Nov. 1, 2011

USTA/ITA National Indoor Championship Page

TULSA, Okla. - Samantha Vickers will head to Flushing, N.Y., for the 2011 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships Nov. 3-6 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The sophomore member of the Golden Hurricane women's tennis team automatically qualified for the event after capturing the 2011 USTA/ITA Women's Singles Central Region Championship Oct. 24. The singles draw consists of 32 of the best women's players from across the country, and they all took different routes to qualify for the national championship.

Those who qualified are regional champions (like Vickers) and singles quarterfinalists and the consolation champion from the 2011 Riviera/ITA Women's All-American Championships. There were also at-large berths and wildcards handed out.

Vickers will face senior Joanna Mather of Florida in the opening round at 4:30 p.m. (CST) Nov. 3. Mather, ranked No. 26 in the nation, earned an at-large bid into the tournament and has been ranked as high as No. 19 in the NCAA.

A victory over Mather would pit Vickers up with either senior Chelsey Gullickson of Georgia or senior Natalie Pluskota of Tennessee. Gullickson is the No. 3 seed in the draw and is ranked No. 9 in the country. She was the Southeast Region Champion. Pluskota is ranked No. 29 in the nation and earned an at-large bid.

MEMPHIS INVITE AWAITS REST OF GOLDEN HURRICANE
The Golden Hurricane will compete at the Memphis Invite Nov. 4-6 in Memphis, Tenn. Those competing will be seniors Anastasia Erofeeva, Ewa Szatkowska and Bonny Davidson, junior Michelle Farley, sophomore Maria Sant'Anna and freshman Isaura Enrique.

VICKERS WINS CENTRAL REGION CHAMPIONSHIP
Samantha Vickers became the fourth player in school history to win the USTA/ITA Central Region Championship when she defeated Iowa's Sonja Molnar 6-1, 6-2 Oct. 24 at Case Tennis Center. Vickers joined Anousjka van Exel (1998), Aleksandra Durska (2001) and Alicia Pillay (2002) as Central Region Singles Champions from The University of Tulsa. She dropped just one set en route to the championship, and she defeated No. 65-ranked Sonja Molnar (Iowa) 6-1, 6-2 in the title match. Along the way, Vickers also defeated Mary Weatherholt (Nebraska) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. Weatherholt missed most of last season due to an injury, but the year prior she was ranked as high as No. 52 in the nation.

TU STARTS FALL SEASON IN MIDLAND, NORMAN
Tulsa competed at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational and the Sooner Fall Invitational in the opening weekend of the fall campaign. Senior Anastasia Erofeeva had the deepest run in Midland, as she advanced all the way to the quarterfinals. Sophomore Samantha Vickers fell in her opening match, but won three contests in the consolation draw to reach the championship match. Sophomore Maria Sant'Anna posted 2-1 record in both singles and doubles in Norman, teaming with senior Bonny Davidson in doubles play.

TULSA ENDS 2011 IN SECOND ROUND OF NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Tulsa reached the second round of the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship for the third time in the last four years and for the fifth time in school history in 2011. The Golden Hurricane defeated No. 44 Nebraska 4-2 in the opening round of the NCAA Tourney and fell to No. 10 Michigan 4-1 in the Ann Arbor Regional. The season was historic for Tulsa as the team won a school-record 26 matches and went on a school-record 21-match win streak from Feb. 12 to May 14.

GOLDEN HURRICANE WINS FOURTH C-USA CROWN IN FIVE YEARS
In the closest championship match in conference history, the Golden Hurricane came from behind to defeat No. 33 SMU 4-3 to win its fourth league title in the last five years. Tulsa captured the doubles point and held a 2-1 advantage after sophomore Michelle Farley won her singles match. TU then lost the next two matches to fall behind 3-2, but freshman Samantha Vickers and senior Jo-Anne Karaitiana rallied the team to capture the only 4-3 decision in championship history. Tulsa also defeated Tulane and No. 66 Rice in the tournament to reach the finals.

TU SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS
The 2011 version of the Golden Hurricane broke the school record for wins in a single season, as the team ended the season at 26-3 (.897). Tulsa also boasted a 21-match win streak, which included a Conference USA Championship and a trip to the NCAA Second Round. The team recorded a 12-3 record against ranked opponents. The previous record for single-season wins was the 23 victories posted in the 2009 campaign.

STREAKING AT HOME
Tulsa is currently riding a 24-match win streak at the friendly confines of Case Tennis Center. The streak began Feb. 21, 2010 with a 6-1 triumph over Kansas. The Golden Hurricane won its last 10 home matches in 2010, which included all three matches in the 2010 Conference USA Championship. Tulsa followed that up with an unblemished 14-0 mark at home in 2011. The last time TU fell at Case Tennis Center was Feb. 17, 2010, when the blue and gold dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to in-state rival Oklahoma. Coach Dean Orford has posted a ridiculous 85-11 (.885) home record during his six-plus seasons at the helm of the women's program.

SIX MEMBERS OF GOLDEN HURRICANE EARN POSTSEASON RECOGNITION
The Conference USA champions had six players earn postseason distinction in 2011. The mark was the most in school history and tied Tulane (2004) for the most postseason honorees in league history. Senior Alexandra Kichoutkin was named to the All-Conference USA First Team for the fourth-straight year, making her just the fourth player in league history to be named to the first team all four years. The other four-time honorees were Kellie Schmitt (Marshall, 2006-09), Mirela Vladulescu (UAB, 1998-01) and Elisa Penalvo (Marquette, 1997-00). Junior Anastasia Erofeeva, sophomore Michelle Farley and freshman Samantha Vickers were all named to the All-Conference USA Second Team. Erofeeva earned her third-straight postseason honor (2010 Second Team, 2009 Third Team), and both Farley and Vickers earned their first-career laurels. Vickers was also named the Freshman of the Year. Junior Ewa Szatkowska was named to the All-Conference USA Third Team. Tulsa was the only school with two doubles teams to be named to postseason squads. Both the senior duo of Kichoutkin and Jo-Anne Karaitiana and the junior tandem of Erofeeva and Szatkowska were named to the All-Conference USA Doubles Third Team. Head coach Dean Orford was named the C-USA Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career.

TULSA EARNS HIGHEST TEAM RANKING IN SCHOOL HISTORY
The University of Tulsa women's tennis team was slotted at No. 21 in the nation in the Final Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings released May 30. The Golden Hurricane moved up one spot from the May 2 mark after wrapping up the season in the 2011 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship Second Round. The No. 21 rank is the highest end-of-year ranking in school history. The team was ranked No. 19 on April 5, which was the highest in school history, with the ranking system beginning in 1997-98. Senior Alexandra Kichoutkin ended her career ranked No. 109 in the nation.

ORFORD BREAKS TU ALL-TIME WINS MARK, WINS TWO COACH OF YEAR AWARDS
Tulsa coach Dean Orford broke the school record for career wins in his sixth season at the helm. He now has 128 career victories to just 38 losses for a school-record .771 win percentage. His record-breaking victory came Jan. 21 with a 7-0 victory over Mississippi State. He passed Paige McMurray (1998-05), who ended her career with a 104-65 mark. In 2011, Orford led TU to a school-record 26 wins and a .897 win percentage. He was named the ITA Central Region Coach of the Year and the Conference USA Coach of the Year for his efforts on the record-breaking campaign. Orford has also been dominant at home during his career. He owns an 85-11 record at Case Tennis Center for a stellar .885 home winning percentage.

Tulsa Women's Tennis

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