Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Netters Close Out Conference Season at Oklahoma
April 19, 2005 | Cowboy Tennis
The 15th-ranked Cowboys (17-5 overall, 4-2 Big 12) picked up a pair of top 50 road wins last week, defeating Tulsa, 4-3, and TCU, 4-2. Senior Boris Kuharic and junior Felipe Diaz upset TCU's 11th-ranked doubles tandem, marking their third victory over a top 15 pair this season. The win vaulted the Cowboy duo back into the rankings this week at No. 54. The Sooners enter the match at 17-3 overall with a 2-3 conference record and a national ranking of 47. They feature the talented trio of Marek Velicka, Ondrej Fukala and Alexei Ivanov at the top of the lineup.
Velicka is ranked 52nd this week and will likely take on 34th-ranked Mark Van Elden at the No. 1 singles spot. The two split a pair of matches during the fall season, with Velicka winning at the Central Region Singles Championship, and Van Elden claiming the win in a dual match at the Region V Championship.
At the No. 2 spot, junior Tomas Bohunicky will put his No. 106 national ranking on the line against Fukala, who is 16-1 on the season. The likely matchup at No. 3 will be Kuharic squaring off against No. 96 Ivanov.
OSU leads the all-time series 33-21 and has won the last 11 matches, including three in the last 12 months. The Cowboys picked up 7-0 win in Stillwater last April, and dropped the Sooners again in the Big 12 Tournament, 4-1. In October, OSU won a 4-1 match in the Region V Championship, picking up four straight set singles wins after dropping the doubles point.
In case of inclement weather, the match will be postponed until Thursday at 5 p.m.
