Sooners Fall in Stillwater

STILLWATER, Okla. – The 32^nd-ranked Oklahoma women's tennis team moved to 11-7 on the season on Friday after dropping a 5-0 decision to the 13^th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla.

The Sooners fell behind early with Oklahoma State taking the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. At No. 1, junior Emma Devine and freshman Malene Stripp stayed even at 2-2 before falling 6-3 to Viktoriya Lushkova and Karyn Guttormsen. At No. 3, junior Zita Engbroks and freshman Christiana Brigante dropped a 6-2 decision to Carla Tur Mari and Maria Alvarez.

The freshmen duo of Lily Miyazaki and Simran Sethi faced a 4-3 deficit at No. 2 against 72^nd-ranked Katarina Adamovic and Vladica Babic when the doubles point was decided.

In singles, Stripp started strong and grabbed a quick 3-0 lead in the first set before losing the tiebreak at No. 6 and eventually falling to Alvarez 7-6(9), 6-1 to give the Cowgirls a 2-0 lead.

At No. 1, Miyazaki fell for just the fourth time this season. She held a 6-5 lead to nearly take a first set from another highly ranked opponent, but lost to 15^th-ranked Lushkova 7-6(5), 6-2.

“Lily was close again today,” said OU head coach David Mullins. “I'm not sure there was much else she could have done other than to capitalize on a handful of leading positions.”

OSU clinched the match at No. 2 as Sethi dropped a 6-4, 6-3 decision to 85^th-ranked Adamovic.

“We battled hard today for long periods but could not convert when it mattered most,” said Mullins. “I definitely saw some improvements and we forced OSU to play some good tennis to beat us.”

At the same time the match concluded, senior Abbi Melrose was engaged in a competitive second set with 110^th-ranked Kelsey Laurente at No. 3. She fell 6-2, 6-4. At No. 4, Engbroks was primed to take the second set before the match ended at 6-3, 5-6 in favor of Babic. At No. 5, Brigante trailed Tur Mari 6-2, 6-5.

Results

Doubles

1. Viktoriya Lushkova/Karyn Guttormsen (OSU) def. Devine/Stripp (OU) 6-3

2. Katarina Adamovic/Vladica Babic (OSU) def. Miyazaki/Sethi (OU) 4-3

3. Carla Tur Mari/Maria Alvarez (OSU) def. Engbroks/Brigante (OU) 6-2

ORDER OF FINISH: 1, 3

Singles

1. #15 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) def. Lily Miyazaki (OUWT) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2

2. #85 Katarina Adamovic (OSU) def. Simran Sethi (OUWT) 6-4, 6-3

3. #110 Kelsey Laurente (OSU) def. Abbi Melrose (OUWT) 6-2, 6-4

4. Vladica Babic (OSU) vs. Zita Engbroks (OUWT) 6-3, 5-6, unfinished

5. Carla Tur Mari (OSU) vs. Christiana Brigante (OUWT) 6-2, 6-5, unfinished

6. Maria Alvarez (OSU) def. Malene Stripp (OUWT) 7-6 (11-9), 6-1

ORDER OF FINISH: 6, 1, 2, 3

Up Next

The Sooners host home matches for the first time in a month when they face the Kansas State Wildcats on Friday, April 10 at 5 p.m. CT and the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday, April 12 at noon CT.

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Players Mentioned

Christiana Brigante

Emma Devine

Emma Devine

Zita Engbroks

Zita Engbroks

Abbi Melrose

Abbi Melrose

Lily Miyazaki

Malene Stripp

Malene Stripp

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