Final Stats

Match Results

Season Stats

TULSA, Okla. — The No. 68 North Texas tennis team returned to the court but was unable to continue its winning ways versus a 14th-ranked Tulsa squad on Friday, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Golden Hurricane from the Case Tennis Center. The Mean Green won one singles match and one doubles match in the showdown and falls to 5-5 on the season with the loss.

Doubles play favored North Texas early as the top duo of Maria Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze took down Renata Kuricova and Ksenia Laskutova in a 6-1 decision. The Mean Green even appeared to have an edge at the No. 2 doubles spot. Tied 4-4 and serving with a 40-love advantage, Minying Liang and Anastasiya Shestakova would go on to fall to Saana Saarteinen and Mahatma Dadireddy, 7-5, before a No. 3 duo loss clinched the doubles point for Tulsa.

"We had them on the ropes in doubles but did not finish," head coach Sujay Lama said. "The match would have had a different feel had we won the doubles point. We then got off to a slow start in singles and had to fight hard to get back to the match. We battled but it was not enough against a very good team."

The Mean Green couldn't get much momentum going in singles play. In fact, senior Agustina Valenzuela was the only North Texas player that managed an individual win on the day with her 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Mahitha Dadireddy at the No. 6 position. Every other singles match was decided in two sets, while singles matches for Kutubidze (No. 2) and Shestakova (No. 3) went unfinished.

While the Mean Green has missed its chance to get a win over one of the nation's top teams, North Texas now prepares to hit the courts for a matchup with USF on Saturday afternoon.

Said Lama: "We will use the disappointment to come out strong tomorrow."

Up Next
North Texas will be back on the court tomorrow for a 12 p.m. opening serve versus USF at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa.

Results
Singles
1. Maria Kononova falls to Saana Saarteinen; 6-0, 6-3
2. Tamuna Kutubidze vs. Ksenia Laskutova; 7-6(5), 4-2 (unfinished)
3. Anastasiya Shestakova vs. R. Leenabanchong; 6-4, 3-3 (unfinished)
4. Alexis Thoma falls to Marcelina Cichon; 6-3, 7-5
5. Kamilla Galieva falls to Yelena Nemchen; 6-0, 6-3
6. Agustina Valenzuela def. Mahitha Dadireddy; 6-2, 6-1

Doubles
1. Kononova/Kutubidze def. Kuricova/Laskutova, 6-1
2. Liang/Shestakova fall to Leenabanchong/Cichon, 7-5
3. Thoma/Valenzuela fall to Saarteinen/Dadireddy, 6-3