Texas A&M
Oklahoma State
Aggies Hold Off Oklahoma State
Mar 20, 2009 | Women's Tennis
March 20, 2009
Post Game Audio [mp3]:
Head Coach Kleinecke
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M women's tennis team swept the doubles point and then won four hard fought singles matches to defeat No. 73 Oklahoma State, 5-2, tonight in front of 266 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The No. 36 Aggies even their overall record at 6-6 and improve to 2-1 in Big 12 Conference matches as they post their seventh straight win in the series against the Cowgirls. OSU drops to 7-7, 1-2.
"This was a lot closer than 5-2. We could have lost this match," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "It doesn't surprise me going four three-setters in the match. They are a very good. They are very much improved from last year."
The Aggies jumped out to a quick start by sweeping the doubles matches. Elzé Potgieter gave A&M the early edge, racing to a 6-1 lead en route to an 8-2 victory over Sasha Belova and Maryna Tkachenko at the No. 3 line. It was the duo's fifth win in the last six matches as they improved to 8-2 in dual matches.
Morgan Frank and Christi Liles clinched the doubles point, winning six consecutive games to close out an 8-2 win against Alisa Buslaieva and Iryna Khatsko at No. 2.
Janelle Cuthbertson and Stephanie Davidson completed the sweep for the Aggies, holding off JoAnne Karaitiana and Nataliya Shatkovskaya 8-7 after winning the tiebreaker, 9-7.
While doubles wins appeared somewhat easy, the singles portion turned into a different story. A&M began singles by winning the first set on four courts, but three of those matches would drag out to three sets.
Olivier put the Aggies up, 2-0, with a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 win against Buslaieva at the No. 6 line, before No. 118-ranked Khatsko topped Lauren Santacroce, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 4 to cut A&M's lead to 2-1.
Tkachenko appeared in position to even the score, winning four consecutive games to cap a 6-1 first-set win against Liles and then extending her game winning streak to seven by taking a 3-0 lead in the second set. Liles, who entered the match winless in five matches at the No. 3 line, began to rally, winning four straight games to take her first lead at 4-3. Liles went on to win the set, 6-4 and never trailed in the third set as she won 6-4 to get the win and give the Aggies a 3-1 lead.
"One of the real good things was we had been struggling at No. 3 singles, and Christi was down a set and 3-0 and found a way to stay in the match and give herself a chance to win," Kleinecke said. "I'm happy that came about, because we talk about that all the time of just giving yourself that chance.
"We weren't making (Tkachenko) play enough balls. She'd put us on the run and we'd go for a shot and miss it wide instead of putting it back in the court. As the match went on, Christi made her play a lot more balls. (Tkachenko) missed some easy ones at some crucial times. If we start off the match like that, it is completely different. We were making her look good by just not making her play enough balls. That ought to give Christi a lot more confidence to come through with that."
Frank quickly followed with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Shatkovskaya in a hotly contested match at the No. 2 line to improve to 3-0 in Big 12 matches.
Belova posted the Cowgirls' only other point. After dropping the first set, 6-3, to Davidson at No. 5, Belova won the last three games of the second set to win 6-4, and then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set. Davidson came back and broke Belova to tie the score at 5-5. Belova broke back and then held serve to secure the win, 7-5.
Potgieter's team-leading four-match winning streak was in jeopardy at the No. 1 line as Karaitiana came back to win the second set, 6-4, after dropping the opener, 6-2. Karaitiana broke to take a 4-2 lead in the third set, but Potgieter broke back twice to go up 5-4. The score was tied at 5-5, when Potgieter won two straight games to complete the 7-5 victory and improve to 3-0 in conference matches.
The Aggies return to the court Sunday to play host to the Oklahoma Sooners. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
(36) Texas A&M 5, (73) Oklahoma State 2
March 20, 2009
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
Attendance: 266
Singles
1. Elzé Potgieter (A&M) def. JoAnne Karaitiana (OSU), 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
2. (113) Morgan Frank (A&M) def. Nataliya Shatkovskaya (OSU), 6-3, 5-7, 6-2
3. Christi Liles (A&M) def. Maryna Tkachenko (OSU), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. (118) Iryna Khatsko (OSU) def. Lauren Santacroce (A&M), 6-1, 6-4
5. Sasha Belova (OSU) def. Stephanie Davidson (A&M), 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
6. Sheri Olivier (A&M) def. Alisa Buslaieva (OSU), 6-4, 6-2
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. Janelle Cuthbertson/Davidson (A&M) def. Karaitiana/Shatkovskaya (OSU), 8-7 (7)
2. Frank/Liles (A&M) def. Buslaieva/Khatsko (OSU), 8-2
3. Olivier/Potgieter (A&M) def. Belova/Tkachenko (OSU), 8-2
Order of finish:
Doubles: 3, 2, 1
Singles: 6, 4, 3, 2*, 5, 1
*Clinched match
Team records:
Texas A&M: 6-6, 2-1 Big 12
Oklahoma State: 7-7, 1-2 Big 12
Players Mentioned
