Strong start for women’s tennis as stars shine

What began as a difficult weekend eventually proved fruitful for the women’s tennis team, as the team leaders battled in their championship matches at the season opening Oklahoma University Invitational, in Norman.

Senior Julia Schiller and sophomore Gabriela Porubin — ranked nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association 121st and 125th, respectively — were runners-up in the doubles competition for the second-straight year at this tournament. The duo was able to defeat two nationally ranked opponents before reaching the finals, where they lost 6-3 to TCU.

Porubin also made it to the finals in the top singles flight, earning her first win of the year over a nationally ranked opponent along the way before falling to Gabriela Talaba in a close match that ended 6-2, 7-6.

“It’s a really strong field here and there were no easy matches,” head coach Colin Foster said. “Everyone competed hard and most came away with some wins. Even in the matches that we lost, it was against good opponents.”

Other notable finishes included Giulia Guidetti, who went 2-1 in both singles and doubles action. She reached the semifinals of the third singles flight and partnered with Luca Pump to reach the semifinals of the second doubles flight. Aleks Trifunovic also went 2-1 in the third flight of singles before falling in the semifinals.

The tournament serves as a key starting block for the team as they look ahead and try to build on the lessons that were learned in Norman.

“Everybody loves to win,” Foster said. “But to have the chance to push ourselves against good competition, pick up some wins, and build some confidence is important. Even in the matches we lost we were doing good things, so hopefully we will just build on that as we go through the fall season into the spring season.”