Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Ready for National Indoor Championships
February 13, 2007 | Cowboy Tennis
“This is our second trip in three years to National Indoors,” head coach James Wadley said. “Last time, we upset Stanford and Harvard and nearly upset UCLA. This year we will take a younger team but we are excited to have the chance to play against some of the best teams in the country.”
The Cowboys (4-0) will take on host-school and seventh-ranked No. 7 Illinois (5-1) Friday at 6:30 p.m. The winner of that match will play the winner of No. 3 UCLA and No. 14 Miami on Saturday at 6: 30 p.m. Each team will play at least three matches over the weekend.
O-State has notched all of its wins against ranked opponents this season, with three of those foes being ranked in the top 50. The Cowboys are led in the rankings by No. 3 Ivan Puchkarov, who is 3-1 on the season
The Cowboys have gotten solid play this season from newcomer Oleksandr Nedovyesov at No. 1 singles. The Ukrainian is 3-1 this season with two wins against ranked foes. The other Cowboy newcomer, Dymtro Petrov, is 4-0 this season. He is the only undefeated Cowboy who has started every match this season.
Wadley has also gotten solid play from his doubles lineup, as his Cowboys have only lost one doubles match so far.
Live updates of the matches will be provided at www.nationalteamindoors.com.
Scouting the Fighting Illini
Illinois enters national indoors ranked No. 7 with a 5-1 record. UI has built an impressive resume in the early portion of its schedule with wins against defending national champion Pepperdine, No. 12 Duke, No. 30 Tennessee, No. 20 Texas A&M and Ball State. Their lone loss came to No. 4 Virginia.
The Illini play out of the Big 10 and are led by Brad Dancer, who is in his third season leading the program. Oklahoma State leads the all-time series, 2-0, with the last meeting coming in 1986.
UI is led individually by Ryan Rowe and Kevin Anderson. Rowe is ranked No. 11 and has compiled a 6-0 record splitting time between No. 2 and No. 3 singles. Anderson, ranked 23rd, is 5-1 this season at the No. 1 slot. Anderson and Rowe also form their top doubles tandem and are ranked No. 42.
The Fighting Illini are no stranger to the National Indoor Championships as they won back-to-back titles in 2003-04.
Rest of the Field
The 2007 National Indoor Championship will feature the top seven teams in the country according to the latest ITA rankings. Overall, 10 of the top 11 teams in college tennis will take part in the event. Of the 16 teams in action, 12 are currently ranked in the top 16. Also six of the top 10 singles players in college tennis, as well as four of the top 10 doubles teams, will be in action this weekend
Last Time Out
In their last match, the Cowboy tennis team defeated then-ranked No. 45 Fresno State, 5-2, at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. In the match, the Cowboys won the doubles point for the fourth time this season. In singles play, OSU got a big win at No. 1 singles where Oleksandr Nedovyesov defeated No. 26 Jakub Cech, 6-0, 6-2. The Cowboys also got wins from Ivan Puchkarov, Dymtro Petrov and Oleksandr Kotsiuk.
ITA Rankings
The Cowboys moved up two spots, to 14, in the latest ITA rankings that were released on Tuesday, depsite being idle the past week. This comes after OSU was ranked at 14 two weeks ago but fell to 16 after defeating then-ranked No. 46 Fresno State, 5-2.
Chase for 600
With four wins to open the 2007 season, head coach James Wadley has now notched 597 career wins (all at OSU). He is now just three wins short of becoming the seventh active coach to reach the 600-career win milestone. Of the coaches ahead of him only three have coached fewer seasons and only two come from power conferences.
1. Paul Scarpa, Furman 781
2. Robert Screen, Hampton 734
3. Rich Gugat, Air Force 702
4. Ron Smarr, Rice 681
5. Chuck Kriese, Clemson 643
6. Bobby Bayliss, Notre Dame 643
7. James Wadley, OSU 597
Doubles
One of the keys to OSU's fast start in 2007 is its strong play in doubles. The Cowboys have grabbed the ever-important doubles point in every match this season. In fact, the Pokes have only lost one doubles match so far. What makes the feat even more impressive is the fact that with three new doubles teams this spring, doubles could have caused OSU problems in the early portion of its schedule. They have not skipped a beat, however, as an OSU duo has notched wins over the eighth and 12th-ranked doubles tandem in America. OSU's longest streak of winning the doubles point last season was six.
Returning Cowboys
The Cowboys return six players off last year's top-20 squad, including Daniel Byrnes, a 2006 ITA All-American. The senior had one of the most successful individual seasons in Cowboy tennis history as he was an All-American, All-Big 12 selection and was seeded in the Individual NCAA Tournament, all while fighting severe back pains. Byrnes also paired with his brother, Nathan, to form the Cowboys' top doubles tandem. The duo was an All-Big 12 selection a season ago. Nathan also returns to the squad and will look to build on a solid freshman campaign.
The Cowboys also return 2006 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Ivan Puchkarov. Puchkarov, a junior this season, was also the Central Region Rookie of the year, Big 12 champion at No. 3 singles and a unanimous All-Big 12 selection during his first year in Stillwater.
Artie Burmistrau, an Academic All-Big 12 selection last season, went 17-3 a year ago and returns for his senior season. Also back are Oleksander Kotsiuk, who went 12-8 as a freshman, and Jason Wright, a junior walk-on from Broken Arrow, Okla., who lettered last season.
Instant Impact
While Oklahoma State returned a solid nucleus in 2007 it was imperative for Wadley and assistant coach Yevgen Bondarchuk to add more talent to the roster, and that is exactly what they did. Oleksander Nedovyesov and Dymtro Petrov joined the squad in January and have already made an impact. Nedovyesov has stepped in at No. 1 singles and gone 3-1, with two wins over ranked opponents. He is also an outstanding doubles player. He teams with Daniel Byrnes at No. 1 doubles, the pair is 4-0. Petrov has been a force in the middle of the Cowboy lineup, where he is the only Cowboy to start every match and remain undefeated.
Head Coach James Wadley
James Wadley is entering in his 35th year leading the Oklahoma State men's tennis program. His 35 years of service is the second longest tenure in Oklahoma State athletic history, trailing only the legendary Henry Iba.
Wadley has amassed 597 career wins along with 12 conference titles. He has also been named conference coach of the year 12 times.
In his previous 34 years at Oklahoma State, Wadley has had only three losing seasons.
Assistant Coach Yevgen Bondarchuk
Assistant coach Yevgen Bondarchuk has made quite an impact on the Oklahoma State program entering just his third season on staff. The Oklahoma State alumnus is vital to OSU's international recruiting and landed the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Ivan Puchkarov. Bondarchuk was recognized as the Central Region's Assistant Coach of the Year for his work last season. Bondarchuk played for two years under Coach Wadley and was ranked as high as 55th at one point by the ITA.
