Sooners Fall to Tulsa, 7-0

March 8, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma women's tennis team fell 7-0 to the University of Tulsa Saturday at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

Oklahoma fell behind early after dropping the No. 2 and 3 doubles matches and losing the doubles point.

The two teams bundled to stay warm in 41 degree weather with a gusting winds coming out of the southeast.

Tulsa's first victory came at the No. 2 position, where Thalia Diaz-Barriga and Marta Marcinkowska defeated Tara Eckel and Christi Baxley, 8-5. It was the first loss of the season for the duo at No. 2 doubles.

Ana-Maria Constantinescu and Chelsea Orr were next off the court, continuing their undefeated streak and improving to 8-0 on the season. The Sooner pair recorded an 8-4 win over Rebecca Row and Carla Zabaleta.

"We just go out there and plan to win every time," Orr said. "We have really been working hard and it is paying off. I am really proud of what we have accomplished thus far."

The doubles point was decided at the No. 3 position where Rachael Cox and Elena Antakova fell 8-6 to Golden Hurricanes Alexandra Kichoutkin and Jie Zeng.

"It was a very disappointing loss," OU head coach Mark Johnson said. "I was very disappointed in our doubles play. We have to do a better job of finding a way to win."

In singles action, Tulsa increased its lead to 2-0 with a win at the No. 5 position. Marta Marcinkowska defeated OU's Antakova 6-3, 7-5.

Tulsa then went to 3-0 when Kichoutkin ended Constantinescu's seven-match winning streak, defeating Oklahoma's standout freshman 6-4, 6-4.
Tulsa sealed its victory with a win at the No. 4 position. Baxley took the first set 6-3 before falling 6-1, 6-4.

The final four singles matches all went to three sets, with the Sooners coming up short.

"I thought we played better than the score showed," Johnson said. "However, we had some chances at the end and we didn't capitalize on those."

Oklahoma will return to the Headington Family Tennis Center Saturday, March 15 when they open Big 12 play against arch rival the Texas. Matches are set to begin at 12 p.m.

For updates on women's tennis check SoonerSports.com.

Doubles
1.     Constantinescu / Orr (OU) def. Row / Zabaleta (TU), 8-4
2.     Barriga / Marcinkowska (TU) def. Baxley / Eckel (OU), 8-5
3.     Kichoutkin / Zeng (TU) def. Antakova / Cox (OU), 8-6
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1.     Alexandra Kichoutkin (TU) def. Ana-Maria Constantinescu (OU), 6-4, 6-4
2.     Thlia Diaz-Barriga (TU) def. Chelsea Orr (OU), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
3.     Carla Zabaleta (TU) def. Maria Kalashnikova (OU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
4.     Rebecca Row (TU) def. Christi Baxley (OU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
5.     Marta Marcinkowska (TU) def. Elena Antakova (OU), 6-3, 7-5
6.     Agostin Santoro (TU) def. Tara Eckel (OU), 6-7 (3), 6-4, 10-5
Order of finish: 5, 1, 4, 6, 3, 2

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