Sooners Sweep Houston in Big 12 First Round

Wednesday, April 17

Stillwater, Okla.

3:00 PM

University of Oklahoma

Houston

Sooners Sweep Houston in Big 12 First Round

April 17, 2024 | Women's Tennis

Box Score OU 4, HOU 0 Photo Gallery

By: OU Athletics Communications

STILLWATER, Okla. — The No. 18 Oklahoma women's tennis team routed Houston, 4-0, on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the 2024 Big 12 Women's Tennis Championship.

With the win, OU advances to play No. 6 seed Baylor on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals.

The Sooners (17-5, 12-2 Big 12) began the day by claiming their 18th doubles point of the season over the Cougars (2-19, 0-14 Big 12). Striking first on court two, No. 48 Julia Garcia Ruiz and Zdena Safarova made quick work of Maria Dzemeshkevich and Laura Slisane, earning the 6-0 shutout. At the first court, Sonya Kovalenko and Sophie Schouten got the win over No. 20 Roisin Gilheany and Dana Guzman, 6-2, to get one back for the Cougars.

The final court saw a major shift in momentum, as OU's Alina Shcherbinina and Chloe Noel jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before Blanca Cortijo Parreno and Elena Trencheva erased the deficit to tie the match at five-all. In their first career performance as a doubles pairing, Shcherbinina and Noel settled back in to clinch the opening point at the three spot, 7-5.

No. 115 Shcherbinina grabbed the first singles win on court three, taking down Schouten 6-1, 6-2. Extending the lead, Noel secured the 6-1, 6-4 win at court five against Trencheva. Emma Staker clinched OU's 17th win of the season with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Gabriela Cortes on court six.

When play was halted, No. 31 Garcia Ruiz was up 6-2, 5-2 over Slisane on the top court, No. 43 Guzman led Dzemeshkevic 6-2, 3-3 at the No. 2 spot and No. 60 Florencia Urrutia was closing in on winning her match against Cortijo Parreno, holding a 6-4, 5-0 advantage on court four.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will return to the courts tomorrow with a quarterfinal Big 12 Championship matchup against No. 36 Baylor at 3 p.m. CT. Cracked Racquets will provide streaming coverage on ESPN+.

RESULTS

#18 Oklahoma 4, Houston 0

Singles

1. #31 Julia Garcia (OU) vs. Laura Slisane (HOU) 6-2, 5-2, unfinished
2. #20 Dana Guzman (OU) vs. Maria Dzemeshkevich (HOU) 6-2, 3-3, unfinished
3. #115 Alina Shcherbinina (OU) def. Sophie Schouten (HOU) 6-1 6-2
4. #60 Florencia Urrutia (OU) vs. B. Cortijo (HOU) 6-4 5-0, unfinished
5. Chloe Noel (OU) def. Elena Trencheva (HOU) 6-1 6-4
6. Emma Staker (OU) def. Gabriela Cortes (HOU) 6-1 6-2

Doubles

1. Sonya Kovalenko and Sophie Schouten (HOU) def. #20 Dana Guzman and Roisin Gilheany (OU) 6-2
2. #48 Julia Garcia and Zdena Safarova (OU) def. Maria Dzemeshkevich and Laura Slisane (HOU) 6-0
3. Alina Shcherbinina and Chloe Noel (OU) def. B. Cortijo and Elena Trencheva (HOU) 7-5

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,5,6)