Cowgirls Cruise Past Albany, Advance To Second Round

Friday, May 13

Stillwater, Okla.

1:00 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Albany

Photo by: OSU Athletics

May 13, 2016 | Cowgirl Tennis

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State's women's tennis advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tennis Championship after a 4-0 victory against Albany on Friday at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.

"I thought it was a good test for us and our girls handled it well, as the match went on I thought we settled in and played good tennis," OSU head coach Chris Young said. "After not playing for a couple weeks you have to get back in the flow of things."

OSU remains undefeated while playing at the Greenwood Tennis Center this season, while recording its fifth-straight shutout. This marks four straight seasons the Cowgirls have advanced out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cowgirls will face Tulsa in the second round on Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Cowgirls (25-4) opened the match by dominating the doubles point against the Great Danes. Viktoriya Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari started the No. 2 doubles match by taking the first two games against Alba Sala and Isidora Pejovic. The Great Dane duo tied the match at two, but the Cowgirls took four games in a row to earn a 6-2 victory.

Kelsey Laurente and Maria Alvarez clinched the doubles point for the Cowgirls. The senior tandem found itself tied at two against Paulina Torres and Ana Glumac before also finding a rhythm to take four-consecutive games for a 6-2 win.

OSU wasted no time in closing out Albany in singles, as all three victories came in straight sets.

Kelsey Laurente put the Cowgirls ahead 2-0 with a win at the No. 3 position. The senior took down Paulina Torres, 6-3, 6-0, to earn her 16^th win.

"Today was good, it was a nice start, I'm pretty happy about the team today," Laurente said. "My opponent had a big serve and forehand, but I tried to keep calm as much as possible, I think I executed well."

Vladica Babic extended the Cowgirl lead to 3-0 by defeating Jovana Kenic at the No. 1 position. The sophomore put together a straight-set victory, 6-2, 6-1, for her 15^th victory of the season.

"I thought the match went really well, it went smooth and we're ready for the next round," Babic said. "Our goal is not to lose a match at home, so we have one more match left tomorrow and we're going to give everything we have left."

Viktoriya Lushkova closed the match for the Cowgirls playing at the No. 2 position. The Cowgirl picked up her 21^st victory with a straight-set win against Alba Sala, 6-1, 6-1.

"I think the wind played a role, but we played through it and I personally just tried to get back into the game," Lushkova said. "Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and do the same thing."