ITA Women's Indoors
Oklahoma State Captures First ITA National Indoor Title
by Rhiannon Potkey, 13 February 2024
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It was guaranteed a first-time champion would be crowned when No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 5 Michigan squared off in the ITA Indoor National Championship final on Monday in Seattle, Washington.
The thrilling match came down to the final court, with Oklahoma State’s Anastasiya Komar outlasting Michigan’s Kari Miller in three sets to halt a Michigan comeback and clinch the title for the Cowgirls with a 4-3 victory at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
“I am so proud of this team. These girls have worked hard and they compete for each other so well and that has been the key to our success,” OSU head coach Chris Young said. “I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings. But this is special.”
Oklahoma State beat Stanford for the first time in program history with a 4-2 win in the semifinals. Michigan, which had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals at the ITA National Indoors, beat NC State 4-1 in the other semifinal.
NC State eliminated four-time defending champion North Carolina in the semifinals. It marked the first time since 2014 that the Tar Heels didn’t reach the final in the event.
The final was a rematch of a season-opening match on Jan. 19, when Oklahoma State beat Michigan 4-2 at home in Stillwater. The Cowgirls have handed Michigan (8-2) its only two losses this season.
On Monday, Oklahoma State jumped out to a 3-0 lead by winning the doubles point and notching straight-set wins by Ange Oby Kajuru at No. 2 singles and Kristina Novak at No. 6 singles.
Freshman Piper Charney launched Michigan’s rally by beating Ayumi Miyamota 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot. Michigan’s three seniors - Miller, Jaeden Brown and Gala Mesochoritou - all needed to win the remaining matches to complete the comeback for the title.
Brown beat Safiya Carrington 6-4, 7-6 (4) at No. 4 and Mesochoritou beat Lucia Peyre 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3. But Komar held off the Michigan charge and clinched the championship for the Cowgirls with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Miller at the No. 1 spot.
Oklahoma State already has four top-six wins and eight top-15 wins in just nine matches this season. The Cowgirls will have a chance to bookend their season with national crowns on their home courts when they host the NCAA Championships at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
Championship match
No. 3 Oklahoma State 4, No. 5 Michigan 3
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 17 Ansastasiya Komar (OSU) d. No. 9 Kari Miller (U-M), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 5 Ange Oby Kajuru (OSU) d. No. 18 Julia Fliegner (U-M), 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 -- No. 124 Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. No. 54 Lucia Peyre (OSU), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 -- Jaedan Brown (U-M) d. No. 122 Safiya Carrington (OSU), 6-4, 7-6 (4)
No. 5 -- Piper Charney (U-M) d. No. 46 Ayumi Miyamota (OSU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 -- Kristina Novak (OSU) d. No. 57 Lily Jones (U-M), 6-2, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 13 Ansastasiya Komar/Ange Oby Kajuru (OSU) d. No. 5 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (U-M), 6-2
No. 2 -- Ayumi Miyamota/Raquel Gonzalez (OSU) d. Anna Ross/Lily Jones (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 -- Reese Miller/Piper Charney (U-M) vs. Safiya Carrington/Kristina Novak (OSU), 5-5 abandoned
Order of Completion: Doubles (1-2); Singles (2-6-5-4-3-1)
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About Rhiannon Potkey
Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two
decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many
sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories.
Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national
events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches.
Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You
can reach Rhiannon by email at
[email protected].
