Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Upsets No. 7 Stanford
February 19, 2005 | Cowboy Tennis
The 30th-ranked Cowboys (6-2) got off to strong start, getting easy wins at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles. At the No. 2 spot, Diaz and Boris Kuharic picked up an 8-2 win over Phil Sheng and Eric McKean. Tomas Bohunicky and Artie Burmistrau followed shortly thereafter with an 8-3 win of their own.
The Cardinal tied the score at 1-1 when fourth-ranked Sam Warburg defeated Mark Van Elden, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 1 singles.
The Pokes regained the lead after Kuharic defeated Sheng, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 3 singles. Stanford quickly put the pressure back on with wins at Nos. 2 and 4 singles to take a 3-2 advantage.
At No. 6 singles, Daniel Byrnes cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 over McKean to tie the score and give Felipe Diaz a chance to be the hero.
With the score tied 3-3 and his match knotted up at one set a piece, Diaz had the outcome of the dual in his hands and rose to the challenge. The junior from Bogota, Colombia, battled through severe leg cramps to win a marathon match over Phil Kao, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (5), and seal the victory for the Cowboys.
"All the guys played great today," head coach James Wadley said. "They all had great hustle, and Felipe fighting through his cramps was an amazing effort."
The Cowboys finish play at the tournament tomorrow at 9 a.m. against No. 31 Harvard.
Doubles
No. 1 - No. 2 Corkery/Warburg (Stanford) led Van Elden/Byrnes (OSU); 6-5 (DNF)
No. 2 - No. 40 Kuharic/Diaz (OSU) def. Sheng/McKean (Stanford); 8-2
No. 3 - Bohunicky/Burmistrau (OSU) def. Wong/Wan (Stanford); 8-3
Singles
No. 1 - No. 4 Sam Warburg (Stanford) def. No. 44 Mark Van Elden (OSU); 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 - No. 15 KC Corkery (Stanford) def. No. 115 Tomas Bohunicky (OSU); 7-5, 6-4
No. 3 - No. 117 Boris Kuharic (OSU) def. Phil Sheng (Stanford); 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 - James Wan (Stanford) def. Artie Burmistrau (OSU); 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 - Felipe Diaz (OSU) def. Phil Kao (Stanford); 6-7 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
No. 6 - Daniel Byrnes (OSU) def. Eric McKean (Stanford); 6-3, 6-0
