Photo by: Brian Ray
Tulsa Tandem Bests Sixth-Ranked Kansas Pair in NCAA Doubles Round of 16
5/22/2019 5:34:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Tournament Box Score (.pdf) | Season Stats (.pdf)
ORLANDO, Fla. – Tulsa's 14th-ranked doubles pair of Vera Ploner and Martina Okalova notched a top-10 win over Kansas' No. 6 duo of Nina Khmelnitckaia and Janet Koch, 6-7(4), 7-6(10), 1-0(3), in the round of 16 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship.
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With today's victory, Okalova and Ploner will become Tulsa's second and third All-Americans in program history. Only Anousjka van Exel has earned All-America status for TU, claiming the prestigious honor in back-to-back years in 1998 and 1999.
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The Golden Hurricane will square off with No. 1-seeded USC's Angela Kulikov/Rianna Valdes on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. The women of Troy entered the tournament as the No. 1-ranked tandem in the NCAA, boasting a 15-3 record at the top spot for USC.
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Both sides' service game held true in the first set until a Tulsa break pushed the Golden Hurricane lead to 4-3. After a Jayhawks' break of their own, each pair refused to give up serve, forcing a tiebreaker at 6-all. The No. 6 Kansas duo managed to edge out the frame 7-6(4) to secure the early lead.
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The Kansas duo picked up an early break to push ahead 2-1 in the second set. After Tulsa responded with a break, the Jayhawks took two-straight games for the 4-2 advantage in the heart of set two. Both sides held strong on service to once again force a tiebreaker.
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In the tiebreaker, the Golden Hurricane and Jayhawks went stride for stride the entire way, running the score to 10-all. After holding serve, TU managed to break to win the lengthy tiebreaker 12-10 and force the decisive frame.
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In the final frame, the Tulsa duo held the momentum and managed a 10-3 victory in the super tiebreaker to become the second and third All-Americans in program history and advance to the doubles quarterfinals.
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In addition, the Golden Hurricane pair has now reached the quarterfinals, marking the furthest a Tulsa doubles tandem has reached in the NCAA tournament in school history.
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With yet another win under their belts, Vera and Martina improve to 29-6 on the season after besting the Jayhawks. The top-10 victory marks the highest-ranked win for the Tulsa duo of their careers.
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For all Tulsa women's tennis news and information, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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NCAA Doubles Championship
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Round of 16
#14 Martina Okalova/Vera Ploner (Tulsa) def. #6 Nina Khmelnitckaia/Janet Koch (Kansas) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (12-10), 1-0 (10-3)
#ForOurCity
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Tulsa's 14th-ranked doubles pair of Vera Ploner and Martina Okalova notched a top-10 win over Kansas' No. 6 duo of Nina Khmelnitckaia and Janet Koch, 6-7(4), 7-6(10), 1-0(3), in the round of 16 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship.
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With today's victory, Okalova and Ploner will become Tulsa's second and third All-Americans in program history. Only Anousjka van Exel has earned All-America status for TU, claiming the prestigious honor in back-to-back years in 1998 and 1999.
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The Golden Hurricane will square off with No. 1-seeded USC's Angela Kulikov/Rianna Valdes on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. The women of Troy entered the tournament as the No. 1-ranked tandem in the NCAA, boasting a 15-3 record at the top spot for USC.
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Both sides' service game held true in the first set until a Tulsa break pushed the Golden Hurricane lead to 4-3. After a Jayhawks' break of their own, each pair refused to give up serve, forcing a tiebreaker at 6-all. The No. 6 Kansas duo managed to edge out the frame 7-6(4) to secure the early lead.
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The Kansas duo picked up an early break to push ahead 2-1 in the second set. After Tulsa responded with a break, the Jayhawks took two-straight games for the 4-2 advantage in the heart of set two. Both sides held strong on service to once again force a tiebreaker.
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In the tiebreaker, the Golden Hurricane and Jayhawks went stride for stride the entire way, running the score to 10-all. After holding serve, TU managed to break to win the lengthy tiebreaker 12-10 and force the decisive frame.
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In the final frame, the Tulsa duo held the momentum and managed a 10-3 victory in the super tiebreaker to become the second and third All-Americans in program history and advance to the doubles quarterfinals.
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In addition, the Golden Hurricane pair has now reached the quarterfinals, marking the furthest a Tulsa doubles tandem has reached in the NCAA tournament in school history.
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With yet another win under their belts, Vera and Martina improve to 29-6 on the season after besting the Jayhawks. The top-10 victory marks the highest-ranked win for the Tulsa duo of their careers.
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For all Tulsa women's tennis news and information, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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NCAA Doubles Championship
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Round of 16
#14 Martina Okalova/Vera Ploner (Tulsa) def. #6 Nina Khmelnitckaia/Janet Koch (Kansas) 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (12-10), 1-0 (10-3)
#ForOurCity
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Players Mentioned
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