Cowgirls Sweep Tennis DH to Open Spring Season
STILLWATER -- The Oklahoma State women's tennis team started its season off by winning both of its dual matches in Stillwater on Saturday against Abilene Christian and Wichita State. The Cowgirls swept Abilene Christian, 7-0, while finishing off the Shockers, 6-1.
The day started off with a 10 a.m. dual against the women of Abilene Christian. OSU won the doubles point thanks to No. 17 Lisa Marie Rioux and Ayumi Miyamoto defeating Allison Stewart and Sarah Adams, 6-0. Two freshman Cowgirls, Dariya Detkovskaya and Alana Wolfberg, teamed up to take down Claire Fisher and Sylvia Viljoen in just six games, 6-0. Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Lenka Stara did not finish their match but were leading 4-2 over Ileana Mocciola and Andrea Guerrero when the doubles point had been won.
All six singles matches were played out, and the Cowgirls took all six in dominant fashion. Freshman Cowgirl No. 92 Ayumi Miyamoto finished her match in straight sets, defeating Mocciola, 6-0, 6-0. The veteran, No. 16 Lisa Marie Rioux, dropped just one game in her match, as she won over Sarah Adams, 6-0, 6-1. The Cowgirl to claim the dual-clinching point was No. 29 Bunyawi Thamchaiwat when she swept Stewart, 6-0, 6-0.
Catherine Gulihur finished right behind Thamchaiwat as she took down Andrea Guerrero, 6-1, 6-0. The newest Cowgirl, Lenka Stara, won her first singles match as a member of the OSU tennis team, coming out victorious over Eva Du Toit, 6-1, 6-3. The final Cowgirl to finish was freshman Alana Wolfberg, who won a competitive match against Sylvia Viljoen, 7-5, 6-2. No. 11 Oklahoma State finished off Abilene Christian, 7-0.
"The girls had a really good week of practice. We came back in good shape, and we really pushed the girls hard," said head coach Chris Young. "The girls came out strong right away, didn't lose many games and played clean tennis. For the first match of the season, that's about as good as it gets."
No. 11 Oklahoma State now holds a perfect record of 8-0 against Abilene Christian. The Cowgirls also move to 6-0 in Stillwater against the Wildcats with the win on Saturday.
Oklahoma State began the Wichita State match by taking the doubles point over the Shockers. Once again, the freshmen Detkovskaya and Wolfberg picked up a win, defeating Alexandra Lazarova and Natsumi Kurahashi, 6-1. Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Lenka Stara finished their match just before Rioux and Miyamoto, as they defeated Lingwei Kong and Esther Thebault, 6-2. Rioux and Miyamoto were up 5-2 over No. 53 Sarvinoz Saidhujaeva and Marta Bellucco when the Cowgirls earned the doubles point.
In singles, two freshmen led the charge as Alana Wolfberg was the first Cowgirl to finish, defeating Lazarova, 6-1, 6-1. Lenka Stara picked up the second singles win with a victory over Kurahashi, 6-3, 6-2. No. 29 Bunyawi Thamchaiwat clinched the fourth point for the Cowgirls with a win over Thebault, 6-0, 6-2.
No. 16 Lisa Marie Rioux, No. 92 Ayumi Miyamoto and Catherine Gulihur played out the remaining singles matches. Miyamoto defeated Kong in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. Rioux picked up her win on court one over Saidhujaeva, 6-3, 6-3. Gulihur's match against Bellucco was the only loss of the day for the Cowgirls, losing in a third set tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-2, 10-7.
With the win over the Shockers on Saturday, OSU is now 26-4 against WSU since their first meeting in 1979. This also logs the 14th consecutive win in Stillwater for the Cowgirls against Wichita State.
The Cowgirls will have a quick turnaround to Sunday afternoon when they play another doubleheader against Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. and Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. in the Greenwood Tennis Center. For updates during tomorrow's matches, follow @CowgirlTennis on Twitter and check okstate.com for post-match results and a recap from the days' action.
(This story originated with Oklahoma State University athletic media relations and was written by Jimmy Crowther from that office.)
