NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship: TU's Saana Saarteinen Falls to Arkansas’ Yuliya Lysa In Opening Round

The University of Tulsa women's tennis senior and 86th-nationally ranked singles player Saana Saarteinen dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Arkansas's 21st-ranked singles player Yuliya Lysa in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Singles Championship at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
 
Saarteinen finished her career with an overall 88-44 singles record, and a 77-40 career doubles mark. Her 88 singles wins place her eighth on TU's career singles leaders list, and her 86th national ranking in singles play is the highest ranking reached by a Tulsa women's player this season.
 
In the first set, Saarteinen collected two quick game points to take an early 2-0 lead. Lysa battled back to take two straight points to tie the score at 2-2. Saarteinen won the next point to earn a 3-2 lead, before Lysa tied the score for a second time in the set at 3-3. Lysa went on to take the next three points to close out the first set, 6-3, taking a 1-0 match lead going into the second frame.
 
Lysa carried her momentum into the second set as she jumped out to an immediate 2-0 lead. Saarteinen went on to win two out of the next three points to bring the score to 3-2, before Lysa scored three-straight points to end the set at 6-2 and the match at 2-0.