No. 36 OU Picks Up Road Win in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The 36^th-ranked Oklahoma women's tennis team claimed its third win over a ranked opponent this season on Sunday, defeating No. 67 College of Charleston, 5-2, on the road.

"We were very fortunate to win today," OU head coach David Mullins said. "Charleston was very competitive and it was a hard-fought match until the end."

Oklahoma (9-1, 0-0 Big 12) is now 3-1 against ITA nationally-ranked opponents this season, including two wins over top-40 opponents.

"Today was great preparation for the competition we will face in the Big 12 in the weeks ahead," Mullins said.

The Sooners' 9-1 mark is tied for the program's second-best record after 10 matches. It is only the fourth time in school history that an OU squad has started the spring season 9-1 or better.

OU claimed the doubles point after winning a tight match at the No. 2 position. Tara Eckel and Maria Kalashnikova clinched OU's doubles point after defeating Charleston's Kinsey Casey and Irene Viana in the tiebreaker game, 9-8.

OU's Katelyn Connelly and Marie-Pier Huet also won at the No. 3 double spot, topping Laura Borza and Caroline Newman, 8-3.

The Sooners have now won the doubles point in nine of 10 duals and have won 22 of 29 doubles matches combined.

Freshman Teona Tsertsvadze claimed OU's first singles point, defeating the Cougars' Casey at the No. 4 spot, 6-3, 6-1.

OU's Eckel lost her first singles match this season, falling to Charleston's Anna Lee Evans at the No. 5 spot, 6-3, 6-3.

No. 96 Ana-Maria Constantinescu brought OU's lead to 3-1 after topping Holly Dowse of Charleston at the No. 1 singles spot, 6-2, 6-3.

The Cougars scored their second and last point on the day with a win at the No. 3 singles spot. Charleston's Caroline Newman outlasted Maria Kalashnikova after a close first set, 7-5, 6-3.

OU's Kristina Radan clinched the win for the Sooners at the No. 6 spot, defeating Charleston's Keely Mulligan, 6-4, 6-2, and brining the dual score to 4-2.

Huet rallied to win at the No. 2 spot after losing the first set to Charleston's Emma Hayman. Huet won the super-tiebreaker and claimed the final singles point, topping Hayman, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(6).

The Sooners will open Big 12 play next weekend with two road matches. OU will face Texas Tech on Friday, March 19 at 5 p.m., and No. 9 Baylor on Sunday, March 21 at 1 p.m.

No. 36 Oklahoma 5, No. 67 College of Charleston 2

Doubles

1. Hayman/Dowse (COC) def. No. 31 Constantinescu/Tsertsvadze (OU), 8-3

2. Eckel/Kalashnikova (OU) def. Casey/Viana (COC), 9-8

3. Connelly/Huet (OU) def. Borza/Newman (COC), 8-3

Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2

Singles

1. No. 96 Ana-Maria Constantinescu (OU) def. Holly Dowse (COC), 6-2, 6-3

2. Marie-Pier Huet (OU) def Emma Hayman (COC), 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (6)

3. Caroline Newman (COC) def. Maria Kalashnikova (OU), 7-5, 6-3

4. Teona Tsertsvadze (OU) def. Kinsey Casey (COC), 6-3, 6-1

5. Anna Lee Evans (COC) def. Tara Eckel (OU), 6-1, 6-1