Tulsa Women’s Tennis Defeats Houston, 4-2, to Advance to American Athletic Conference Championship

Friday, April 22

Memphis, Tenn.

3:00 p.m.

Tulsa

University of Houston

Tulsa Women’s Tennis Defeats Houston, 4-2, to Advance to American Athletic Conference Championship

4/22/2016 6:34:00 PM | Women's Tennis

By: Drake Allen

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – On Friday afternoon, The University of Tulsa's 30^th-ranked and first-seeded women's team defeated fifth-seeded Houston, 4-2, in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championships at the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Center in Memphis, Tenn. The Golden Hurricane (20-4 overall) will take on seconded-seeded USF in the conference championships match on Saturday, April 23, at 1:00 p.m.

Houston started doubles play strong as Tina Rupert and Mina Markovic topped junior Rongrong Leenabanchong and freshman Martha Matoula (No. 2) in a 6-1 decision. The Cougars clinched the doubles point as Rocio Martin and Despoina Vogasario defeated sophomore Ksenia Laskutova and senior Renata Kuricova (No. 1), 6-3, to take a 1-0 match lead going into singles play.

To begin singles play, Leenabanchong (No. 3) registered a 6-1, 6-1, win over Rocio Martin to tie the match score at 1-1. Houston's Maria Cardenas defeated Renata Kuricova (No. 5), 6-3, 6-3, before junior Marcelina Cichon (No. 4) topped Tina Rupert, 6-1, 6-4, to tie the score for the second time of the match at 2-2. TU's 121^st-ranked singles player sophomore Ksenia Laskutova defeated Mina Markovic, 7-6, 6-1, before 104^st-ranked senior Saana Saarteinen clinched the 4-2 match victory with a huge 6-3, 7-5 win over Despoina Vogasari.

For a live stream of tomorrow's championship match click here.

No. 30 Tulsa 4, Houston 2
SINGLES
1. #104 Saana Saarteinen (Tulsa) defeated #118 Despoina Vogasari (Houston), 6-3, 7-5
2. #121 Ksenia Lasktova (Tulsa) defeated Mina Markovic (Houston), 7-6, 6-1
3. Rongrong Leenabanchong (Tulsa) defeated Rocio Martin (Houston), 6-1, 6-1
4. Marcelina Cichon (Tulsa) defeated Tina Rupert (Houston), 6-1, 6-4
5. Maria Cardenas (Houston) defeated Renata Kuricova (Tulsa), 6-3, 6-3
6. Martha Matoula (Tulsa) vs. Angela Lorenzo (Houston), DNF
Order of singles finish: 3, 5, 4, 2, 1

DOUBLES
1. Vogasari/Martin (Houston) defeated Laskutova/Kuricova (Tulsa), 6-3
2. Markovic/Rupert (Houston) defeated Leenabanchong/Matoula (Tulsa), 6-1
3. saarteinen/Dadireddy (Tulsa) vs. Cardenas/Lorenzo (Houston), DNF
Order of doubles finish: 2, 1

Records: Tulsa 20-4, Houston 6-19

For all Tulsa women's tennis news and information, visit www.TulsaHurricane.com. Follow Tulsa Athletics on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TulsaHurricane and Facebook at www.facebook.com/TulsaHurricane. Follow Tulsa Women's Tennis on Twitter (http://twitter.com/TulsaWTennis) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TulsaWTennis).

The University of Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center is host site for the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Championships, May 19-30