Womens Tennis Defeats Tulsa, Meets Tulane Sunday For Trip to National Finals

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 20-ranked Oklahoma women's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Regional Championships Saturday, defeating No. 47 Tulsa, 4-1, at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman.

The Sooners won the doubles point and three of the six singles. OU improved to 22-4, while the Golden Hurricane fell to 16-9.

Oklahoma now advances to the round of 32 and a 1 p.m., Sunday match, also in Norman, against No. 11 Tulane, a 4-0 winner over Richmond. Sunday's winner advances to the 16-team NCAA Championship in Athens, Ga.

Scoring | Women's Tennis NCAA Regional Central

“It was a really good win for us,” said head coach Mark Johnson. “Tulsa is a strong team and they played really well today. We came out a little slow in the singles but part of that was because Tulsa came out firing. We came back though and really finished it off. The doubles was key for us yet again and we played solid in the doubles.”

In the doubles, Gabby Baker (Gold Coast, Australia) and junior Beth Griffin (Amarillo, Texas) put OU's first win on the board with a solid 8-2 win over Tulsa's Santie Delport and Kindsay Grimes at No. 3. OU's 17th-ranked duo of Anda Perianu (Braila, Romania) and Heather Saluri (Des Moines, Iowa) got down 5-2, but came back to win 9-7 and clinch the doubles point over TU's Daniela Muscolino and Ilona Somers, at No. 1.

In singles action, TU jumped to the early lead in three of the six singles matches. But the Sooners came back and found three wins to clinch the match. Saluri posted OU's first singles win with a straight set victory over TU's Lisette Pereira, 6-3, 6-1. Oklahoma's next point came from fifth-ranked Perianu who pushed her singles winning streak to 18 as she defeated Tulsa's 51st-ranked Daniela Muscolino, 7-6, 6-4. Next to win for the Sooners was Baker, who clinched the dual with a straight set win over Tulsa's Donata Majauskaite, 6-0, 7-5.

The Sooners now face the winner of Tulane and Richmond in the second round, on Sun., May 16, at 1 p.m. at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The Sooners will compete for the right to advance to the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. on May 20-23.

NCAA Regional Championships First Round
Saturday, May 15, 2004
OU Headington Family Tennis Center

Singles
1. Anda Perianu (OU) (#5) def. Daniela Muscolino (TU) (#51), 7-6 (1), 6-4
2. Ilona Somers (TU) (#113) def. Irina Lykina (OU), 6-2, 6-0
3. Gabby Baker (OU) def. Donata Majauskaite (TU), 6-0, 7-5
4. Heather Saluri (OU) def. Lisette Pereira (TU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Jessica Braver (OU) vs. Santie Delport (TU), DNF
6. Beth Griffin (OU) vs. Timberly Greenly (TU), DNF

Doubles
1. Perianu/Saluri (OU) (#17) def. Muscolino/Somers (TU) (#46), 9-7
2. Braver/Lykina (OU), vs. Zoe Buhagiar/Pereira (TU), DNF
3. Baker/Griffin (OU) def. Delport/Kindsay Grimes (TU), 8-2

Finish Order:
Doubles 3, 1
Singles 2, 4, 1, 3

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Womens Tennis Defeats Tulsa, Meets Tulane Sunday For Trip to National Finals

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