Sooners Fall 4-0 at TCU

FORT WORTH, Texas – The Oklahoma women's tennis team dropped a 4-0 decision Sunday at TCU to fall to 11-6 on the season. The Sooners have lost four of their last five matches after starting the season 10-1.

TCU gained the early 1-0 lead via the doubles point. At No. 3, junior Zita Engbroks and freshman Christiana Brigante fell to Sofiko Khadzaya and Simona Parajova 6-4 to give TCU the advantage. At No. 2, the freshmen duo of Lily Miyazaki and Simran Sethi held a 5-4 lead over Palina Dubavets and Alexis Pereira before falling 7-5 as TCU clinched the doubles point.

At No. 1, OU junior Emma Devine and freshman Malene Stripp held a 5-4 lead over 42^nd-ranked Stefanie Tan and Seda Arantekin. They trailed 6-5 when the doubles point was clinched.

“We had a chance in doubles and I definitely felt like we were the better doubles team, we but struggled to play well when it counted the most,” said OU head coach David Mullins.

In singles, the Sooners gave up quick points at No. 1 and No. 6 to trail 3-0. At No. 6, Malene Stripp fell to 3-2 on the season after a 6-1, 6-2 loss to Alexis Pereira. At No. 1, Miyazaki dropped 11-3 on the season, losing to 108^th-ranked Stefanie Tan 6-1, 6-0.

Despite the 3-0 deficit, the Sooners were in contention to force four third sets. At No. 2, Sethi won the second set 6-3 after losing the first 2-6. She faced a 2-3 deficit in the third set when the match concluded. At No. 3, senior Abbi Melrose won her first set (6-4) before dropping the second.

“In singles, TCU was clearly the better team, but we fought hard and gave ourselves chances at four spots,” said Mullins. “Abbi and Zita fought like warriors despite being outmatched and I was really proud of how they led this team today.”

At No. 5, Brigante also won her first set 6-4 before trailing 5-6 in the second. Engbroks lost her first set at No. 4 (2-6), but she battled to a tiebreak in the second set before falling 7-6 as TCU clinched the match.

Results

Doubles

1. #42 Tan/Arantekin (TCU) def. Devine/Stripp (OU) 6-5

2. Palina Dubavets/Pereira (TCU) def. Miyazaki/Sethi (OU) 7-5

3. Kadzhaya/Parajova (TCU) def. Engbroks/Brigante (OU) 6-4

Singles

1. #108 Stefanie Tan (TCU) def. Lily Miyazaki (OU) 6-1, 6-0

2. #44 Simona Parajova (TCU) vs. Simran Sethi (OU) 6-2, 3-6, 3-2, unfinished

3. Sofiko Kadzhaya (TCU) vs. Abbi Melrose (OU) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished

4. Palina Dubavets (TCU) def. Zita Engbroks (OU) 6-2, 7-6 (9-7)

5. Seda Arantekin (TCU) vs. Christiana Brigante (OU) 4-6, 6-5, unfinished

6. Alexis Pereira (TCU) def. Malene Stripp (OU) 6-1, 6-2

Up Next

The Sooners travel to Stillwater, Okla., on Friday, April 3 to take on the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at 5 p.m. CT. The Cowgirls won the previous meeting in Norman 4-0 on Sunday, March 1.

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Players Mentioned

Christiana Brigante

Emma Devine

Zita Engbroks

Abbi Melrose

Lily Miyazaki

Malene Stripp

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics