Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 34 Cowboys defeat North Florida, 5-2
April 05, 2006 | Cowboy Tennis
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (www.okstate.com) -- Oklahoma State's 34th-ranked men's tennis team fought off an early upset challenge Friday to defeat North Florida, 5-2, in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Cowboys (7-1) fell behind in the battle for the doubles point, but evened the matches at one apiece when the duo of Tomas Bohunicky and Artie Burmistrau defeated Leonardo Gomes and German Escallon, 8-2, at the No. 1 position.
OSU's duo of Ivan Puchkarov and Felipe Diaz trailed in their match to Matias Sigal and Jose Terrera at the No. 3 position, but came back to win, 9-7, which earned the team's double point.
“It was a really close match,” said OSU coach James Wadley. “ We had to come from behind to win the doubles point, which I think set the tone for the rest of the match.”
In singles, No. 14 Daniel Byrnes once again sat out due to injury, but the Cowboys won four of the six matches to earn its fifth straight victory. OSU dropped matches at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
“North Florida lost 5-2 earlier this season to Ole Miss, which is a Top 10 team,” Wadley said. “To beat them in a close match without Daniel shows this was a good team, and it says a lot about the guys on our team.”
The Cowboys have a week to prepare before beginning conference play at Nebraska on Friday. The time has yet to be announced.
Results
Singles
1. Jose Terrera (UNF) def. Tomas Bohunicky; 6-4, 7-5
2. Matias Sigal (UNF) def. Felipe Diaz; 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
3. Ivan Puchkarov def. Eduardo Pereria; 6-2, 6-1
4. Artie Burmistrau def. Elad Gabay; 7-6, 5-7, (10-6)
5. Olexsander Kotsiuk def. German Escallon; 6-1, 6-0
6. Nathan Byrnes def. Glen Marshall; 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
Doubles
1. Bohunicky/Burmistrau def. Leonardo Gomes/Escallon; 8-2
2. Puchkarov/Felipe Diaz def. Sigal/Terrera; 9-7
3. Gabay/Terrera def. Kotsiuk/N. Byrnes; 8-3
