OU Womens Tennis Edges TCU, 4-3

The 33rd-ranked Oklahoma women's tennis team claimed its third victory over a ranked opponent Friday by defeating No. 45 TCU, 4-3, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Forth Worth, Texas. The Sooners move to 6-1 on the season while the Horned Frogs fall to 2-6.

“We played a tough team in front of a very vocal crowd on their home courts. It was excellent to come away with a win like that,” said head coach Mark Johnson. “The doubles was key for us today. We came out firing in the doubles, especially at No.1. It was excellent to see one of our freshman (Baker) step up in the singles and win it for the team.”

With the match tied at three all, freshman Gabby Baker (Gold Coast, Australia) was the last on court. Baker was 3-1 down in the third set but came back to win six games straight and pull out a tough victory, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to claim the dual for the Sooners. Freshman, Irina Lykina (Kazan, Russia) grabbed another singles victory for the Sooners by defeating TCU's Ana Cetnik in straight-sets, 7-5, 6-1. Oklahoma's other singles win came from junior Heather Saluri (Des Moines, Iowa) who defeated TCU's Paige Brown, 6-4, 6-4.

The Sooners looked strong in the doubles by sweeping TCU at all three positions. At No. 1, OU's 28th-ranked pair of Anda Perianu (Braila, Romania) and Saluri drilled TCU's 38th-ranked Ana Cetnik and Saber Pierce, 8-1. At the No. 2 spot, Oklahoma's Irina Lykina (Kazan, Russia) and Jessica Braver (Edmond, Oklahoma) claimed an 8-3 victory over TCU's Paty Aburto and Karla Mancinas. OU's undefeated pair of Baker and Bethany Griffin (Amarillo, Texas) moved to 4-0 on the season with an 8-3 victory over TCU's Paige Brown and Jenn Chay at No. 3.

Perianu, the 4th-ranked player in the nation suffered her first loss of the season against TCU's Paty Aburto, 6-1, 6-4. Perianu drops to 4-1 on the season.

The Sooners now face SMU Sunday, Feb. 29 at the Haggar Tennis Stadium in Dallas, Texas at 11 a.m.

For more information on OU women's tennis results, visit www.SoonerSports.com.

No. 33 Oklahoma , No. 45 TCU
Friday, Feb. 27, 2004
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, Fort Worth, Texas.

Singles:
1. Paty Aburto (TCU) def. Anda Perianu (#4) (OU)    6-1, 6-4
2. Gabby Baker (OU) def. Jenn Chay (TCU)   6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Irina Lykina (#76) (OU) def. Ana Cetnik (TCU)   7-5, 6-1
4. Saber Pierce (#89) (TCU) def. Jessica Braver (OU)  7-6, 6-3
5. Heather Saluri (OU) def. Paige Brown (TCU)   6-4, 6-4
6. Karla Mancinas (TCU) def. Bethany Griffin (OU)  6-3, 6-1

Doubles:
1. Perianu/Saluri (#28) (OU) def. Pierce/Cetnik (#38) (TCU) 8-1
2. Lykina/Braver (OU) def. Aburto/Mancinas (TCU)  8-3
3. Griffin/Baker (OU) def. Brown/Chay (TCU)   8-4

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