Sooners Finish Day 1 of OU Invite

NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma women's tennis team concluded the first day of the OU Invite Friday at the Headington Family Tennis Center with a 6-3 record in singles play and three doubles victories.

“Today was a good start to the OU Invite,” Oklahoma head coach Audra Cohen said. “We started well in the first round of doubles, but we came out a little flat in the second round. We bounced back and played tough in each position in singles.”

In doubles, freshman Julie Byrne paired with junior Lily Miyazaki for a 6-0 first-round win over Laura Arciniegas and Alexandra Heczey of North Texas. The duo fell in their quarterfinal match to Kansas State's Millie Stretton and Ana Garcia Navas, 6-4. Byrne/Miyazaki will play in Saturday morning's third-place match.

"Today was a good start to the OU Invite. We started well in the first round of doubles and played tough in each position in singles. I was happy with the tenactiy and energy we brought."
— Audra Cohen

Also in the top doubles flight, freshman Serena Nash and junior Malene Stripp grabbed a 6-4 victory over SMU's Elizaveta Buss and Ana Perez. The tandem moved on to face Tanaporn Thongsing and Ting-ya Hsu of Wichita State, but fell, 6-4, in the second round. They will face teammates Byrne/Miyazaki for third place on Saturday.

In the second doubles flight, redshirt senior Mimi Fotopoulos and junior Christie Brigante won their opening match, 6-3, over Tulsa's Martha Matoula and Rongrong Leenabanchong. In the quarterfinals, Brigante/Fotopoulos lost, 6-4, to Kansas State's Carolina Costamagna and Palma Juhasz, 6-4. The pair will compete in the third-place consolation match Saturday morning.

OU senior Ann Pepper paired with Wichita State's Marija Mastilovic in the round robin doubles draw. The pair split their two matches on Friday, picking up a 7-5 victory over SMU's Elliot/Jamal.

Oklahoma capped the day with a strong performance in singles, collecting six wins. In the top flight, No. 72 Miyazaki held off Perez of SMU for a 6-4, 7-5 victory. Fotopoulos cruised to victory and surrendered just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Wichita State's Hsu. Nash won her debut on her home court, 6-3, 6-3 against North Texas' Babic.

In the second draw, Brigante cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kansas State's Iva Bago. Sethi defeated Heczey 6-2, 6-1 while Byrne topped Kansas State's Livia Cirnu, 6-2, 6-1 to secure her first win at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

“I was happy with the tenacity and energy we brought overall and I am excited to see the team continue working tomorrow,” Cohen said.

The Sooners are back in action Saturday at 9 a.m. CT, starting with the final round of doubles with singles play to follow. Admission is free to the tournament.