Nedovyesov, Byrnes Set to Compete at NCAA Championships

STILLWATER, Okla. Â– Oklahoma State's Oleksandr Nedovyesov and Nathan Byrnes will continue the 2008 season when they compete in this week's NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships at Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

The two Cowboys saw their team's season come to a close with a 4-2 loss to USC in the Sweet 16 last Friday, but Nedovyesov, a sophomore, received an automatic bid to the singles championships, while he and Byrnes, a junior, earned an at-large bid to the doubles championships.

The No. 3 seed in the singles bracket, Nedovyesov will face Georgia's Luis Flores in a 3:30 p.m. match on Wednesday. Flores is ranked 59^th in the country and holds a 13-3 singles record heading into tonight's NCAA Team Championship match when his Bulldogs take on the Texas Longhorns. Nedovyesov is ranked third in the country and will put a 21-4 singles record on the line against Flores. Nedovyesov has played every match at No. 1 singles this Spring and was crowned the Big 12 Champion after recording a 5-1 conference record during the regular season.

The winner of the match between Nedovyesov and Flores will advance to a Thursday showdown against the winner of the match between Harvard's Chris Clayton and Notre Dame's Brett Helgeson.

In the doubles bracket, Nedovyesov and Byrnes will take on a familiar foe, Ole Miss' duo of Jonas Berg and Erling Tveit. Despite Berg and Tveit receiving an automatic bid, Nedovyesov and Byrnes hold a 1-0 season advantage over the Rebels. The Cowboy tandem picked up an 8-3 win in the first meeting of the season back on Feb. 2. The two teams met up just two weeks later on Feb. 16, but they did not finish. Doubles competition is set to begin on Thursday, but match times have yet to be announced.

The winner will face either LSU's James Cluskey and Michael Venus or Illinois' Billy Heiser and Ryan Rowe on Friday.

Nedovyesov and Byrnes are 17-4 this season, all at No. 1. The tandem won the Big 12 title after going 6-0 during the conference regular season.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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