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West Virginia Opens Big 12 Play in Oklahoma
March 18, 2016 10:03 AM | Tennis
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s tennis team opens Big 12 play this weekend, as the Mountaineers square off against No. 13 Oklahoma State on Saturday, March 19, followed by a match against Oklahoma on Sunday, March 20.
The match against the Cowgirls is set to begin at 1 p.m. ET, at the Greenwood Tennis Center, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, while the contest against the Sooners will start at 1 p.m. ET, at the Headington Family Tennis Center, in Norman, Oklahoma.
“Going into the matches this weekend, our expectations are no different than before,” said third-year coach Miha Lisac. “The first part of the season is over, and the last two weeks have prepared us for what is to come in the Big 12. Conference play is starting, and we definitely have to keep working on some things in order to improve. However, we are still focused on the task at hand. We want to be able to take away from the lessons that we learned in matches thus far, and that is the plan moving forward.”
West Virginia (6-5) and Oklahoma State (11-4, 1-0 Big 12) will meet for the fourth time in program history, as the Cowgirls hold a 3-0 all-time series advantage. Last season, the Mountaineers dropped their regular-season finale with a 4-0 decision against the Cowgirls on April 19, at the Mountaineer Tennis Courts, in Morgantown.
West Virginia and Oklahoma (5-7, 0-1 Big 12) will meet for the fifth time in program history, as the Sooners hold a 4-0 all-time series advantage. The Mountaineers concluded its 2015 campaign with a 4-0 loss against the Sooners at the 2015 Big 12 Women’s Tennis Championship on April 23, at the Hurd Tennis Center, in Waco, Texas.
In its last weekend of non-conference competition, West Virginia fell short in another 4-3 battle against Marshall on March 11, at the Bryan David Fox Tennis Center, in Huntington, West Virginia. The Mountaineers tallied three-of-six singles wins in the loss.
Playing primarily at the No. 2 slot, sophomore Habiba Shaker leads the team in singles play with an overall record of 10-1. Sophomore Carolina Lewis and freshman Paula Goetz each own six singles wins, followed by sophomore Lyn Yuen Choo with five. The doubles tandem of senior Hailey Barrett and Shaker holds a team-best 7-3 mark at the No. 1 doubles slot this season.
Most recently, Oklahoma State dropped a midweek match against No. 43 USC by a score of 5-2 on March 16, at Marks Stadium, in Los Angeles. The Cowgirls lost the doubles point for the first time this season. The Trojans also captured four-of-six singles victories over the Cowgirls.
OSU owns nine wins against teams that have appeared in the Oracle/Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings through 15 matches this season. Viktoriya Lushkova and Carla Tur Mari hold a team-best 13-2 record in dual match play, competing primarily at the No. 2 doubles slot. Lushkova also holds a team-best 12-1 singles mark, followed by Kelsey Laurente with eight singles victories.
Laurente and Maria Alvarez are ranked as the No. 15 doubles tandem in the country, jumping 14 spots since the last individual rankings on Feb. 23. Vladica Babic and Katarina Adamovic hold the No. 45 ranking, while Lushkova and Tur Mari are tabbed as the No. 50 pairing in the nation. Adamovic is the highest ranked Cowgirl in singles, earning the No. 30 spot. Babic also checks in at No. 35, while Lushkova sits at the No. 65 spot.
Most recently, Oklahoma has lost three straight contests, as the team fell to Oklahoma State, 5-2, No. 23 Tulsa, 4-0 and No. 59 UNLV, 5-2, on March 5, March 9 and March 16, respectively. In the ITA singles rankings, Emma Devine and Lily Miyazaki check in at No. 84 and No. 89, respectively.
Of note, Oklahoma will face Iowa State in a Big 12 matchup this afternoon, before West Virginia comes to town on Sunday.
“The Big 12 has not changed,” Lisac noted. “We do not expect anything different this year. There are not a lot of secrets as far as what we have to do. We have to be more diligent in our preparation. We have to be more consistent in our preparation, and we have to be more consistent in match play. The Big 12 has some of the top programs in the country, and we know that we have our work cut out for us. Our opponents will be ready to play, and we have to be ready to do the same.”
Live results for Oklahoma can be found at WVUsports.com, and if a live scores link becomes available for Oklahoma State, it will be posted at WVUsports.com as well.
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