Oklahoma State University Athletics
Wadley Goes for Career Win No. 600
March 07, 2007 | Cowboy Tennis
Wadley has a career record of 599-277 and one more win would make him just the seventh-active men's tennis coach to reach the milestone. All of his collegiate wins have come during his 35 years at OSU.
The Cowboys (6-1) are currently ranked 10th and all of their six wins have come against nationally-ranked opponents. The Cowboys are led in the rankings by junior Ivan Puchkarov, who is currently No. 17. He is the second highest ranked player in the Big 12. Freshman Oleksandr Nedovyesov has compiled a 4-3 record at No. 1 singles, while Cowboy All-American Daniel Byrnes and freshman Dymtro Petrov pace the team with five dual victories.
Byrnes and Nedovyesov team to form the nations 54th-ranked doubles team and sport a 4-3 mark.
Scouting the Quakers
The Quakers of Penn play out of the Ivy League and are coached by Mark Riley, who is in his seventh season with the program. Penn sports a 4-9 mark but is coming off wins against nationally-ranked Oregon and Utah. Although they have a losing record, Penn has played a tough schedule including a trip to the National Indoor Championships earlier this semester. All of their loses have come against nationally ranked teams and OSU will be the fifth top 20 team they have meet this season. Penn jumped back into the rankings on Tuesday at No. 69.
The Quakers are led in individual victories by Jonathan Boym (8-2) who has played most of the season at No. 2 singles. Jason Pinsky has recorded a 6-4 mark at No. 1 singles, including a win over seventh-ranked Luke Shields and is currently ranked No. 50. Penn was defeated by Tulsa on Tuesday, 5-2.
Last Time Out
Coach Wadley took his doubles teams to compete at the 118th Pacific Doubles Championship in La Jolla, Calif. The tournament is the second longest running tennis tournament in American. Daniel Byrnes and Oleksandr Nedovyesov were the tournament's top seed and rolled until they were eliminated in the round of 16. Artie Burmistrau and Nathan Byrnes upset the tournament's three seed before losing out in the the round of 32. Ivan Puchkarov and Dymtro Petrov were beaten in the first round but rebounded strong to wins the consolation bracket.
ITA Rankings
When the new Fila rankings were released by the ITA on Tuesday OSU fell from ninth to 10th even though they have been idle since National Indoors. The reason for the drop was because Tuesday was the release date for the first computer poll. In the new individual rankings, Nedovyesov and Byrnes fell out of the rankings despite not competing this past week.
Chase for 600
With six wins so far in the 2007 season, head coach James Wadley has now notched 599 career wins (all at OSU). He is now just one victory 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 599
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 Oleksandr 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. Oleksandr 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 4-3, with two wins over ranked opponents. He teams with Daniel Byrnes at No. 1 doubles where the pair is ranked No. 54 Petrov has been a force in the middle of the Cowboy lineup, where he is currently tied with Byrnes for the most dual wins on the team, with five.
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.
