Cowgirls Edged by Buckeyes in ITA Indoor Quarterfinals

Saturday, February 11

New Haven, CT

8:30 A.M.

Oklahoma State University

Ohio State

Photo by: Bruce Waterfield

February 11, 2017 | Cowgirl Tennis

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The fifth-ranked Oklahoma State women's tennis team fell just short of advancing into the semifinals of the ITA Indoor Championships Saturday morning, dropping its quarterfinal match to No. 7 Ohio State, 4-3.

The Cowgirls (7-1) took the doubles point handily and snagged the first singles win, but the Buckeyes stormed back in singles play by winning four of the final five matches to take the win.

In doubles, the Cowgirls used wins on courts two and three to claim their eighth doubles point of the season. Sofia Blanco and Aliona Bolsova picked up their second win of the weekend as a tandem, downing Francesca Di Lorenzo and Miho Kowase, 6-2. Viktoriya Lushkova and Katarina Adamovic had no problem with Ohio State's Ferny Angeles Paz and Olivia Sneed, as the senior duo dropped the Buckeye teammates, 6-1.

Freshman Aliona Bolsova quickly added to the Cowgirl lead, as she picked up a straight-set win over Sandy Niehaus on court four. Bolsova easily took the first set, 6-4, and gutted out the second in a 7-4 tiebreaker to earn the win. The victory was the Cowgirl's fifth straight, and moved her to 15-3 overall on the year.

The Buckeyes responded as top-ranked Francesca Di Lorenzo stifled a second-set push from No. 10 Viktoriya Lushkova in the top singles spot, dropping the Cowgirl, 6-3, 7-5. On line three, 68th-ranked Gaby DeSantis of Ohio State defeated Vladica Babic, 6-4, 7-5, to tie the match.

Ohio State took the lead on court six, as Cowgirl Lena Ruppert fell to Ferny Angeles Paz, 6-3, 7-5.

Senior Katarina Adamovic got the Cowgirls back on track as she notched her second win of the weekend in a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over 55th-ranked Anna Sanford to tie the match back up at three. Adamovic struggled to find a groove in the opening set, but responded nicely as she edged Sanford in the second before rattling off a convincing win in the third.

On court five, Carla Tur Mari took the first set from 84th-ranked Miho Kowase, 6-4, forcing Kowase to grind out a 7-5 win in the second to stay alive. In the third, however, Kowase got the upper hand to run away with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win and clinch the win for Ohio State.

The Cowgirls will play one more match at the ITA Indoor Championships on Sunday. Opponent and time will be released later on Saturday afternoon. Check back on okstate.com or follow @CowgirlTennis on Twitter for updates.

No. 7 Ohio State 4, No. 5 Oklahoma State 3
Feb. 11, 2017 | Culman-Heyman Tennis Center | New Haven, Conn.
Doubles | Order of finish: 2, 3
No. 1: No. 5 Babic/Tur Mari (OSU) vs. Sanford/Niehaus (OHST) 3-5, unf.
No. 2: Blanco/Bolsova (OSU) def. Di Lorenzo/Kowase (OHST) 6-2
No. 3: Adamovic/Lushkova (OSU) def. Angeles Paz/Sneed (OHST) 6-1

Singles | Order of finish: 4, 1, 3, 6, 2, 5
No. 1: No. 1 Francesca Di Lorenzo (OHST) def. No. 10 Viktoriya Lushkova (OSU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 2: No. 56 Katarina Adamovic (OSU) def. No. 55 Anna Sanford (OHST) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3: No. 68 Gaby DeSantis (OHST) def. No. 33 Vladica Babic (OSU) 6-4, 7-5
No. 4: Aliona Bolsova (OSU) def. Sandy Niehaus (OHST) 6-2, 7-6(4)
No. 5: No. 84 Miho Kowase (OHST) def. No. 42 Carla Tur Mari (OSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
No. 6: Ferny Angeles Paz (OHST) def. No. 86 Lena Ruppert (OSU) 6-3, 7-5