Oklahoma State University Athletics
No. 16 Gators End No. 15 Cowboys? Season
May 14, 2006 | Cowboy Tennis
“They are a quality team,” said head coach James Wadley. “We battled but we were not at full strength.”
Five of Oklahoma State's (17-6) losses this season were to teams who are or have been ranked in the top 10 at some point this year. Florida (17-7), who has been ranked as high as No. 1 this season, will now advance to the Sweet 16 in Palo Alto, Calif., May 21-24.
“I was impressed with their team,” said Wadley. “They are very talented.”
The Cowboys looked to be in control of the doubles point early when they lead two of the matches by large margins. However, Florida battled hard and took the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead.
At No. 3 doubles, Ivan Puchkarov and Olexsander Kotsiuk lead, 3-0, early but Nestor Briceno and Stefan Tell hung tough to take the match 8-5.
Tomas Bohunicky and Artie Burmistrau looked to be cruising to their eighth straight victory when they took an early, 4-1, lead against Chris Brandi and Greg Ouellette at No. 2 singles. The Florida tandem had other plans as they won seven straight games to take the match, 8-4.
The 41st-ranked duo of Daniel and Nathan Byrnes were down, 7-5, to Vladimir Obradovic and Janne Holmia at No. 1 doubles but the match went unfinished.
The Cowboys fell behind, 2-0, after experiencing something the team has not seen in almost two and a half months, a Puchkarov lost in singles play. The 2006 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year was beaten by No. 75 Briceno, 6-1, 6-2. The loss snapped the sophomore's 15-match win streak and put his final record at 18-3.
At No. 5 singles, Kotsiuk was beaten by Brandi, who is ranked No. 82 in the country, in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. The loss made the score 3-0 and put the Cowboys on the brink of elimination.
Oklahoma State looked like they might rally when freshman Nathan Byrnes, who lost the first set, won his second set against Ryan Sherry to push the match into a third frame.
While Byrnes was trying to keep Oklahoma State alive, his brother, Daniel, was battling at No. 1 singles. No. 13 Byrnes dropped the first set, 6-3, to the No. 38-ranked Obradovic. Byrnes fought tough in the second set but lost, 7-5, and the Cowboys were bounced from the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
One bright spot on the day was the play of Bohunicky at No. 2 singles. The Cowboy's lone senior in the lineup today was leading No. 52 Ouellette, 6-3, 5-3, before the match was finished.
At No. 5 singles, Burmistrau and Holmia split two set but were unable to finish the final set.
“I though our kids performed as well as they could have,” said Wadley. “You cannot judge the success of this season on this match. I have been proud our effort all season long.”
Now we just have to get back at it, retool and take another shot of it next year.”
No. 16 Florida (17-7) 4
No. 15 Oklahoma State (17-6) 0
NCAA Second Round
DeBois Tennis Center- Stillwater, Okla.
Singles
Order of finish: S3, S5, S1
No. 1- #38 Vladimir Obradovic (UF) def. #13 Daniel Byrnes (OSU); 6-3, 7-5
No. 2- Tomas Bohunicky (OSU) vs. #52 Greg Ouellette (UF); 6-3, 5-3
No. 3- #75 Nestor Briceno (UF) def. #77 Ivan Puchkarov (OSU); 6-1, 6-2
No. 4- Artie Burmistrau (OSU) vs. Janne Holmia (UF); 6-3, 3-6, 0-1
No. 5- #82 Chris Brandi (UF) def. Olexsander Kotsiuk (OSU); 6-1, 6-1
No. 6- Nathan Byrnes (OSU) vs. Ryan Sherry (UF); 3-6, 6-4, 1-1
Doubles
Order of finish: D3, D2
No. 1- #41 Byrnes/Byrnes (OSU) vs. Obradovic/Holmia (UF); 5-7 DNF
No. 2- Brandi/Ouellette (UF) def. Burmistrau/Bohunicky (OSU); 8-4
No. 3- Briceno/Tell (UF) def. Puchkarov/Kotsiuk (OSU); 8-5
