Cowboys Fall to OU on Senior Day

Saturday, April 21

Stillwater, OK

12 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

University of Oklahoma

April 21, 2018 | Cowboy Tennis

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State's 14th-ranked men's tennis team fell to No. 17 Oklahoma, 4-3, in its final match of the regular season on Saturday at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.

"It was a good tennis match," coach Jay Udwadia said. "I'm not disappointed with my guys. We played well, we put ourselves in a situation to win that match and OU played really well at the end. They took the match from us, it's not like we gave it to them."

"To get to the level to get to the point where we had a chance to win, I was happy about that. (It was) just a couple points here and there, and that's sports. You have to try to win those key points; OU won them, and they won them playing good tennis."

In doubles action, the Cowboys secured the point after all three matches went to a tiebreaker.

No. 77 Artur Dubinski and Eleftherios Theodorou defeated No. 57 Alex Bakshi and Jake van Emburgh of Oklahoma, 7-6 (7-4), after coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the tiebreaker.

No. 88 Luke Hammond and Jurence Mendoza secured the doubles point for the Cowboys defeating Ferran Calvo and Stefano Tsorotiotis, 7-6 (7-1).

In singles play, the Cowboys won two matches, taking a commanding 3-0 lead before dropping the final four matches to give the Sooners the victory.

First up for OSU was Scaglia, who defeated Adrian Oetzbach in dominating fashion, 6-2, 6-4. Shortly after, Hammond took down Max Stewart, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, to put the Cowboys' third point on the board.

Oklahoma State also honored its four seniors at the match including Theodorou, Mendoza, Tristan Meraut and Julian Cash.

After transferring from Iowa, Theodorou became a senior leader for the Cowboys in his lone season with the Pokes. Coming from Marousi, Greece, Theodorou was the No. 1-ranked player at the U14, U16, and U18 levels in Greece. Theodorou had a career defining moment at OSU when he provided the match-clinching point in a third-set tiebreaker to propel the Cowboys to a conference victory over 19th-ranked Baylor. He has earned 22 doubles victories and 10-5 singles record at OSU.

Hailing from Olongapo City, Philippines, Mendoza will graduate with a management degree from OSU. Mendoza has played four years with the Cowboys, and will leave the program in the top ten in career singles wins and the top five in career doubles wins. Mendoza was an Academic All Big 12 first team selection in 2016 and 2017, and was named an ITA Scholar Athlete in 2017. Mendoza is one of four Cowboys who have reached 70 career doubles victories in coach Jay Udwadia's tenure. He has tallied 72 doubles victories and 52 singles victories as a Cowboy.

As a native of Paris, France, Meraut will graduate with degrees in management and marketing. Meraut has played four seasons with the Cowboys, and will finish his career in the top ten for most career singles victories at OSU. He was named an ITA Scholar Athlete and was a first team Academic All-Big 12 selection in 2017. As a junior, Meraut provided the match-clinching point on 6 occasions, including matches against top-ten-ranked Baylor and Texas. He has recorded 52 singles wins, and 20 doubles victories as a Cowboy.

A senior from Brighton, England, Cash will graduate from OSU with a degree in management. Cash has played three seasons with the Cowboys. He is a three-time All-American, and is second in career doubles wins at OSU in the Big 12 era. He also ranks in the top ten in career singles victories as a Cowboy. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the year in 2016, Big 12 player of the week 5 times, and is a two-time All-Big 12 selection. Cash has also been named an ITA Scholar Athlete, and was an Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection in 2017. He has collected 80 doubles wins and 51 singles wins as a Cowboy.

"I recruited some of these guys when we were at the Colvin Center," Udwadia said. "It was nice to see everyone grow up. Coming here as a freshman and being more mature and polished as they're graduating, that's always a pleasure to see that. We have four great guys that we're losing and that's the bad part—they're not going to be here. But they're going to be friends for life and part of the OSU family for life."

Next up, the Cowboys will compete in the Big 12 Men's Tennis Championship in Austin, Texas. The bracket for the tournament will be announced Sunday.

Follow @CowboyTennis on social media to keep up with all things Cowboy Tennis.

No. 14 Oklahoma State 3, No. 17 Oklahoma 4
April 21, 2018 | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Okla.

Singles (Order of finish: 3, 4, 5, 1, 6, 2)
1. #35 Alex Bakshi (OU) def. #92 Artur Dubinski (OKST) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3?
2. #117 Jake van Emburgh (OU) def. Tristan Meraut (OKST) 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
3. Mathieu Scaglia (OKST) def. Adrian Oetzbach (OU) 6-2, 6-4?
4. #59 Ferran Calvo (OU) def. Jurence Mendoza (OKST) 6-4, 7-5?
5. Luke Hammond (OKST) def. Max Stewart (OU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-3?
6. Stefano Tsorotiotis (OU) def. Leftherios Theodorou (OKST) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles (Order of finish: 1, 2)
1. #77 Artur Dubinski/Leftherios Theodorou (OKST) def. #57 Alex Bakshi/Jake van Emburgh (OU) 7-6 (7-4)
2. #88 Jurence Mendoza/Luke Hammond (OKST) def. Ferran Calvo/Stefano Tsorotiotis (OU) 7-6 (7-1)?
3. Brady Draheim/Mathieu Scaglia (OKST) vs. Adrian Oetzbach/Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-6 (5-1), unfinished