The West Virginia University tennis team lost their home Big 12 opener, as Oklahoma State won 4-0 Friday afternoon at the Summit Tennis Academy in Morgantown, W. Va. Read more West Virginia tennis loses home Big 12 opener.
This is the third straight 4-0 loss to start the season, as the Mountaineers lost by the same score to TCU and Baylor last weekend in Texas.
READ: WVU BASKETBALL BIG 12 SEMIFINAL PREVIEW
The Mountaineers (6-8, 0-3 Big 12) fell behind early in the doubles, as their No. 1 duo of Millie Haagensen and Julie Bousseau fell 6-2 to the OSU (8-6, 2-1 Big 12) pairing of Anastasiya Komar and Rose Marie Nijkamp, followed by a 6-4 loss in the No. 3 matchup by Lyla Byers and Maja Dodik to the Cowgirls tandem of Gracie Epps and Melisa Ercan. In addition, the No. 2 slot was left unfinished due to the point being clinched, but was tied 5-5 between OSU’s Alian Zack and Marcela Lopez and WVU’s Michaela Kucharova and Laura Morillo.
The Cowboys
Oklahoma State extended their lead in the singles as Komar defeated Bousseau 6-1, 6-2 in the No. 2 spot before Nijkamp scored a victory over Michaela Kucherova in the No. 3 singles to make it 3-0. OSU clinched in the No. 1 slot, with Ercan winning 6-3, 6-1 against Haagensen to seal a 4-0 win.
Among the unfinished singles matchups, Epps won the first set 6-2 before Dodik took a 4-3 lead in the second set in the No. 4 spot. In the No. 5 singles, Marcela Lopez led 3-2 in the first set against Lyla Byers. And in the No. 5 spot, Alian Zack was down 1-0 to Susannah Su.
With this loss, the Mountaineers fall to 0-11 all-time against the Cowgirls, having been shut out the last three meetings.
With the win, Oklahoma State moves up to seventh of 16 teams in the Big 12. On the other hand, the loss keeps West Virginia in joint-last with the Utah Utes.
WVU is back in action at the Summit Tennis Academy on Sunday morning, squaring off with Kansas State at 11 a.m.
