Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 25 Cowboys slip past No. 32 Tulsa, 4-3
April 06, 2006 | Cowboy Tennis
In a road match at their second home for most of this season, Oklahoma State's 25th-ranked men's tennis team beat in-state rival No. 32 Tulsa, 4-3, at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa.
The Cowboys (10-3) won the doubles point after winning at the No. 1 and then No. 2 positions. At No. 3, OSU's tandem of Olexsander Kotsiuk and Ivan Puchkarov were leading their match 5-0 when it was stopped.
“We knew it was going to be a tough match tonight, so it was a big boost to grab the doubles point,” said OSU assistant coach Yevgen Bondarchuk. “We really needed the point and we got it.”
In singles play, Tomas Bohunicky extended the team's lead at the No. 2 position by defeating Aleksander Charpantidis in straight sets.
At the No. 3 position, Artie Burmistrau pulled off an upset defeating No. 102 Ricardo Soriano; 6-1, 6-4.
While OSU had the early 3-0 lead, Tulsa responded with an upset at No. 1 when No. 112 Federico Soriano defeated No. 19 Daniel Byrnes; 7-6, 7-5.
The Golden Hurricane then tied the match after winning back-to-back matches at No. 6 and No. 5, respectively.
With the teams tied 3-3, OSU's 80th-ranked Ivan Puchkarov dropped his first set against Will Gray, 6-7, but responded to win the next two sets to win the match for him and the Cowboys. Earlier in the day, Puchkarov was named the Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week.
“It's been a big day for Ivan to be named player of the week and then win the match for us,” Bondarchuk said. “He's been playing really good lately.”
The Cowboys return to action this weekend when they host conference foes No. 42 Texas Tech on Friday at 1 p.m. and No. 5 Baylor on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Singles
1. #112 Federico Soriano (TU) def. #19 Daniel Byrnes (OSU), 7-6, 7-5
2. Tomas Bohunicky (OSU) def. Aleksander Charpantidis (TU), 6-2, 6-2
3. Artsem Burmistrau (OSU) def. #102 Ricardo Soriano (TU), 6-1, 6-4
4. #80 Ivan Puchkarov (OSU) def. Will Gray (TU), 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
5. Diego Camacho (TU) def. Olexsander Kotsiuk (OSU), 3-6, 7-5, 6-1
6. Andy Connelly (TU) def. Nathan Byrnes (OSU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. #45 D. Byrnes/N. Byrnes (OSU) def. Gray/F. Soriano (TU), 8-3
2. Bohunicky/Burmistrau (OSU) def. Connelly/Cunningham (TU), 8-3
3. Charpantidis/Maasdorp (TU) vs. Kotsiuk/Puchkarov (OSU), dnf
