(STILLWATER, Oklahoma / January 20, 2019) - The Oklahoma State women’s tennis team swept its home opener Sunday night at the Greenwood Tennis Center, besting Wyoming, 7-0. The contest marked the first home match for four Cowgirls on the spring 2019 roster. 

The Cowgirls opened with a dominant doubles victory, winning all three matches. Newcomers Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Tamara Arnold struck first at court 3, defeating Wyoming’s Maria Oreshkina and Ana Royo, 6-1. No. 28 Sofia Blanco and Catherine Gulihur followed with a 6-3 victory over Elisa Koonik and Tessa van Der Ploeg. Rounding out doubles play, Lisa Marie Rioux and Marina Guinart came out on top against Ida Krause and Mihaela Kaftanova, 6-3. 

“I thought doubles play was pretty solid,” coach Chris Young said. “There were things we wanted to work on and improve on. I thought that our energy level could be a little bit better, especially No. 2 doubles... we challenged them to be a little bit more energetic. It was just our movement. We tried to get into the right position but were just getting stuck.”

Going into singles play, freshman Catherine Gulihur collected the Cowgirls’ first singles point, defeating Ana Royo, 6-1, 6-1. Shortly after Gulihur’s win, No. 40 Marina Guinart and Tamara Arnold followed suit on courts four and six to clinch the match. Guinart was victorious against Ana Fernandez 6-2, 6-0, and Arnold overwhelmed Mihaela Kaftanova, 6-1, 6-1.

No. 21 Katarina Stresnakova kept the scoring going for the Cowgirls as she got the win against Marina Oreshkina, 6-3, 6-2. Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Lisa Marie Rioux closed out the night for OSU winning their debut matches inside the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center. Thamchaiwat dropped Elisa Koonik, 6-4, 6-3, and Rioux grinded out the win over Tessa van Der Ploeg, 6-3, 6-3.

“Doubles was solid, but I thought singles was much better,” Young said. “We came out with clear intentions. We are working on very specific things with each girl and working on what each of them need to develop, and I thought it showed much better today.”

The Cowgirls will be back in action at home on Jan. 25, as they take on No. 23 Virginia in the ITA Division I Kick-Off Weekend. The Cowgirls also host ranked opponents in Kansas and Illinois for the event.

No. 9 Oklahoma State 7, Wyoming 0

January 20th 2019 / Greenwood Tennis Center / Stillwater, Okla.

Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

1. No. 28 Blanco/Gulihur (OSU) def. Koonik/van Der Ploeg (WY), 6-2

2. Rioux/Guinart (OSU) def. Krause/Kaftanova (WY), 6-3

3. Thamchaiwat/Arnold (OSU) def. Oreshkina/Royo (WY), 6-1

Singles | Order of finish: 5, 4, 6, 3, 1, 2

1. Bunyawi Thamchaiwat (OSU) def. Elisa Koonik (WY), 6-4, 6-2

2. Lisa Marie Rioux (OSU) def. Tessa van Der Ploeg (WY), 6-2, 6-3

3. No. 21 Katarina Stresnakova (OSU) def. Maria Oreshkina (WY), 6-3, 6-2

4. No. 40 Marina Guinart (OSU) def. Ana Fernandez (WY), 6-2, 6-0

5. Catherine Gulihur (OSU) def. Ana Royo (WY), 6-1, 6-1

6. Tamara Arnold (OSU) def. Mihaela Kaftanova (WY), 6-1, 6-1