Sooners Shut Out UALR, ORU, 7-0

Jan. 23, 2010

NORMAN, Okla.-- OU women's tennis opened its spring season with two shutouts Saturday, beating both Arkansas-Little Rock and Oral Roberts, 7-0.

"We got two great wins today," OU Head Coach David Mullins said. "To get 14 match points with zero losses is a great way to start."

With Saturday's shutout wins, OU has now opened the spring season with a shutout in five of the last six seasons.

"The freshmen were a little nervous at first," Mullins said. "They recovered well and today really helped us to prepare for North Texas in 10 days."

The Sooners started the day with doubles competition against UALR. OU quickly claimed the doubles point after winning all three doubles matches.

Juniors Maria Kalashnikova and Tara Eckel led the team at the No. 1 doubles spot, defeating Anne Weijenborg and Yana Kakovkina of UALR, 8-3.

OU continued its dominance in singles, allowing UALR no more than two game points in four of six singles matches.

Sophomore Marie-Pier Huet, ranked No. 9 in ITA Central Region singles, played at the No. 1 spot for the Sooners, defeating UALR's Weijenborg, 6-2, 6-0.

The Sooners' win over ORU marked OU's 14th-consecutive shutout over the Golden Eagles. OU's last loss to ORU was in 1986.

The Sooners claimed the early lead against ORU, winning all three doubles matches. OU's Kristina Radan and Brittany Parks claimed OU's only doubles shutout of the day, defeating ORU's Semenova and Tayler Pippin at the No. 3 spot, 8-0.

Freshman Teona Tsertsvadze played at the No. 1 singles spot for the Sooners against ORU. Tsertsvadze only lost one game point, defeating ORU's Lina Semenova, 6-1, 6-0.

Kalashnikova faced former OU teammate Kristin Gray at the No. 2 spot, Kalashnikova shutout Gray, 6-0, 6-0. Kalashnikova only dropped one game point over four sets in singles during Saturday's doubleheader.

The Sooners continue their spring season in Norman on Feb. 3 against North Texas, before facing No. 25 Alabama on Feb. 6. Both matches will be played at the Headington Family Tennis Center and are free of admission.

Oklahoma 7, Arkansas-Little Rock 0
Doubles
1. Kalashnikova/Eckel (OU) def. Weijenborg/Kakovkina (UALR), 8-3
2. Huet/Connelly (OU) def. Lopez-Augusto/Luksich (UALR), 8-3
3. Tsertsvadze/Radan (OU) def. Garay/Van Den Houte (UALR), 8-2

Singles
1. Marie-Pier Huet (OU) def. Anne Weijenborg (UALR), 6-2, 6-0
2. Teona Tsertsvadze (OU) def. Yana Kakovkina (UALR), 6-1, 6-4
3. Maria Kalashnikova (OU) def. Nathalia Garay (UALR), 6-0, 6-1
4. Kristina Radan (OU) def. Veronique Luksich (UALR), 6-1, 6-1
5. Katelyn Connelly (OU) def. Fanny Lopez-Augusto (UALR), 6-1, 6-3
6. Tara Eckel (OU) def. Rebecca Van Den Houte (UALR), 6-1, 6-1

Oklahoma 7, Oral Roberts 0
Doubles
1. Kalashnikova/Eckel (OU) def. Semenova/Pippin (ORU), 8-4
2. Connelly/Huet (OU) def. Gray/Costa (ORU), 8-1
3. Radan/Parks (OU) def. Dollar/Kondrashova (ORU), 8-0

Singles
1. Teona Tsertsvadze (OU) def. Lina Semenova (ORU), 6-1, 6-0
2. Maria Kalashnikova (OU) def. Kristin Gray (ORU), 6-0, 6-0
3. Katelyn Connelly (OU) def. Tayler Pippin (ORU), 2-6, 7-5, 1-0 (5)
4. Tara Eckel (OU) def. Ana Costa (ORU), 6-0, 6-2
5. Peta Maree Lancaster (OU) def. Tori Dollar (ORU), 6-3, 6-2
6. Brittany Parks (OU) def. Ekaterina Kondrashova (ORU), 6-3, 6-2

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