Tennis: OSU hosts Mississippi this weekend

Cowgirls Prepare to Take On Lady Rebels
Oklahoma State’s women’s tennis team (1-0) will host Mississippi (1-0) at Tulsa’s Michael D. Case Tennis Center on Saturday. The Cowgirls opened the 2008 season with a 4-0 victory over Loyola Marymount on Sunday.

Seniors Ready for Final Run
Oklahoma State seniors Yawna Allen, a Phoenix, Ariz., native, and Iryna Tkacheno, a native of Kiez, Ukraine, will lead the way for the Cowgirls on Saturday. Both players are coming off doubles wins in Sunday’s match over LMU. Allen, along with teammate Nataliya Shatkovskaya, defeated LMU’s Pavla Masterova and Tamara Tanner, 8-6. Tkachenko and teammate Jo Anne Karaitiana took down LMU’s Tina Razloznic and Jasmin Heckel, 9-7. Tkachenko is currently the 70th-ranked player in the country.

Lady Rebels at a Glance
Ole Miss is coached by Mark Beyers and is led by Senior Nika Koukhartchouk, who is playing No. 1 singles for the first time in her career. The Lady Rebels opened the season with a 6-1 win over Middle Tennessee State last Sunday. On Friday, they will take on Tulsa in a 1 p.m. match.

More Court Time for Newcomers
Cowgirl head coach Julius Lubicz-Mejewski said this week that he was pleased with his team’s performance against LMU, but also pointed out that the Cowgirls, particularlly the newcomers, need to get more court time before getting into the bulk of their schedule. OSU will have that opportunity next week as they will have an eight-day break before taking on Texas-Arlington on Sunday, Feb 3.