Cowgirls Upset in ITA Kickoff by Ohio State in Down to the Wire Dual

The two OSUs, Oklahoma State and Ohio State battled down to the last match, number one singles to decide who moves on to Chicago in the ITA Kickoff

STILLWATER -- It was four years ago in the spring of 2016 in Tulsa when Oklahoma State made their run to the NCAA Tennis Championship Final and on the way the Cowgirls knocked off 4th-ranked Ohio State in a hard fought 4-2 quarterfinal. My guess is Ohio State head coach Melissa Schaub didn't forget. The 25th-ranked Buckeyes chose to come to Stillwater for the ITA Kickoff regional. The decision had to be in part because Oklahoma State and the Greenwood Tennis Center are hosting this year's NCAA Championships. In the back of her mind, Schaub might have been looking for a little revenge. The battle of the OSUs in tennis was a good one. 

Doubles went down to the final of the three matches as with the two teams even with one win each, Bunyawi Thamchaiwat and Lenka Stara of the Cowgirls won their match on court two over Irina Cantos Siemers and Shiori Fukuda of Ohio State in a tiebreaker at 7-6.

Cowgirls Alana Wolfberg and Catherine Gulihur teamed up on court six but dropped the first match of the day to Kathleen Jones and Danielle Wolf, 6-0. It was the Cowgirls top doubles team of 17th-ranked Lisa Marie Rioux and Ayumi Miyamoto that defeated Isabelle Boulais and Kolie Allen of the Buckeyes 6-1 to even the doubles at 1-1.

Oklahoma State started the six singles matches with 1-0 lead courtesy of the doubles. 

Ohio State started the singles with a win on court three, as Danielle Wolf defeated No. 92 Ayumi Miyamoto in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Then the Buckeyes took the lead as 58th-ranked Irina Cantos Siemers took down Dariya Detkovskaya, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Ohio State was on the edge of vicotry when 125th-ranked Kolie Allen defeated Oklahoma State freshman Alana Wolfberg in a very dramatic match that went back and fourth, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Recent Oklahoma State newcomer from Slovakia, Lenka Stara defeated the Buckeyes Mary Beth Hurley on court six, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, to give the Cowgirls their first singles point of the day. Now just two courts were left with action as the number two and number one singles were also in three set matches, 29th-ranked Bunyawi Thamchaiwat would tie the dual up at three points a piece when she defeated Canadian freshman Isabelle Boulais, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Then with all eyes on court one, the clinching point was won by the Buckeyes, as 11th-ranked Shiori Fukuda defeated 17th-ranked Lisa Marie Rioux, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The 4-3 loss to Ohio State was the of the season for Oklahoma State, who drop to 5-1 n the season. Ohio State is now 2-0 on the season and qualifies to move on to the National Indoor Championship.

The Cowgirls will stay in Stillwater to prepare for next weekend's matches against Arkansas and Tulsa. The Cowgirls and Razorbacks will face off on Friday, Jan. 31, and will play against Tulsa on Saturday, Feb. 1 in the Greenwood Tennis Center.