Women's Tennis 5/21/2022 10:43:00 AM Chris Brannick

UCO Finishes National Runners-Up

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Central Oklahoma finished National Runners-Up in the 2022 Division II Women's Tennis Championship following a 4-1 loss in the national championship match against Barry Saturday morning at Sanlando Park.

Central Oklahoma posted a 24-2 record this season. Its only two losses – the ITA Indoor National Championship and the NCAA National Championship – both came to Barry, which extended its win streak to 63 matches in winning its fifth consecutive national title.

"The national championship should be the hardest thing to accomplish and it is," UCO head tennis coach Joe Vann said. "We weren't able to do it today. But we were close. We won the doubles point and that was big, and we were close to winning two more singles matches. If it ended 4-3 that's a great match. The 4-1 score doesn't change how proud I am of this team. They worked so hard for so long this season and they deserve a lot of credit for what they accomplished. They just did something no other team in school history has done before."

Central Oklahoma gained an early lead by taking the Doubles point Saturday morning.

Adel-Byanu Abidullina and Tizia Brocks, ranked No. 31 in the country in the ITA's Doubles Top 50, picked up a 6-2 win at the No. 2 position in the lineup. The duo was the first match completed.

Barry leveled doubles play with a win at No. 3 doubles, with Nikki Boyar and Blythe Buntrock falling 6-4.

But moments later Central Oklahoma got a huge win at the top position to get the point. Mae Canete and Christine Canete, ranked No. 1 in the country, beat Deniz Khazan and Madeline Bosnjak, who are ranked No. 3 in the country. The Canete sisters won 6-4 to give Central the point.

Barry tied the match with the first Singles win at the No. 6 position. Moosbacher, formerly of Oklahoma Baptist, defeated Buntrock, 6-1, 6-1 to put the Buccaneers on the scoreboard and even the championship, 1-1.

Barry then took the lead it wouldn't relinquish with a win at the No. 5 spot. Daniela Farfan topped Brocks, 6-0, 6-2 to give BU a 2-1 lead in the championship.

Christine lost 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2 Singles in a battle of two nationally-ranked players. Christine is No. 8 in the country and Barry's Jil Engelman is ranked No. 26.

Barry got its final, match-clinching point at No. 4 Singles. Bosnjak won 6-2, 6-2 over Grace Chadick to give the Buccaneers a 63rd consecutive overall victory and a fifth-straight Division II National Championship.

Mae held a lead in the second set of her dynamic showdown at No. 1 Singles. Mae is ranked No. 3 in the country and Deniz Khazan is ranked No. 1. Mae won the first set 7-6 (7-3) and was up 2-1 when their match was abandoned.

The same can be said about No. 3 Singles. Abidullina, ranked No. 27 in the country, took the first set from 36th-ranked Xiyao Wang, 7-5, and held a 4-1 lead in the second set.

Central Oklahoma finished the 2022 season national runners-up – the best finish in school history. UCO posted a 24-2 overall record, also the best mark in the history of the program.

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Players Mentioned

Adel-Byanu Abidullina: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Nikki Boyar: 5' 2"; Sophomore

Blythe Buntrock: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Mae Canete: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Tizia Brocks: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Christine Canete: 5' 5"; Freshman

Grace Chadick: 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Adel-Byanu Abidullina
: 5' 10"; Sophomore

Nikki Boyar
: 5' 2"; Sophomore

Blythe Buntrock
: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Mae Canete
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Tizia Brocks
: 5' 9"; Graduate Student

Christine Canete
: 5' 5"; Freshman

Grace Chadick
: 5' 6"; Freshman