Iowa State Falls To No. 33 Oklahoma

Sunday, February 22

Ames, Iowa

9:00 AM

Iowa State

Oklahoma

Iowa State Falls To No. 33 Oklahoma

02.22.2015 | Tennis

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa- The Iowa State tennis team fell to No. 33 Oklahoma Sunday in its second home match of the season. The Cyclones are now 2-3 and the Sooners improve to 8-1.

ISU came out with a fight through three exciting matches against the Sooners, with senior Meghan Cassens and sophomore Natalie Phippen falling at No. 3 doubles to Zita Engbroks and Christiana Brigante, 6-2. Sophomore Sami Budai and senior Ksenia Pronina bounced back at No. 1, winning 6-4 over Emma Devine and Morgan Chumney and forcing the doubles point down to the No. 2 match between senior Caroline Andersen and junior Alejandra Galvis. Oklahoma clinched the doubles point with a win from Lily Miyazaki and Simran Sethi, 6-4.

“I thought we played really well,” head coach Armando Espinosa said. “Doubles we had chances, singles we fought really hard, it's just unfortunate that we ran of time there at the end. We could have made a run to a 4-3, perhaps a victory. It's one of those things, but, you know, Oklahoma is good. Oklahoma is a very talented team, they have a lot of seasoned players. Unfortunately we came up a little short today.”

The Sooners moved quickly in singles, with Engbroks getting a win at No. 5 over Caroline Andersen, 6-1, 6-0. Cassens answered for ISU in a big way, with a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 3 over Morgan Chumney.

Budai handed Miyazaki her second loss of the season, and earned her own second career win at No. 1 singles. The London, Ontario, native won 7-6 (5), 6-4.

“[Budai is] very composed, Meghan played extremely well too,” Espinosa said. “It was good for Sami to get a victory there to hopefully get a little bit more confidence going into next weekend. She stayed composed, she kept trying to make balls. It was a difficult opponent because she took the ball so early, just like Sami does, so it was like two freight trains going at each other.”

Pronina came just a point short of earning her own win against Sethi. The match was abandoned after the winning point was clinched, with the score unfinished at 7-6, 5-3.

“It's one of those things where those are the rules, we have to get used to them. That's what the Big 12 is going to look like and like I told the team at the end, today it was Ksenia but it could happen to anyone.”

The Cyclones will move on to take on Minnesota in Minneapolis next Friday at 3 p.m.

Oklahoma 4, Iowa State 2
Singles competition
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 4, 1, 6
1. Budai, Samantha (ISU) def. Lily Miyazaki (OU) 7-6 (5), 6-4
2. Pronina, Ksenia (ISU) vs. Simran Sethi (OU) 7-6, 5-3, unfinished
3. Cassens, Meghan (ISU) def. Morgan Chumney (OU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Abbi Melrose (OU) def. Galvis, Alejandra (ISU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Zita Engbroks (OU) def. Andersen, Caroline (ISU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Christiana Brigante (OU) def. Phippen, Natalie (ISU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2
1. Budai, Samantha/Pronina, Ksenia (ISU) def. Emma Devine/Morgan Chumney (OU) 6-4
2. Lily Miyazaki/Simran Sethi (OU) def. Galvis, Alejandra/Andersen, Caroline (ISU) 6-4
3. Zita Engbroks/Christiana Brigante (OU) def. Phippen, Natalie/Cassens, Meghan (ISU) 6-2