Hurricane Women’s Tennis Sweeps Abilene Christian, 7-0

Saturday, March 9

Tulsa, Okla.

Noon

Tulsa

Abilene Christian

Photo by: Joshua Rogers

Hurricane Women’s Tennis Sweeps Abilene Christian, 7-0

3/9/2024 3:48:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa women's tennis team welcomed the Abilene Christian Wildcats Saturday for a dual match on the outdoor courts of the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Golden Hurricane thrived in the sunny weather, cruising to a 7-0 sweep over ACU. Tulsa improved to 8-7 with its third consecutive win, while the Wildcats dropped to 2-7.

Tulsa grabbed the doubles point thanks to a 6-1 win by junior duo Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings in the No. 1 position, followed by a 6-2 victory from junior Myroslava Zelenchuk and freshman Tayla Wilmot in the second slot. The doubles point clinch by the latter pair left position No. 3 unfinished. Berlanga and Hutchings rise to 12-5 overall and 9-4 at the No. 1 position in dual matches.

Five of Tulsa's six singles players won their matchups in straight sets. The first to finish was freshman Erin McKenzie, who never trailed in either of her set wins to put Tulsa up 2-0. After starting the season with three losses, McKenzie has now won her last two completed matches.

Berlanga put the Hurricane up by three when she dismantled her Wildcat opponent at the No. 1 spot. In her first set, Berlanga took advantage of a 3-0 start to cruise to a 6-2 set win. In set two, she erased deficits of 1-0 and 1-2 to take control at 3-2 and never looked back on the way to a 6-4 finish. She improves her team-leading records of 17-6 overall and 10-3 in the spring, with wins in her last three completed matches.

Clinching the team victory at 4-0 for the Hurricane was fifth-year senior Oleksandra Nahurska in the second position with a 6-4, 6-1 decision over ACU's Maryjoe Crisologo. Nahurska never trailed in either set of her match, which she capped off with five straight game wins in the second stanza to secure her third consecutive victory at No. 2 Singles. Nahurksa is now 15-7 and 6-5 in dual matches.

Electing to play the remaining matches all the way through, the Hurricane put away two more straight-set wins by Wilmot in the No. 6 position (7-5, 6-2) and Hutchings in the No. 3 spot (7-5, 7-5). Junior Ana Naranjo Martinez was the last to finish as her match needed three sets to decide a winner. After dominating the first set 6-1 and falling 6-4 in the second set, Naranjo fought through ties at 1-1 and 2-2 before taking control at 3-2 and riding the momentum from there to a 6-3 finish, sealing the 7-0 sweep for Tulsa.

The Tulsa women will be back in action on Sunday, March 17 to take on Columbia (10-3) in Houston at noon (CT), followed by a showdown at American Athletic Conference foe Rice (5-6) at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 19.

Singles competition
1. Maria Berlanga (TLS) def. Olivia Sears (ACU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Oleksandra Nahurska (TLS) def. Maryjoe Crisologo (ACU) 6-4, 6-1
3. Lily Hutchings (TLS) def. Masha Vrsalovic (ACU) 7-5, 7-5
4. Ana Naranjo Martinez (TLS) def. Maria Cascos (ACU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
5. Erin McKenzie (TLS) def. Andrea Guerrero (ACU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Tayla Wilmot (TLS) def. Libby Blair (ACU) 7-5, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Lily Hutchings/Maria Berlanga (TLS) def. Libby Blair/Masha Vrsalovic (ACU) 6-1
2. Myroslava Zelenchuk/Tayla Wilmot (TLS) def. Maria Cascos/Maryjoe Crisologo (ACU) 6-2
3. Ana Naranjo Martinez/Erin McKenzie (TLS) vs. Andrea Guerrero/Olivia Sears (ACU) 2-4, unfinished

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