Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Loses Heartbreaker to No. 7 Illinois
February 17, 2007 | Cowboy Tennis
Oklahoma State's 14th-ranked men's tennis team tasted defeat for the first time this season when they lost a heartbreaker to host school and No. 7-ranked Illinois, 4-2, in the first round of the 2007 USTA/ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago.
“This was a great college match in front of a tough crowd,” head coach James Wadley said. “We had only played four matches this season so you could tell they were just a little more advanced than us. We are young and when we get healthy we will get there. Now we just have to get ready for a tough one tomorrow.”
At No. 1 doubles, OSU's undefeated tandem of Daniel Byrnes and Oleksandr Nedovyesov faced the defending NCAA Doubles champions in Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe. The Cowboy pair hung tough early but fell to Anderson and Rowe, 8-4.
The Illini won the doubles point when GD Jones and Marc Spijiric downed Ivan Puchkarov and Dymtro Petrov in a close match at No. 3 doubles, 8-6. It was the first time this season the Pokes failed to win the doubles point.
While the doubles matches were closely contested, the singles matches would be even closer between the two teams.
Illinois took a 2-0 lead when a pair of highly-ranked individuals met at No. 2 singles, as Oklahoma States' third-ranked Puchkarov met No. 11-ranked Rowe. Rowe got the best of the Cowboy as he moved to 6-0 on the year by downing Puchkarov in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
Anderson, the 23rd-ranked individual in the country, gave UI a 3-0 lead when he defeated O-State's superb freshman Nedovyesov, 6-4, 6-4, At No. 1 singles. Nedovyesov is now 3-2 on the season with both of his loses coming against opponents ranked in the top 25.
Nathan Byrnes kept the Cowboys alive with quite possibly the biggest win of his young career. The sophomore, playing at No. 5 singles for the first time in his career, upset Spicijiric, ranked 83rd in the country, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Nathan's older brother, Daniel, moved the Pokes within striking distance with a win at No. 3 singles. The All-American downed Jones, 7-5, 6-3, to move the dual score to 3-2 with the remaining two matches going into a third set.
IU clinched the victory when Petrov, a talented Cowboy freshman, lost a heartbreaking third-set tiebreak to Illinois junior Ruben Gonzales, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). It was the first collegiate loss for the talented Petrov.
At the No. 6 spot, Cowboy senior Artie Burmistrau was one game away from defeating Brandon Davis as he led the junior, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 5-4, before the match was stopped.
While the Cowboy netters lost a heartbreaker on Friday, they were one of the few schools that did not get shutout in their first-round loss.
The action will continue tomorrow at the prestigious tournament when the Cowboys face No. 26 Miami at 6:30 p.m. at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago. The Hurricanes were beaten by No. 6 UCLA, 4-1, on Friday.
No. 7 Illinois (6-1) 4, No. 14 OSU (4-1) 2
2/16/2006 Midtown Tennis Club
Chicago
Singles
No. 1- Nedovyesov (OSU) vs. #23 Anderson (UI); 6-4, 6-4
No. 2- #11 Rowe (UI) def. #3 Puchkarov (OSU); 6-4, 6-2
No. 3- D. Byrnes (OSU) def. Jones (UI); 7-5, 6-3
No. 4- Gonzales (UI) def. Petrov (OSU); 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
No. 5- N. Byrnes (OSU) vs. #83 Spicijaric (UI); 7-6 (5), 6-4
No. 6- Burmistrau (OSU) vs. Davis (UI); 6-3, 6-7 (1), 5-4 DNF
Doubles
No. 1- #42 Anderson/Rowe (UI) def. D. Byrnes/Nedovyesov (OSU); 8-4
No. 2- Burmistrau/N. Byrnes (OSU) vs. Gonzales/Davis (UI); 6-7 DNF
No. 3- Jones/Spicijiric (UI) def. Puchkarov/Petrov; 8-6
Order of finish: D1, D2, S2, S1, S5, S3, S4*
*Clinched match
