Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Sweep Away Oklahoma
April 15, 2004 | Cowboy Tennis
Oklahoma State's 29th-ranked men's tennis team showed a lot of heart playing through injuries and were able to upend No. 62 Oklahoma in front of a large crowd at the DeBois Tennis Center today.
“OU fought hard,” head coach James Wadley said. “They battled the whole time under windy conditions. We played really well in doubles and gained momentum during singles' play. Mark (Van Elden) gave us a scare when he went down with the ankle, but he got taped up and came back in the third set.
“Emotions are always high when you play OU. It makes some players not play better and others play better. Being able to win a conference match against OU 7-0 is something that is really special for these guys.”
OSU improved to 14-3 on the season with a 3-2 record in Big 12 duals, while OU dropped to 15-6 and 1-4 in conference play.
The Cowboys were triumphant in the first match of the day. Yevgen Bondarchuk and Boris Kuharic had little trouble with Ondrej Fukala and Tommy Garrison at the No. 1 doubles' position. The Sooners quickly tied up the doubles' point, Marek Velicka and Lee Gregg defeated Juan Felipe Diaz and Tomas Bohunicky 8-1.
Mark Van Elden and Daniel Byrnes trailed early at the No. 2 spot, but rallied to give Oklahoma State a 1-0 lead in the dual.
“The intensity level was amazing,” freshman Daniel Byrnes said after his first bedlam match. “This was bigger than anything we have played with this season and it was great to see all the people out here to support us.”
All six singles' matches were competitive and could have swung either way. Byrnes was the first player done at No. 5 dispatching of Oklahoma's Matt Long in straight sets. Bohunicky followed him as a straight set winner over Velicka. The Cowboys seized the momentum at that point and took control of the dual.
Needing just one more point to wrap up the match, OU forced a third set in the last four singles' matches. Van Elden won the first set 6-4 against Ivanov. Ivanov came back in the second set, however, hitting tough volley after tough volley and was able to force a third set after winning the second 6-3.
“In the second set I was not so much frustrated with myself as I was with him,” junior Mark Van Elden said. “He was just playing so well and it is frustrating when your best shots are coming back as winners. That is why I was getting vocally frustrated. I had one bad service game in the second set and he was able to break me. All my hard work an d patience paid off in the end.”
Ivanov clearly had Van Elden, the nation's 25th-ranked player, frustrated. Two points into the third set was when the match turned. Van Elden rolled his ankle running down an Ivanov forehand, and was forced to take an injury time-out. Van Elden returned from the time-out with a vengeance. He put away the match and the dual winning the third set 6-1.
The Cowboys will return to action on Saturday when they face Texas Tech at the DeBois Tennis Center with the match slated to start at 2 p.m.
No. 29 Oklahoma State 7, No. 62 Oklahoma 0
Doubles
No. 1 Bondarchuk/Kuharic (OSU) def. Fukala/Garrison (OU) 8-2
No. 2 Van Elden/Byrnes (OSU) def. Long/Ivanov (OU) 8-6
No. 3 Velicka/Gregg (OU) def. Diaz/Bohunicky (OSU) 8-1
Singles
No. 1 No. 25 Mark Van Elden (OSU) def. Alexei Ivanov (OU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
No. 2 Yevgen Bondarchuk (OSU) def. Ondrej Fukala (OU) 6-3, 5-7, 10-8
No. 3 No. 109 Tomas Bohunicky (OSU) def. Marek Velicka (OU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 Boris Kuharic (OSU) def. Tommy Garrison (OU) 6-7, 7-5, 10-3
No. 5 Daniel Byrnes (OSU) def. Matt Long (OU) 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 Juan Felipe Diaz (OSU) def. Lee Gregg (OU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
