Cowgirl Tennis Wins Big 12 Championship, Remains Undefeated
Oklahoma State is one step closer to a national championship.
OSU’s women’s tennis team beat No. 7 Texas in the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday to secure the conference title. With OSU hosting the Big 12 and NCAA championships at Greenwood Tennis Center, the Cowgirls have a home-court advantage even in a neutral setting.
The win against Texas moved the Cowgirls to 27-0, with Kristina Novak winning Big 12 Tournament MVP. Novak’s singles win against Shachf Lieberman gave OSU its first singles point on its way to a 4-0 win.
Novak’s performance is another example of OSU’s impressive depth. Playing on Court 6, Novak was the only Cowgirl on Saturday who was not ranked in singles.
The Cowgirls have the No. 2 singles player in the country, Ange Obi Kajuru. Alongside Anastasiya Komar, Kajuru is also on the No. 5 doubles team in the country.
Saturday’s Big 12 Championship win was not the team's first championship win this season. In February, the Cowgirls beat Michigan 4-3 to win the ITA Indoor National Championship.
This season has been an impressive step forward from the 16-8 season the team had in 2023. With only the NCAA Tournament in front of them, the Cowgirls have an opportunity to make history.
With no losses so far, OSU has already secured the best record in team history, with the previous coming in 1980-81 at 29-2. The Cowgirls are also looking for their first NCAA Championship.
OSU has made it to the NCAA Championship once, falling 4-3 to Stanford in 2016 to cap a 29-5 campaign. If coach Chris Young’s team can pull off a title run, it would also mark the first undefeated season in team history.
No matter what happens in the NCAA Tournament, the Cowgirls have had a spectacular season, but they are only a few wins away from cementing themselves as the best team OSU has seen.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.