Tulsa Edged Out by No. 48 Denver on Senior Day, 4-3

Friday, April 5

Tulsa, Okla.

2:00 p.m.

Tulsa

Denver

Photo by: Paris Moua

Tulsa Edged Out by No. 48 Denver on Senior Day, 4-3

4/5/2024 8:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis

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TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa women's tennis team led for most of the dual match against No. 48 Denver but came up just short in a 4-3 heartbreaker during Senior Day Friday on the outdoor courts of the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Golden Hurricane fell to 8-11 on the year, while the Pioneers rose to 13-6.

Tulsa took it to the Pioneers in doubles play, winning the No. 2 and 3 positions by scores of 6-2 and 6-3, respectively. Freshmen Erin McKenzie and Tayla Wilmot paired up for the first time this season to clinch and deliver TU the doubles point in the third position. Junior duo Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings left their match atop the lineup unfinished at 5-3.

Putting the Hurricane up 2-0 on the Pioneers was junior Berlanga in the No. 1 spot. In her first set, she erased a 3-0 deficit to win the frame 6-3. Berlanga carried the momentum into the second stanza, scoring the first game point and cruising to a 6-1 finish to claim her 19^th singles win of the year. It's the second time the Malaga, Spain, product has reached 19 wins after finishing 19-12 as a freshman in 2021-22.

After Denver grabbed consecutive 6-3 set wins in the third position, junior Ana Naranjo Martinez scored Tulsa's third team point with a three-set victory in her usual spot in the No. 4 position. Her opponent, Louise Wikander grabbed a 6-4 set one win to open the match. Then, Naranjo broke a 2-2 deadlock in the second set and rolled to a 6-4 finish before opening the third and final frame up 4-0 to cruise to a 6-1 victory.

Down 3-1, Denver players survived long three-set battles in the Nos. 2, 5, and 6 positions, winning all of them to silence the potential upset. The dual was clinched in the fifth position, where the Pioneers' Alice Otis fell 6-4 in the first set before rattling off 6-3 and 7-6 (7-5) second and third-set victories over Tulsa's Erin McKenzie to end the day's action in favor of Denver. The Pioneers never led in the match up until the end.

The Tulsa women will hit the road for Wichita, Kan., to play the No. 63 Shockers (10-7) on Monday, April 8, at 1 p.m.

Singles
1. Maria Berlanga (TLS) def. Andrea Beltran (DEN) 6-3, 6-1
2. Britt Pursell (DEN) def. Oleksandra Nahurska (TLS) 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-4
3. Caroline Driscoll (DEN) def. Lily Hutchings (TLS) 6-3, 6-3
4. Ana Naranjo Martinez (TLS) def. Louise Wikander (DEN) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
5. Alice Otis (DEN) def. Erin McKenzie (TLS) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Claudia Martinez (DEN) def. Tayla Wilmot (TLS) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)

Doubles
1. Maria Berlanga Bandera/Lily Hutchings (TLS) vs. Britt Pursell/Andrea Beltran (DEN) 5-3, unfinished
2. Oleksandra Nahurska/Ana Naranjo Martinez (TLS) def. Louise Wikander/Caroline Driscoll (DEN) 6-2
3. Erin McKenzie/Tayla Wilmot (TLS) def. Claudia Martinez/Alice Otis (DEN) 6-3

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