April 11, 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. - The Texas A&M women's tennis team defeated Oklahoma State, 6-1, today at the DeBois Tennis Center to improve to 5-0 in Big 12 Conference matches and set up a showdown with No. 1-ranked Baylor on Wednesday in Waco.
A&M (10-5) won two of three doubles matches against OSU and then posted three straight-set singles victories and two come-from-behind three-set wins to post its 10th consecutive victory against the No. 58 Cowgirls, who fall to 8-7 overall and 2-4 in the Big 12.
"I thought that we played very well today, much better than (the 4-3 win at Oklahoma) yesterday," said A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke, who moved within two wins of recording his 400th career victory. "I am much more pleased with our showing. Oklahoma State has a great team and they are dangerous."
The Aggies won the first two doubles matches to be completed to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Christi Liles (Largo, Fla.) and Sheri Olivier (Topeka, Kan.) immediately took command of their match against Alexandra Cristello and Sarah Meghoufel at the No. 3 line, vaulting out to a 3-0 lead. Then at 4-2, the Aggie duo reeled off four consecutive games to cap an 8-2 victory.
The 71st-ranked pair of Elzé Potgieter (Bloemfontein, South Africa) and Nazari Urbina (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico) dropped its first two games against Alisa Buslaieva and Nataliya Shatkovskaya at the No. 1 line, but the Aggies managed to get back on serve at 3-3. The Aggies then went up a break at 5-3, but OSU later broke back to get within 6-5. A&M followed by winning the next two games to close out the match and clinch the doubles point for the Aggies.
Sasha Belova and Malika Rose prevented an A&M sweep in doubles, holding off Stephanie Davidson (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas) and Morgan Frank (Oldsmar, Fla.), 8-7, defeating the Aggie tandem 7-3 in the tiebreaker at the No. 2 position.
"We were fortunate to come away with the doubles point in some ways, yet I thought we made some things happen and made good adjustments as the match went on," Kleinecke said. "That was a big key today."
Frank quickly redeemed herself with a business-like 6-3, 6-4 win against Belova at No. 3 singles to put the Aggies ahead, 2-0. It was the 15th consecutive win for the junior and the eighth time this season Frank completed her singles match before any of the other five courts.
Meghoufel put the Cowgirls on the scoreboard with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Olivier at the No. 4 line, but it would be the only point OSU could muster.
Urbina, ranked No. 70 in the nation in singles, put A&M up, 3-1, with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Buslaieva at the No. 2 line, and Lauren Santacroce (Spring, Texas) followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Rose at the No. 5 spot to clinch the win for the Aggies.
"Morgan and Nazari have been so solid for us all year," Kleinecke said. "They just take care of their business. That has been a big strength, just like our doubles has been a big strength.
"Also, that was a great win for Lauren. She was up 2-0 and then the girl ripped off four of the next five games, but Lauren came in there and really stood up to her and made that a pretty routine match. That was a good showing from her this weekend, being that it is the first weekend that she has played in awhile."
Potgieter and Liles had both dropped their first sets at the No. 1 and No. 6 lines, respectively, but both managed to win their next two sets to get the wins and close out the match. Liles dropped the first four games en route to a 6-2 opening-set loss to Cristello but then held Cristello scoreless in a 6-0 second-set romp. Liles carried the momentum into the third set, racing to a 6-2 win to put the Aggies up 5-1.
"I am really excited that Christi came away with that win," Kleinecke said. "That is going to be good for her confidence and will help her through, especially after a rough start in the first set. That was good for her to come back and win in it three (sets)."
Potgieter had opened her match by taking a 4-2 first-set lead against Shatkovskaya, but the Cowgirl won the next four games to win the set. Shatkovskaya then built a 5-3 lead in the second set before Potgieter rallied to take a 6-5 lead. Shatkovskaya won the next game to force a tiebreaker, which Potgieter won, 7-5.
Since A&M had already secured the team victory, the two played a 10-point super tiebreaker for the final set. Potgieter took her first lead at 2-1 and never looked back in a 10-4 win.
"(I also was excited) for Elzé to come through with that," Kleinecke said. "I really felt like she should have won the first set, but then after losing it she did not give up and kept fighting. She just put herself where she had a chance at the end of that match. That was big."
Up next for the Aggies is a showdown with No. 1-ranked and five-time defending Big 12 champion Baylor (18-2, 6-0 Big 12) on Wednesday in Waco. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. at the Baylor Tennis Center.
"I haven't had time to think about that match yet because I try not to think ahead, but that has been in the back of our minds," Kleinecke said. "We are going in there with the conference title in our hands.
"Baylor has a great team. We played them well in the fall matches, but they are playing with a lot more confidence right now and that has been the big difference. We are going there to take a great shot at them. We believe we can come away with the match."
Kleinecke will have his first chance at his 400th career victory - all at A&M - next weekend when the Aggies return home for a pair of matches against Iowa State and Nebraska. First serve against the Cyclones is Friday at 6 p.m., and the match against the Huskers begins at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
Free live scoring of all A&M matches is available at AggieAthletics.com.
No. 41 Texas A&M 6, No. 59 Oklahoma State 1
April 11, 2010
DeBois Tennis Center
Stillwater, Okla.
Attendance: n/a
Singles
1. (#58) Elzé Potgieter (TAMU) def. Nataliya Shatkovskaya (OSU), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 1-0 (4)
2. (#70) Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. Alisa Buslaieva (OSU), 6-2, 6-2
3. (#116) Morgan Frank (TAMU) def. Sasha Belova (OSU), 6-3, 6-4
4. Sarah Meghoufel (OSU) def. Sheri Olivier (TAMU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Lauren Santacroce (TAMU) def. Malika Rose (OSU), 6-4, 6-2
6. Christi Liles (TAMU) def. Alexandra Cristello (OSU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-2
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. (#71) Potgieter/Urbina (TAMU) def. Buslaieva/Shatkovskaya (OSU), 8-5
2. Belova/Rose (OSU) def. Stephanie Davidson/Frank (TAMU), 8-7 (3)
3. Liles/Olivier (TAMU) def. Cristello/Meghoufel (OSU), 8-2
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 3, 4, 2, 5*, 6, 1
*Clinched match
Team records
Texas A&M: 10-5, 5-0 Big 12
Oklahoma State: 8-7, 2-4 Big 12