Sports editor Jaralynn Tammi Morellano says women’s tennis advanced to the AAC semifinals.
The University of Tulsa women’s tennis team has secured a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship semifinals after securing two outstanding victories at the Leftwich Tennis Center. This advancement was sealed in a valiant 4-3 upset against Wichita State in the Friday, April 18 quarterfinal.
The Golden Hurricane, seeded fourth, began the tournament on Thursday with a dominating 4-0 sweep over No. 13 Temple to advance into the quarterfinals. The Golden Hurricane wasted no time kicking the Owls out of the tournament in the opening round. Tulsa took early control of the match with some swift doubles play, which earned them points to win at the top two positions. Seniors Ana Naranjo Martinez and Mariana Manyoma Valesquez extended their standout season with a 6-3 victory on Court 2, their sixth clinch together this spring. This improved their record to 19-1 in dual matches and 26-4 overall. On the top court, No. 43-ranked duo Maria Berlanga Bandera and Lily Hutchings cruised to a 6-2 win of their own. They dominated their opponents, and this performance set the tone for the single matches that followed. Tulsa won three straight-set matches to finish off the Owls in this powerful sweep.
Velasquez set the pace for the single matches as she took a 6-1, 6-1 victory at the No. 2 position. This victory was followed by Erin McKenzie who won 6-0, 6-3 at No. 5. Berlanga’s 7-5, 6-1 result on Court 1 sealed the deal for the Golden Hurricane.
Though the other matches ended early due to the clinched victory, Tulsa was leading in most of those matches prior to the abrupt ending.
Friday’s quarterfinal matchup against fifth-seeded Wichita State proved far more dramatic than the opening round. In the regular season, Tulsa took a 4-1 loss to the Shockers. However, this loss was avenged with a thrilling 4-3 victory.
The doubles point came down to the top court after the teams split the first two matches. Freshman Isabella Basson and Tayla Wilmot gave Tulsa the early lead with a 6-2 win at No. 3, but the Shockers answered right back on Court 2 to tie the points in doubles play. The pressure was shifted onto Berlanga and Lily Hutchings, who delivered a 6-4 win over the No. 77-ranked pair of Girogua Roselli and Xin Tong Wang to give Tulsa the 1-0 advantage.
Singles play was tight from start to finish. Wichita State pulled ahead with wins at the No. 4, 2, and 6 positions. Berlanga garnered another favor for the Golden Hurricane when she took a ranked victory at the top spot with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Wang. She improved her personal record to 25-7 overall and 18-5 in duals.
Naranjo also came up big in the fifth slot, grinding out a 6-2, 7-5 win to even the match. The victory was clinched by Hutchings in a tense three-set battle. Her win put Tulsa 4-3 to take the quarterfinals match. After this, Tulsa was set up against the top-seeded and undefeated Florida Atlantic in the semifinals match at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 19.
