be recognized. Texas Tech (14), UCF (17), Baylor (20), Arizona State (30), Arizona (31), Kansas (40), TCU (44) and Iowa State (52) were the other Big 12 teams to make appearances this week. Pepperdine, OSU's only remaining non-conference opponent on the schedule, came in at No. 28. In the individual singles rankings, Gracie Epps sits at No. 49 while Anastasiya Komar is at No. 81 and Marcela Lopez at No. 105. In the doubles ranking, Komar and Rose Marie Nijkamp climbed to No. 69 while Epps and Lopez sit at No. 83.

The Matchup
OSU is 48-6 all-time against Kansas State and carries a 15-match win streak into Friday's contest, with 4-0 sweeps in four of the last five. The Cowgirls are 22-2 against the Wildcats in Manhattan, including wins in each of the last seven. Oklahoma State and Pepperdine have met 10 times, with the Cowgirls having won six of them. The programs have competed annually since 2020 and OSU is 3-2 in that time, including a 4-2 win last season at the Greenwood Tennis Center.

Phenomenal Freshman
Rose Marie Nijkamp has been a standout for Oklahoma State this season, posting records of 9-1 in singles and 11-2 in doubles to this point, including four additional wins last weekend. The freshman from the Netherlands has been dominant, with all nine singles wins coming in straight-sets, including a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 111 Emily Sartz-Lunde from Michigan. In doubles, Nijkamp and her partner Anastasiya Komar opened the season on a seven-match win streak while picking up two ranked wins along the way, and the pair has now climbed to No. 69 in the national rankings.

Taking Care of Business
Oklahoma State is 9-0 against unranked opponents this season, with the Cowgirls sweeping opponents in eight of those wins. OSU opened the season on a five-match win streak, outscoring opponents 23-1 in that stretch, including a 4-0 win against Clemson, who is now ranked No. 22. Since then, OSU has added shutout wins over Illinois, Houston, West Virginia and Cincinnati, and it will look to extend its win streak against unranked opponents to 39 on Friday against Kansas State.

Notable Streaks and Trends
• Eight of OSU's nine wins this season have been sweeps.
• Oklahoma State has won 15 consecutive matches against Kansas State, outscoring the Wildcats 66-9 in that stretch.
• Oklahoma State has won the doubles point in 10 of its 15 matches this season.
• Anastasiya Komar and Rose Marie Nijkamp are 11-2 in doubles this season on court one with two ranked wins.
• Komar and Nijkamp have provided 11 of OSU's 23 doubles wins.
• Oklahoma State is 8-2 on court four this season, with six of those wins coming from Nijkamp.
• Oklahoma State is 27-5 on court six since the start of last season.

Oklahoma State Wins Would...
• Be the 100th Big 12 win of Chris Young's career.
• Improve it to 11-6 on the season.
• Improve it to 5-1 in conference play this season.
• Improve it to 5-3 on the road this season.
• Improve it to 10-0 against unranked teams this season.
• Improve it to 49-6 all-time against Kansas State.
• Improve it to 6-4 all-time against Pepperdine.
• Improve it to 280-118 in the Chris Young era.
• Extend its Big 12 road win streak to 11.
• Extend its win streak against unranked opponents to 39.
• Give it its first ranked win of the season.
• Make it 7-5 against non-conference opponents this season.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Gracie Epps

Anastasiya Komar

Marcela Lopez

Rose Marie Nijkamp

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