(STILLWATER, Oklahoma / May 10, 2018) – The No. 8 seed Oklahoma State women's tennis team will compete in the program's seventh-straight NCAA regional this weekend. As hosts for the fourth consecutive year, the Cowgirls will play host to No. 24 Tulsa, LSU and UMKC.
The Cowgirls will open play Friday at 4 p.m. against UMKC and, with a win, will advance to the regional final on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Regional Schedule
This weekend's regional runs from Friday to Saturday. A look at the full schedule:
Friday, May 11
1 p.m. -- Tulsa vs. LSU
4 p.m. -- Oklahoma State vs. UMKC
Saturday, May 12
3 p.m. -- Regional Final
Follow the Matches
Live scoring for this weekend's matches can be found at okstate.statbroadcast.com. Streaming for the matches is available at okstate.com/watchtennis.
Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Cowgirls have spent 74 consecutive weeks in the ITA top 25. The last time OSU was outside the top 25 was March 18, 2014.
- The Cowgirls have won 20 or more matches in each of the last three seasons.
- Since 2012, OSU has made seven-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. That streak is the second-longest in program history behind a 10-year streak that saw the Cowgirls earn NCAA Tournament berths from 1982-91.
- OSU has won 47 of their last 49 matches at the Greenwood Tennis Center, dating back to March of 2015.
- OSU has had an ITA Central Region Champion in five-straight seasons. This fall, Vladica Babic swept the event, winning in singles and in doubles with teammate Sofia Blanco.
About the Cowgirls
The Cowgirls raised eyebrows around the country during their successful 2018 regular season campaign, racking up an 18-3 overall record and finishing second in a stacked Big 12 race despite only returning three letterwinners from their Elite Eight run a year ago.
Now seeded No. 8 in the nation, OSU recorded a number of historic wins over the course of the regular season, including the program's first victories over college tennis blue bloods Florida and UCLA. With additional resume wins over Miami, Kansas and Baylor, the Pokes have defeated five teams currently ranked inside the ITA top 25 and 10 in the top 50.
A key reason for the Cowgirls' success in 2018 has been the stability at the top four singles positions. Vladica Babic, Megan McCray, Katarina Stresnakova and Marina Guinart have combined for a 53-9 overall record this spring holding down the top of the lineup.
Head coach Chris Young is in his ninth year at Oklahoma State, and is assisted by former North Carolina star and first-year assistant coach Hayley Carter.
Cowgirls at NCAA Regionals
- The Cowgirls 9-10 all-time in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, and 3-6 all-time in the second.
- All three of those second round wins have come in the last three seasons.
- OSU is 1-0 against both Tulsa and UMKC in the NCAA Tournament. If the Cowgirls were to meet LSU in the regional final, it would be the first postseason meeting between the two teams.
- Chris Young is 12-6 in the NCAA Tournament and 8-3 in regional play during his time in Stillwater.
Last Time Out
The Oklahoma State women's tennis team came up short in a 4-1 Big 12 semifinal match against No. 14 Texas Tech Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center.
No. 14 Texas Tech 4, No. 7 Oklahoma State 1
April 28, 2018 | Texas Tennis Center | Austin, Texas
Doubles | Order of finish: 3,1,2
1. #13 Vladica Babic/Sofia Blanco (OKST) def. #21 Sabrina Federici/Sarah Dvorak (TTU) 6-2
2. Felicity Maltby/Gabriela Talaba (TTU) def. Marina Guinart/Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) 7-6 (11-9)
3. Alex Valenstein/Katelyn Jackson (TTU) def. Megan McCray/Sami Court (OKST) 6-1
Singles | Order of finish: 6,3,2,5
1. #20 Vladica Babic (OKST) vs. #21 Gabriela Talaba (TTU) 6-2, 6-6, unfinished
2. #34 Megan McCray (OKST) def. Alex Valenstein (TTU) 6-3, 6-1
3. #56 Felicity Maltby (TTU) def. #112 Katarina Stresnakova (OKST) 6-2, 6-2
4. Marina Guinart (OKST) vs. #97 Sabrina Federici (TTU) 6-7 (1-7), 0-3, unfinished
5. #125 Sarah Dvorak (TTU) def. Sofia Blanco (OKST) 6-3, 6-2
6. #115 Katelyn Jackson (TTU) def. Saralyn Dyer (OKST) 6-0, 6-0
Babic's Record Watch
Senior Vladica Babic has rewritten much of the program record book during her four years in Stillwater. She has maintained that trend during her final year. A look at where she stands in a number of record categories:
- Her 110 career doubles wins are the most by a Cowgirl in the Big 12 era and third-most in school history.
- Her 94 career singles wins are the second-most by a Cowgirl in the Big 12 era
- She is only the seventh player in program history to record 100 doubles wins and 90 singles wins.
- She sits in the top five in the Big 12 era for career singles (.720, No. 4) and doubles (.759, No. 3) win percentage.
- Owns the third-most singles (58) and most doubles (74) career dual wins by a Cowgirl in the Big 12 era.
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