Tulsa Women Fall 4-3 in Hard-Fought Match to No. 43 SMU

Saturday, March 30

Tulsa, Okla.

11:00 a.m.

Tulsa

SMU

Tulsa Women Fall 4-3 in Hard-Fought Match to No. 43 SMU

3/30/2024 3:19:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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TULSA, Okla. — It was a high-energy environment on the outdoor courts of the Michael D. Case Tennis Center as the Tulsa women's tennis team welcomed fellow American Athletic Conference member SMU Saturday for its first home dual in three weeks. The Golden Hurricane went toe-to-toe with the 43^rd-ranked Mustangs but ultimately came up short in a 4-3 decision. Tulsa drops to 8-10 on the year while SMU rises to 9-9.

In the battle for what was a crucial doubles point, Tulsa started with 2-1 leads in the first and third positions. The Mustangs would fight back, however, and win the No. 2 position 6-1 and the No. 1 spot 6-4 to seal away the 1-0 advantage over the Hurricane. Junior Ana Naranjo Martinez and fifth-year senior Oleksandra Nahurska were up 5-4 when they left their match unfinished in the third slot.

Junior Maria Berlanga Bandera came through with the equalizer victory atop the singles lineup with a two-set 6-1, 6-2 win over Drew Morris. Berlanga scored the first game points in each set and never trailed on the way to improving to 18-8 overall and 11-5 in dual matches this year. It's the third consecutive year the junior from Malaga, Spain, has surpassed 18 total singles wins in a season, and she is one win away from tying her season-best 19 wins as a freshman in 2021-22.

Things started to look shaky as SMU pulled ahead to 3-1 in the dual match after grabbing straight-set wins in the Nos. 3 and 6 positions.

The Hurricane responded with quick victories in the fourth and fifth positions to tie up the team scores at three points apiece. Naranjo started off by posting a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Lana Mavor in the No. 4 spot. Naranjo took advantage of a 4-0 lead in the first set to cruise to the 6-3 finish and followed up by breaking a 2-2 deadlock in the second frame to seal the position for TU. Naranjo's win moved her to 13-11 on the season and 8-8 in dual matches.

True freshman Erin McKenzie got her third straight win when she took down Caroline McGinley in a 6-3, 6-4 decision to secure the No. 5 position. McKenzie came back from down 3-0 in her first set and down 4-2 in the second stanza to grab her third victory of the year to put Tulsa in a position to take the dual match.

It all came down to Oleksandra Nahurska against SMU's Taylor Johnson at No. 2 Singles. It was the only position to enter a third set, and the two players had just begun the final frame following the wins by Naranjo and McKenzie. Although Nahurska was the one who forced a third set with a 6-1 victory in the second frame, the momentum couldn't be carried as Johnson pulled with a 6-1 finish to seal the position, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, and the team victory, 4-3, for SMU.

The Tulsa women will remain home to face No. 53 Denver (11-6) on Friday, April 5, at 2 p.m.

Singles
1. Maria Berlanga Bandera (TLS) def. Drew Morris (SMU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Taylor Johnson (SMU) def. Oleksandra Nahurska (TLS) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1
3. Hadley Doyle (SMU) def. Lily Hutchings (TLS) 6-4, 6-4
4. Ana Naranjo Martinez (TLS) def. Lana Mavor (SMU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Erin McKenzie (TLS) def. Caroline McGinley (SMU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Millie Skelton (SMU) def. Saniya Singh (TLS) 7-5, 6-1

Doubles
1. Caroline McGinley/Lana Mavor (SMU) def. Lily Hutchings/Maria Berlanga Bandera (TLS) 6-4
2. Millie Skelton/Taylor Johnson (SMU) def. Tayla Wilmot/Saniya Singh (TLS) 6-1
3. Ana Naranjo Martinez/Oleksandra Nahurska (TLS) vs. Drew Morris/Hadley Doyle (SMU) 5-4, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,6,3,4,5,2)