Women's Tennis 9/19/2021 2:39:00 PM Chris Brannick

Abidullina, Boyar Win Titles In Arkansas

CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Oklahoma tennis team returned to the courts this weekend at the University of Central Arkansas for the UCA Invite and the Bronchos picked up several big victories.

Adel-Byanu Abidullina won the Flight 1 Singles title after knocking off three Division I opponents. She needed three sets in both the quarterfinal match and the semifinals before cruising to a straight-set win for the title.

Nikki Boyar also won the Flight 6 Singles title. She picked up a pair of wins against DII opponents before a three-set victory in the final over DI competition.

"We played pretty well this weekend against a lot of very good competition," UCO first year head tennis coach Joe Vann said. "This was a big test for us and we're hopeful it will pay off as we move through the season. Playing a tough schedule is obviously hard but it makes you better and I think we did really well this weekend."

Abidullina knocked off Arkansas State's Hunter Roper 6-2, 0-6, 10-5 to advance to the semifinals. There she clipped Oral Roberts standout Sasha Nahurska, 4-6, 6-4, 11-9. In the final, Abidullina moved quickly to pass Chunxi Xin of Central Arkansas, 6-2, 6-3.

Abidullina was named MIAA co-Player of the Year in 2019 and earned the award outright in 2021. She made her season debut this weekend and is off to a 3-0 start.

Boyar blew past Southern Arkansas standout Sara Roy by a count of 6-4, 6-0 before knocking off Emily Carpenter of Harding, 6-2, 7-5. In the final, the junior from San Antonio, Texas dropped the first set before rebounding for a win over Arkansas State's Sofia Vdovychenko, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.

Abidullina and Boyar also teamed up to take on the field in Flight 2 Doubles play. The duo won their first match 6-1 over UMKC's Eva Kresovic and Riddhi Sharma before being edged out in the semis against Central Arkansas' duo of Mei Ishimura and Yada Vasupongchai by a score of 6-3. The Broncho duo responded with a 7-6 (6) win in the third-place match over ASU's Hunter Roper and Emily Surcey.

Grace Chadick picked up a quarterfinal win in Flight 3 Singles before being bumped in the semis. She did not play her scheduled third-place match.

Chadick then teamed up with Blythe Buntrock in Flight 3 Doubles and the duo was solid, winning their quarterfinal match 6-4 and their semifinal match 7-6 (5). They would end up with a runner-up finish after falling 6-2 in the final.

Over the weekend, Central picked up a combined 10 wins in singles competition and another six in doubles play.

The Bronchos will now return home to focus on the ITA Regional. UCO is hosting the annual event at Edmond Center Court Oct. 1-3.

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Players Mentioned

Adel-Byanu Abidullina: 5' 10"; Junior

Nikki Boyar: 5' 2"; Junior

Blythe Buntrock: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Grace Chadick: 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Adel-Byanu Abidullina
: 5' 10"; Junior

Nikki Boyar
: 5' 2"; Junior

Blythe Buntrock
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Grace Chadick
: 5' 6"; Freshman