Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Defeat SMU 4-3
April 01, 2004 | Cowboy Tennis
“I thought we came out a little flat after our tough match against Rice on Sunday, but it is a credit to our guys to come back after losing the doubles' point and win four of the six singles' matches to win the dual,” head coach James Wadley said.
Mark Van Elden and Daniel Byrnes recorded an upset over No. 28 Johan Brunstrom and Henrik Soderberg just one day after they were named co-Big 12 Players of the Week.
SMU's Paul McNaughton and Gwinyai Chingoka defeated Yevgen Bondarchuk and Boris Kuharik, while Peter Oredsson and Federico Murgier defeated Juan Felipe Diaz and Tomas Bohunicky to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead in the dual.
The Cowboys came out victorious in the first four singles' matches to finish. Kuharic evened the dual at one with a straight set victory over Chingoka at the No. 4 position.
Van Elden faced his third straight ranked opponent in No. 70 Brunstrom. Brunstrom is coming off of a victory over second-ranked Benedikt Dorsch of Baylor. Van Elden never gave Brunstrom a chance to think he could pull off another upset. Van Elden won the first five games of the match before taking the first set 6-2 and it was the same thing in the second set as he won 6-3.
Bohunicky rallied to defeat Soderberg in a three set grinder after he dropped the first set 6-2.
Bondarchuk had the guttiest performance of the day. Still recovering from a pulled muscle in his leg, Bondarchuk gutted out a tough three set victory over McNaughton, which proved to be the decisive match.
“I think you have to credit our tenacity,” Coach Wadley said. “To battle as hard as they did to get back in the match after losing at doubles, it was a really great effort.”
The Cowboys will resume Big 12 play on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Colorado at the DuBois Tennis Center.
#28 Oklahoma State 4, #41 SMU 3
Doubles
No. 1 Van Elden/Byrnes (OSU) def. #28 Brunstrom/Soderberg (SMU) 9-8
No. 2 McNaughton/Chingoka (SMU) def. Bondarchuk/Kuharic (OSU) 8-5
No. 3 Oredsson/Murgier (SMU) def. Diaz/Bohunicky (OSU) 8-5
Singles
No. 1 #30 Mark Van Elden (OSU) def. #70 Johan Brunstrom (SMU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Yevgen Bondarchuk (OSU) def. Paul McNaughton (SMU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 3 Tomas Bohunicky (OSU) def. Henrik Soderberg (SMU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 Boris Kuharic (OSU) def. Gwinyai Chingoka (SMU) 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 Alex Skrypko (SMU) def. Daniel Byrnes (OSU) 6-7, 6-2, 10-8
No. 6 Federico Murgier (SMU) def. Juan Felipe Diaz (OSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
