NORMAN, Okla. — No. 36 BYU women's tennis fell to No. 23 Oklahoma 6-1 Thursday evening, despite a ranked singles victory from junior Kendall Kovick.
The Cougars dropped to 14-5 overall and 6-4 in Big 12 play with the loss, while the Sooners improved to 13-5 overall and 8-2 in conference play.
Kovick secured a victory over No. 97 Alina Shcherbinina, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, improving her season record to 9-8.
Doubles:
- No. 19 Gilheany/Guzman (OU) def. No. 53 Astle/Kovick (BYU), 6-2
- No. 71 Safarova/Garcia Ruiz (OU) uf. Huang/Sawhney (BYU), 6-1
- Noel/Catanzarite (OU) def. Li/Wheatley (BYU), 6-3
The order of finish was 1, 3
Astle and Kovick fell behind 2-0 and later trailed 4-2 before Gilheany and Guzman secured the 6-2 victory, giving Oklahoma its first doubles win. Li and Wheatley, after evening the score at 3-3 from a 3-1 deficit, eventually fell to Noel and Catanzarite 6-3, who clinched the doubles point for the Sooners.
Huang and Sawhney's match against Safarova and Garcia Ruiz was left unfinished after a 5-3 lead by the Sooners duo.
Singles:
- No. 29 Julia Garcia Ruiz (OU) def. No. 105 Bobo Huang (BYU), 6-0, 6-3
- No. 40 Dana Guzman (OU) def. Tina Li (BYU), 6-0, 6-2
- Kendall Kovick (BYU) def. No. 97 Alina Shcherbinina (OU), 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
- No. 55 Florencia Urrutia (OU) def. Kara Wheatley (BYU), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
- Chloe Noel (OU) def. Emilee Astle (BYU), 6-3, 6-2
- Emma Staker (OU) def. Maddy Smith (BYU), 6-1, 7-6 (4)
The order of finish was 5, 2, 1, 3, 6, 4
Astle trailed 4-2 before Noel won the first set 6-3. In the second set, Noel led 3-1 before winning 6-2, securing Oklahoma's first singles victory and extending its overall lead to 2-0.
Li trailed 5-0 and lost the first set to Guzman 6-0. In the second set, Guzman led 3-0 before winning 6-2, putting the Sooners ahead 3-0 and just one singles victory shy of the win.
Huang fell behind 4-0 before Garcia Ruiz won the first set 6-0. Garcia Ruiz led 4-1 in the second set before Huang cut the deficit to 4-3. Garcia Ruiz maintained her lead and won 6-3, clinching the match for Oklahoma with a 4-0 lead.
Kovick quickly took a 5-1 lead and won the first set 6-1. Shcherbinina led 2-1 in the second set before extending her lead to 5-2 and winning the set 6-2. In the third set, Kovick led 3-0 and maintained control, leading 5-1 before winning 6-1, securing a singles victory for BYU.
Smith fell behind 5-0 before Staker won the first set 6-1. Smith led 2-0 in the second set before Staker tied it at 4-4. Tied again at 5-5 and 6-6, Staker won 7-6 (4).
Wheatley led 3-2 before she and Urrutia were tied 4-4 and then 6-6 in the first set. Urrutia won 7-6 (4). In the second set, Wheatley led 2-0 before winning 6-2. They played a third set tiebreak, with Urrutia winning 10-8, sealing the 6-1 victory for the Sooners.
The Cougars complete their final road trip and head to Austin to face No. 8 Texas at 11 a.m. MDT Saturday.