College of Charleston
Oklahoma
Kambourelis Rallies Cougars To 4-3 Upset Of No. 44 Oklahoma
3/20/2012 11:08:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Sophomore Kelly Kambourelis (Melbourne, Fla.) rallied the College of Charleston women's tennis team to a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over No. 44-ranked Oklahoma on Tuesday afternoon at the CofC Tennis Center.
Kambourelis outlasted OU's Marie-Pier Huet in a hard-fought three-set thriller on a back-hand passing shot down the line to clinch the match, 5-7, 7-6, 6-2, at No. 2 singles.
It marked the program's first win in two all-time meetings with Oklahoma and was also the highest-ranked home victory since the facility opened in 2004 at Patriots Point. The Cougars last beat a team hailing from the Big 12 Conference in a 5-2 upset of No. 27 Kansas State in 1996 in Columbia, S.C.
With the win, the Cougars (14-4) kept their undefeated home-court win streak alive at 10-0 and rolled to their 10th-consecutive victory of the season dating back to a 6-1 road win at Samford on March 8.
It didn't come easy. CofC dropped the doubles point early, but gained ground in singles after freshman Jenny Falcone (Davidson, N.C.) got the Cougars on the scoreboard with a straight-set win over OU's Nicole Long, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 5 line.
Freshman Samantha Maddox (Lexington, Ky.) equalized the match at two-all with a 6-2, 7-6 victory over Abbi Melrose at No. 4, while No. 113-ranked senior Katie Lee (Brisbane, Australia) showed veteran leadership closing out her three-setter over Whitney Wofford, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 6 and setting the stage for the match finale.
"The team did a great job today," said CofC Director of Tennis Angelo Anastopoulo, who missed most of the doubles while spending time at the hospital with his son during his recovery from a surgical procedure. "The difference in the match was that we fought our hearts out in the end and it was just a great come-from-behind victory to win two three-set matches like we did and for Sam (Maddox) to win her second set, 7-6, after being down 6-5.
"It's a true testament to what we have been trying to stress to them, 'when we get these opportunities against high-ranked teams, we need to come through.' We have been close before, but this is the first time we have come through in a while. I couldn't be more excited. This is something our team really deserves for all of the hard work they have been putting in this season."
The Sooners (7-8) became the second nationally-ranked squad to fall victim to CofC next to a 4-2 decision over No. 67 Winthrop in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 29.
"Oklahoma is a great team and is well coached," Anastopoulo said. "They really fought until the very end. We just had a little bit more in our tank to close out the match."
The Cougars will host two more non-conference opponents in a doubleheader scheduled against Cornell and UMass on Thursday, March 22 at 1 p.m. (ET) and 5 p.m. (ET) respectively. Live scoring will be available at www.CofCSports.com.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 4, (44) OKLAHOMA 3
March 20, 2012
CofC Tennis Center
at Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Attendance: 52
SINGLES
No. 1 - Whitney Ritchie (OU) def. Christin Newman (CofC), 7-5, 7-6.
No. 2 - Kelly Kambourelis (CofC) def. Marie-Pier Huet (OU), 5-7, 7-6, 6-2.
No. 3 - Peta Maree Lancaster (OU) def. Caroline Newman (CofC), 6-0, 6-2.
No. 4 - Samantha Maddox (CofC) def. Abbi Melrose (OU), 6-2, 7-6.
No. 5 - Jenny Falcone (CofC) def. Nicole Long (OU), 6-3, 6-4.
No. 6 - (113) Katie Lee (CofC) def. Whitney Wofford (OU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - (44) Marie-Pier Huet-Whitney Ritchie (OU) def. Samantha Maddox-Irene Viana (CofC), 8-3.
No. 2 - Jenny Falcone-Kelly Kambourelis (CofC) def. Peta Maree Lancaster-Abbie Melrose (OU), 8-5.
No. 3 - Nicole Long-Whitney Wofford (OU) def. Caroline Newman-Christin Newman (CofC), 8-5.
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 3, 5, 4, 6, 1, 2*
Players Mentioned
