Sooners Fall to Tulsa, 4-1

Tulsa

Oklahoma

NORMAN -- The Oklahoma women's tennis team dropped its first match of the weekend to Tulsa, 4-1, Saturday at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

With the loss, the Sooners dropped to 3-2 on the season, while the Golden Hurricane improves to 9-2.

Oklahoma dropped the doubles point to give Tulsa an early 1-0 lead. At No. 1 doubles, Julie Byrne and Malene Stripp continued their dominance with a 6-2 victory over Tulsa's Ksenia Laskutova and Martina Okalova, but the Golden Hurricane collected victories on courts two and three to grab the point.

On court two, Tulsa's 59th-ranked duo of Rongong Leenabanchong and Martha Matoula defeated Mimi Fotopoulos and Lily Miyazaki, 6-4. Freshmen Serena Nash and Ann Selim suffered their first loss as a pair when they were defeated by TU's Mahitha Dadireddy and Marcelina Cichon, 6-4, at the No. 3 line.

In singles play, Miyazaki collected the Sooners' lone victory of the day with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Laskutova at the No. 1 line. The junior fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie set one at 3-all, then pushed ahead to capture the opening frame, 6-4. The No. 16-ranked junior had momentum going into the second set and used it to shut out Laskutova for the win.

At No. 2, Fotopoulos fell to Leenabanchong, 6-1, 6-3. Byrne dropped her first match of the spring to Matoula, 6-1, 6-1, on court four.

Freshman Ann Selim was defeated by Tulsa's Cichon on court six, 6-3, 6-3. Cichon's victory clinched the match for the Hurricane.

When play was called, Nash trailed 3-2 in set two after winning the opening stanza, 6-4, while Stripp was locked in a second-set tiebreaker on court three.

The Sooners are back in action Sunday for a doubleheader, beginning with SMU at 11 a.m. CT, then UMKC at 3:30 p.m. CT.

Live stats for the match will be available here. Admission to the Headington Family Tennis Center is free.

For updates, follow @OU_WTennis on Twitter.

Singles results

1. #16 Lily Miyazaki (OU) def. Ksenia Laskutova (TLSW) 6-4, 6-0
2. R. Leenabanchong (TLSW) def. Mimi Fotopoulos (OU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Malene Stripp (OU) vs. Martina Okalova (TLSW) 1-6, 6-6, unfinished
4. Serena Nash (OU) vs. Mahitha Dadireddy (TLSW) 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
5. Martha Matoula (TLSW) def. Julie Byrne (OU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Marcelina Cichon (TLSW) def. Ann Selim (OU) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles results

1. Julie Byrne/Malene Stripp (OU) def. Ksenia Laskutova/Martina Okalova (TLSW) 6-2
2. #59 R. Leenabanchong/Martha Matoula (TLSW) def. Lily Miyazaki/Mimi Fotopoulos (OU) 6-4
3. Mahitha Dadireddy/Marcelina Cichon (TLSW) def. Serena Nash/Ann Selim (OU) 6-4

Order of finish

Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,1,2,6)

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Players Mentioned

Julie Byrne

Julie Byrne

Mimi Fotopoulos

Mimi Fotopoulos

Lily Miyazaki

Lily Miyazaki

Serena Nash

Serena Nash

Ann Selim

Ann Selim

Malene Stripp

Malene Stripp

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