Women's Tennis Drops First Home Match to No. 23 Tulsa

Saturday, March 24

New Orleans

Noon

Tulane University

#23 Tulsa

Photo by: Parker Waters

Women's Tennis Drops First Home Match to No. 23 Tulsa

Mar 24, 2018 | Women's Tennis

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane women's tennis dropped its first home match of the season, 4-1, to 23rd-ranked Tulsa on Saturday afternoon at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center.

Tulane (8-9) pounced on the Golden Hurricane (16-3) at the start of doubles play, as Elena Muller and Ivone Alvaro cruised to a 6-0 victory at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Tulsa countered with a 6-1 win at the No. 3 position to even the chase for the first team point, but the Green Wave already established a 5-2 advantage at the No. 1 spot. The Golden Hurricane claimed a handful of deciding points and rallied to win five straight games, claim a 7-5 victory and take a 1-0 lead in the overall match.

"On court one, I thought we let up a little bit," head coach Maria Brito said. "They changed the momentum and got more aggressive as we got a little more conservative. That hurt us and that momentum would have made a big difference. I give lots of credit to Tulsa for how they competed."

Tulsa held much of the momentum heading into singles play and did not let any of it get away, claiming the first set on all six singles courts. After winning in straight sets on courts three and four, respectively, the Golden Hurricane clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-1 victory by 75th-ranked Ksenia Laskutova on court one.

"It was windy and the conditions were tough for both teams today," Brito said. "I think we need to do a better job dealing with adversity and staying in the moment."

Tulane remains home to host SMU on Sunday, March 25 at noon.

"I've seen a lot of positive things and we're making adjustments," Brito said. "We have a big match tomorrow, but I believe we'll do a better job closing out matches."

#23 Tulsa 4, Tulane 0

Singles competition
1. #75 Ksenia Laskutova (TLSW) def. Sade Atkinson (TLN) 6-2, 6-1
2. Ivone Alvaro (TLN) vs. #109 Martina Okalova (TLSW) 4-6, 1-4, unfinished
3. Tamara Kupkova (TLSW) def. Laura Fabrizi (TLN) 6-4, 6-2
4. Martha Matoula (TLSW) def. Daniela La Fuente (TLN) 6-3, 6-2
5. Elena Muller (TLN) vs. Vera Ploner (TLSW) 1-6, 5-4, unfinished
6. Christina Sisti (TLN) vs. Shura Poppe (TLSW) 0-6, 5-5, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Ksenia Laskutova/Martha Matoula (TLSW) def. Sade Atkinson/Laura Fabrizi (TLN) 7-5
2. Ivone Alvaro/Elena Muller (TLN) def. Vera Ploner/Martina Okalova (TLSW) 6-0
3. R. Van Rensburg/Tamara Kupkova (TLSW) def. Daniela La Fuente/Sofia Kurtz (TLN) 6-1

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