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EDMOND (March 25) -- Central Oklahoma's 10-match winning streak came to an end here Thursday afternoon, but not without a fight as the No. 26-ranked Bronchos dropped a hard-fought 5-4 decision to No. 19 Drury.
UCO overcame a 2-1 deficit to roll past Dallas Baptist 5-2 in an earlier match Thursday and nearly overcame the same obstacle against the Drury before the Panthers pulled out a couple of tense singles wins to snare the victory.
"We had two hard matches today against tough competition in some extreme weather conditions and I'm very proud of the way my girls responded to that," UCO coach Natalya Smith said. "We had a rought start against Dallas Baptist, but then came out very strong and focused in the singles.
"We had a few opportunities to turn the match against Drury in our favor, but they got away with a win. It was a great performance on both teams' part. We had a great run with 10 wins in a row and will continue building up our record and having fun along the way."
Anto Rossini and Rose Cabato combined for UCO's lone doubles win in the morning match against DBU, but the Bronchos easily overcame that 2-1 deficit by taking four straight singles match while leading in the other two that were stopped.
Rossini, Julia Shviadok, Eli Abramovic and Virginie Rodriguez all claimed straight-set singles wins in the come-from-behind victory.
Rossini and Cabato again claimed UCO's only doubles victory against Drury, but the Bronchos couldn't quite climb out of the 2-1 hole this time.
Shviadok and Abramovic rallied for three-set singles wins while Rossini completed a perfect 4-0 day with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph, but Drury won tough matches at No. 3 and 4 singles to take the win.
It was the first loss by the Bronchos since a season-opening defeat to Oklahoma State. UCO, now 10-2, goes to Abilene, Texas Saturday to take on Lone Star Conference rival Abilene Christian and Hardin-Simmons.
UCO 5, Dallas Baptist 2
Doubles
No. 1 - Natalie Holmes/Hannah Innes, DBU, def. Lacy Caldwell/Virginie Rodriguez, 8-1.
No. 2 - Lisa Olian/Jeanelle Stines, DBU, def. Julia Shviadok/Eli Abramovic, 8-6.
No. 3 - Anto Rossini/Rose Cabato, UCO, def. Laura Atkins/Lexi Yeado, 8-6.
Singles
No. 1 - Shviadok, UCO, def. Holmes, 7-5, 6-0.
No. 2 - Abramovic, UCO, def. Olian, 6-3, 6-0.
No. 4 - Rossini, UCO, def. Stines, 6-2, 6-1.
No. 5 - Rodriguez, UCO, def. Atkins, 6-4, 6-4.
Drury 5, UCO 4
Doubles
No. 1 - Katia Bon/Khrystsina Tryboi, DU, def. Lacy Caldwell/Virginie Rodriguez, 8-3.
No. 2 - Pelagie Gamo/Abbey Sharpe, DU, def. Julia Shviadok/Eli Abramovic, 9-7.
No. 3 - Anto Rossini/Rose Cabato, UCO, def. Valentine Lambrechts/Anna Lustig, 8-6.
Singles
No. 1 - Shviadok, UCO, def. Bon, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
No. 2 - Abramovic, UCO, def. Tryboi, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3,
No. 3 - Gamo, DU, def. Caldwell, 2-6, 6-0, 6-1.
No. 4 - Sharpe, DU, def. Rodriguez, 7-6, 7-5.
No. 5 - Rossini, UCO, def. Lambrechts, 6-4, 6-1.
No. 6 - Lustig, DU, def. Lindsey Sweetgall, 6-0, 7-5.