Sooners Lose To No. 9 Texas, 5-2

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma women's tennis team dropped its third straight dual, 5-2, to the No. 9 Texas Longhorns Saturday at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin, Texas. OU fell to 9-7 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12 while conference-leader Texas improved to 11-4 overall and a perfect 5-0 record in conference play.

Irina Lykina and Christi Baxley earned OU's only points of the day. Lykina earned her first Big 12 win of the season with a victory over UT's Kendra Strohm at the No. 2 position. Lykina dominated the first set, 6-1, but dropped the second set, 3-6. The sophomore from Kazan, Russia, came out firing in the third with a 1-0 (10-5) win in the final set. Lykina's win marked her first victory since Feb. 20 against Montana State.

Baxley also played a tight match at the No. 5 slot against the Longhorns' Courtney Zauft. The freshman from New Braunfels, Texas, handily won the first set, 6-2, but suffered a second-set defeat, 4-6. Baxley won the match with a close 1-0 (13-11) win. Baxley has been on fire since Big 12 play began, winning five of her last six matches and also leads all Sooners with an overall record of 12-2 this spring.

The Sooners look to get back in the win column as they head back to Norman to play four non-conference home matches in 10 days. The home stand will open against Texas Christian Wednesday, March 30, at 4 p.m. at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla., and continue with matches against Oral Roberts, Wichita State and Boston College. Admission to all home matches is free and live scoring will be available at SoonerSports.com.

No. 9 Texas 5, Oklahoma 2
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Penick-Allison Tennis Center - Austin, Texas

Singles
(Order of finish: 3, 1, 6*, 4, 2, 5)

1. Petra Dizdar (UT) def. Heather Saluri (OU) 6-0, 6-3
2. Irina Lykina (OU) def. Kendra Strohm (UT) 6-1, 3-6, (10-5)
3. Katie Ruckert (UT) def. Bethany Griffin (OU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Mia Marovic (UT) def. Jessica Braver (OU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Christi Baxley (OU) def. Courtney Zauft (UT) 6-2, 4-6, (13-11)
6. Kelly Baritot (UT) def. Joi-Lee Beachler (OU) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
(Order of finish: 1, 3*, 2)

1. Ruckert/Strohm (UT) def. Braver/Lykina (OU) 8-0
2. Dizdar/Marovic (UT) def. Baxley/Griffin (OU) 8-1
3. Ristine Olson/Zauft (UT) def. Amanda Pratzel/Saluri (OU) 8-2

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