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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For all Tulsa women's tennis news and information, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
NCAA Doubles Championship
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
For all Tulsa women's tennis news and information, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
NCAA Doubles Championship
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
Players Mentioned
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