Cowgirl Tennis Advances To National Championship

Monday, May 23

Tulsa, Okla.

10:00 AM

Oklahoma State University

California

Photo by: OSU Athletics

May 23, 2016 | Cowgirl Tennis

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TULSA, Okla. – Oklahoma State's women's tennis team will play for its first-ever NCAA tennis championship on Tuesday at noon after defeating No. 1-seed California, 4-3, Monday morning inside the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

OSU will face Stanford at 12 p.m. on Tuesday in the title match. The Cowgirls have a chance to win the first NCAA crown for a women's sports team in school history.

The Cowgirls (29-4) faced a California team that had only lost one match all season, which earned them the top-seed in the tournament.

"I'm still at a loss for words, I mean these girls know with everything we've been through this season and overcome, they know how proud I am of them," OSU head coach Chris Young said. "They know what this means, you get to this point in the journey I don't think you have to say a whole lot, you just know."

OSU faced its toughest test so far in Tulsa against the Golden Bears and with the score even at 3-3, the outcome of the match rested on the shoulders of Viktoriya Lushkova at No. 3 singles.

Lushkova also faced her toughest test in the match, as she had not dropped a set since April 9 against Oklahoma.

Cal's Lynn Chi, ranked No. 80, was able to take the first set against Lushkova, 6-2. The Cowgirl responded by taking the first two games to open the second set en route to a 6-4 victory to force a match-deciding final set.

Chi reached the finals of the NCAA Individual Championship in 2014.

With the score deadlocked at two games apiece the Cowgirl showed why she has the distinction of being a two-time All-American, as she would go on to win the next four games and ensure the Cowgirls a spot in the national championship match.

"In the first set [Chi] played amazing, I mean I had my chances and she played unreal," Lushkova said. "In the second set, I just tried to fight for every point and it worked out so I kept it rolling and in the third set as well. The fan support and my teammates were giving me more energy and confidence in my game that I can do it."

Young said he was confident that Lushkova would put the Cowgirls through to the final.

"I mean no one is going to beat Viktoriya right now and that's just a fact," Young said. "Viktoriya has been the most consistent this season and with the match on the line she's as tough as anybody, she's been that way since day one, she has no fear. At the end of the day, I'll take Viktoriya every time."

Katarina Adamovic said that Lushkova was the ideal choice for the situation.

"I trust Viktoriya and when we're all standing there I said 'there's no else I could trust more than Viktoriya in this moment," Adamovic said. "She's clinched so many big matches for us."

Adamovic gave the Cowgirls a 3-2 lead with a victory at the No. 1 singles position against Maegan Manasse, who entered the match ranked No. 7 nationally. Despite being down 2-1 in the opening set, Adamovic battled to draw the match even at four games each, before closing the set out by taking two-straight games for a 6-4 victory.

Adamovic dominated the second set by winning the first five games against the Golden Bear, while on her way to winning 6-1 for a straight-set victory.

"It was a good match for me," Adamovic said. "I just stayed focused, I knew what I had to do, I had to follow my game plan that I had since the beginning."

Kelsey Laurente gave OSU its first point following doubles with a straight-set victory against Cal's Denise Starr, ranked No. 88. The Cowgirl senior also found herself facing a 2-0 deficit early in the first set, but stormed back to take a 4-2 lead. Starr managed to even the score at four games each, but Laurente took two-straight games to finish the set, 6-4.

In the second set, Laurente opened a commanding 5-2 lead against Starr and eventually secured the match with a 6-3 win.

California took a 2-1 lead against the Cowgirls with wins at the No. 5 and 6 positions.

The Cowgirls improved to 32-1 in doubles this season with a sweep against Cal.

Adamovic and Vladica Babic opened the match by not surrendering a single game against Chi and Maria Smith, winning 6-0. In three doubles matches in Tulsa, Adamovic and Babic have outscored opponents 18-2.

Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari clinched the doubles point for the Cowgirls with a victory against Klara Fabikova and Olivia Hauger, ranked No. 90. The Cowgirls took the first four games of the match before the Golden Bears made it 5-2, but Lushkova and Tur Mari had no trouble in closing out the final game for a 6-2 victory.

"The doubles point was huge, I thought at No. 2 and 3 we just did what we've been doing," Young said. "I think we're playing doubles at a really high level and when we get that doubles point it puts a lot of pressure on teams."

#12 Oklahoma State (29-4) def. #1 California (23-2), 4-3 • Michael D. Case Tennis Center • 10 a.m.
Head Coaches: Amanda Augustus (California) and Chris Young (Oklahoma State)
Doubles
1. #4 Maegan Manasse/Denise Starr (California) vs. #43 Maria Alvarez/Kelsey Laurente (Oklahoma State), 5-2 DNF
2. #54 Viktoriya Lushkova/Carla Tur Mari (Oklahoma State) def. #90 Klara Fabikova/Olivia Hauger (California), 6-2
3. #79 Katarina Adamovic/Vladica Babic (Oklahoma State) def. Lynn Chi/Maria Smith (California), 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2
Singles
1. 47 Katarina Adamovic (Oklahoma State) def. #7 Maegan Manasse (California), 6-4, 6-2
2. #16 Klara Fabikova (California) def. #44 Vladica Babic (Oklahoma State), 6-3, 7-6 (6)
3. #66 Viktoriya Lushkova (Oklahoma State) def. #80 Lynn Chi (California), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Kelsey Laurente (Oklahoma State) def. #88 Denise Starr (California), 6-4, 6-3
5. Olivia Hauger (California) def. Katarina Stresnakova (Oklahoma State), 6-2, 6-4
6. Karla Popovic (California) def. Carla Tur Mari (Oklahoma State), 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3