GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Oklahoma State defeated South Florida 4-0 at Linder Stadium on Friday to advance to the second round of the NCAAtTournament. It marks the first time the Cowgirls have advanced in the NCAA tournament in consecutive years since the 1985 and '86 seasons.
The Cowgirls (16-8) started off the match by picking up the doubles point with wins on Nos. 1 and 2. Kanyapat Narattana and Carla Tur Mari rolled through their match on No. 2, handling South Florida’s Alessandra Bonte and Olaya Garrido-Rivas 8-1. Freshmen Viktoriya Lushkova and Katarina Adamovic clinched the point with an 8-2 win against Loreta Alonso-Martinez and Kayla Rizzolo on No. 1.
In singles, Oklahoma State picked up three straight-set wins to quickly close out the Bulls.
Narattana was the first Cowgirl to strike in singles play, controlling her match on No. 3 against Olaya Garrido-Rivas 6-1-6-1 to pick up her 73rd career singles victory and stretch the Cowgirl lead to two.
Lushkova put the Bulls’ backs against the wall when she defeated No. 71 Loreto Alonso-Martinez 6-1, 6-3 on No. 1. The win was her 17th of the season.
Tur Mari picked up her fourth consecutive straight-set victory on Friday, knocking off South Florida’s Alessandra Bonte 6-1, 7-5 on No. 6. After dominating the first set, she held off Bonte in the second-set to take the win and clinch the match.
“I know that [Saturday] is going to be a tough match,” Cowgirl head coach Chris Young said. “Playing Florida at home is never easy. They’re a very strong team with a lot of experience. We’re just excited to have this opportunity. Our girls have prepared all year to get to this place. We have nothing to lose and we’re excited about [Saturday].”
