Sooners Handle Lobos for 11th Win

NORMAN – The 24th-ranked Oklahoma women's tennis team defeated the 31st-ranked New Mexico Lobos 6-1 Sunday at the Headington Family Tennis Center to improve to 11-2 on the season.

The Sooners got off to a fast start, taking the doubles point with a pair of 6-2 wins at No. 2 and No. 3. The freshmen duo of Lily Miyazaki and Simran Sethi improved to 6-2 overall as a pair with a win over Dominque Dulski and Meredith Hopson. Freshman Christiana Brigante and junior Zita Engbroks defeated Dalina Dahlmans and Emily Oliver to improve to 6-2 as a pair. Freshman Malene Stripp and junior Emma Devine had a 4-3 lead at No. 1 against Sharon Coone and Natasha Smith before the point was clinched.

“I was really impressed with our energy today,” said OU head coach David Mullins. “I told them New Mexico had great energy and I wanted to see them match that and not let New Mexico's energy overwhelm us.”

In singles, Brigante improved to 9-3 overall (3-2 at No. 5) with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Rachana Bhat at No. 5. At No. 1 singles, Miyazaki improved to 10-2 with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Natasha Smith to give the Sooners a 3-0 advantage. New Mexico's Dulski responded with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Engbroks at No. 4 to give the Lobos their only point.

At No. 3 singles, senior Abbi Melrose clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Meredith Hopson. She improved to 6-3 in singles play.

“With Abbi, it's the same things that have made her successful these last few years,” said Mullins. “She is really grinding down her opponents and making them feel like they have to do more and not giving away any cheap errors.”

Oklahoma ended the match with two comebacks by freshmen to give them their fifth and sixth points. At No. 2, Sethi dropped her first set before controlling the next two to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 over Emily Olivier. At No. 6, Stripp won her first set 7-6 via a 7-3 tiebreak, but fell behind 1-3 in the second set. She won five straight points to defeat Sharon Coone 7-6, 6-3 and improve to 2-0 in singles play.

“You love to see that,” said Mullins. “It's the way they went about it as well. It wasn't necessarily that their opponents played any worse or played really tentative tennis to get themselves back into it. They trusted in what they do well.”

Results

Doubles

1. Malene Stripp/Emma Devine (OU) led Natasha Smith/Sharon Coone (UNM) 4-3

2. Lily Miyazaki/Simran Sethi (OU) def. Meredith Hopson/Dominique Dulski (UNM) 6-2

3. Christiana Brigante/Zita Engbroks (OU) def. Dalina Dahlmans/Emily Olivier (UNM) 6-2

ORDER OF FINISH: 2, 3

Singles

1. Lily Miyazaki (OU) def. Natasha Smith (UNM) 6-2, 6-3

2. Simran Sethi (OU) def. Emily Olivier (UNM) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1

3. Abbi Melrose (OU) def. Meredith Hopson (UNM) 6-2, 6-4

4. Dominique Dulski (UNM) def. Zita Engbroks (OU) 6-2, 6-4

5. Christiana Brigante (OU) def. Rachana Bhat (UNM) 6-2, 6-2

6. Malene Stripp (OU) def. Sharon Coone (UNM) 7-6, 6-3

ORDER OF FINISH: 5, 1, 4, 3*, 2, 6

Up Next

The Sooners finish their five-match homestand with Big 12 Conference tilts against the 52nd-ranked Texas Longhorns on Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. and the 4th-ranked Baylor Bears Sunday, March 15 at noon. Both matches will be aired live on SoonerSports.tv and be replayed on various Fox Sports channels at later dates.

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Players Mentioned

Christiana Brigante

Emma Devine

Zita Engbroks

Abbi Melrose

Lily Miyazaki

Malene Stripp

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics