Cowgirl Tennis Remains No. 1, Have Six Appear in Singles Rankings
(Oklahoma State athletics produced these articles and Pokes Report contributed)
STILLWATER – For the second consecutive week, Oklahoma State's women's tennis team checked in at No. 1 in the ITA Division I rankings on Tuesday afternoon, once again receiving all 13 first-place votes.
STILLWATER – For the second consecutive week, Oklahoma State's women's tennis team checked in at No. 1 in the ITA Division I rankings on Tuesday afternoon, once again receiving all 13 first-place votes.
As for the men’s team, the Cowboys check in at No. 23rd in the rankings, with two singles players and a doubles pair also checked into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings.
The Cowgirls are coming off their ninth win over a top-25 team this season, beating then No. 25 Arizona State last Saturday in Tempe, Arizona, 4-0. OSU is now 10-0 on the season, its best start since 1986, and continues to build on its first No. 1 ranking in program history.
In their first 10 matches, the Cowgirls hold wins over No. 2 Michigan (twice), No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Texas, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 11 Auburn and No. 13 Pepperdine, based on the latest rankings.
With the rankings now expanded to the top-75 teams, nine other Big 12 teams appeared in the rankings: Texas (4), Texas Tech (22), Baylor (40), BYU (42), Kansas (46), West Virginia (47), Oklahoma (51), Kansas State (53) and UCF (58).
In the individual rankings, Oklahoma State's entire singles lineup holds a ranking. Ange Oby Kajuru appeared at No. 4, while Anastasiya Komar came in at No. 9, Safiya Carrington at No. 56, Lucia Peyre at No. 66, Ayumi Miyamoto at No. 84 and Kristina Novak at No. 114.
In doubles, the pairing of Kajuru and Komar checked in at No. 6, while Komar and Raquel Gonzalez appeared at No. 14.
Oklahoma State is preparing for its first home match in three weeks on Saturday, hosting No. 30 Princeton at 1 p.m. at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
ITA Division I Women's Tennis Top 25 (Feb. 20)
- Oklahoma State (13)
- Michigan
- Stanford
- Texas
- NC State
- Virginia
- Ohio State
- North Carolina
- USC
- Georgia
- Auburn
- San Diego
- Pepperdine
- Duke
- Florida
- Cal
- Tennessee
- South Carolina
- Texas A&M
- Wisconsin
- Notre Dame
- Texas Tech
- Vanderbilt
- Illinois
- Miami
Tyler Zink checked in at No. 15 and Alex Garcia appeared at 49. On the doubles side, Zink and Isaac Becroft were ranked 24th nationally.
It marks the first team ranking for the Cowboys in 2024 and the highest ITA ranking since May 26, 2021, when the Pokes ranked 22nd.
The Cowboys boast a 9-2 record, including a five-match winning streak. The record marks the best start to an Oklahoma State season since 2017-18. In the past five matches, OSU is outscoring opponents, 31-4.
Zink notched his fourth-consecutive appearance in the rankings during the 2023-24 season. His ranking marks the first time a Cowboy has appeared in the top-15 since Oleksandr Nedovyesov was ranked 11th nationally on May 28, 2010.
The Sarasota, Fla. native is tied for second on the team with seven wins, including four of his last five, all on the featured court. Zink has two ranked wins to add to his resume, beating Middle Tennessee State's No. 25 Leo Raquin in straight sets and USC's No. 38 Peter Makk.
Garcia also has seven wins to his name in singles action, all on court two. The graduate knocked off MTSU's No. 47 Marcel Kamrowski, and his only two losses have been to ranked opponents.
In doubles, Oklahoma State's Zink and Becroft breached the top 25, checking in at No. 24. The duo went 8-2 in the fall and secured four matches in a row to win the ITA Fall Regionals in Stillwater. The win punched a ticket to ITA Fall Nationals where they tallied a victory over Mississippi State's Petar Jovanovic and Benito SancheZ Martinez, 5-7, 7-5, 10-2.
The Cowboys will look to ride their hot streak, heading into a midweek match against Tulane on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT, before returning home to face Wichita State on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
ITA men’s rankings Feb. 20
- Ohio State
- TCU
- Wake Forest
- Columbia
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Virginia
- Harvard
- Arizona
- Texas
- Illinois
- Texas A&M
- Duke
- Florida State
- South Carolina
- San Diego
- NC State
- Baylor
- Alabama
- Memphis
- Michigan State
- Arizona State
- Oklahoma State
- Mississippi State
- Michigan