Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Closes Out Regular Season With Two Road Matches
April 15, 2009 | Cowboy Tennis
STILLWATER, Okla. -- The Oklahoma State men's tennis team will finish its regular season schedule with two road matches.
The Cowboys square off against Texas Tech on Friday at 6 p.m. and against Baylor at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
About the Cowboys
OSU is 12-5, 2-2 in Big 12 play and is riding a five-match winning streak into the weekend. It is the second longest winning streak of the season for the Cowboys, which strung together six straight wins earlier in the year.
In this week's Campbell/ITA College Tennis Rankings, OSU returned to the top 25 at No. 24.
Junior Oleksandr Nedovyesov is the second-ranked singles player in the country. He boasts a 14-2 record in singles matches, including a 4-0 mark in Big 12 matches. Nedovyesov has played all of his matches at the No. 1 position this spring. The Alushta, Ukraine native won 12 straight matches before falling to top-ranked Arnau Brugues on April 9.
Nedovyesov and senior Nathan Byrnes are ranked No. 17 in this week's doubles rankings. The duo is 10-3 this spring, including a 3-1 record in Big 12 matches. They have played all their matches together at the No. 1 slot.
Scouting the Red Raiders
Texas Tech is 12-9, 1-3. They are ranked No. 34 in this week's rankings. OSU and Tech met on March 21 at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic with the Red Raiders picking up a 4-1 win.
Freshman Raony Carvalho leads the Red Raiders at the No. 1 slot. He is 12-6, 2-2 this spring. Carvalho is ranked No. 41 in the singles rankings and will likely square off with Nedovyesov. When the two met March 21, Nedovyesov handed him a 6-1, 6-2 defeat.
Carvolho joins Christian Rojmar to make up the 12th-ranked doubles team in the nation. They hold a 2-2 mark in Big 12 matches this spring. They will likely face Nedovyesov and Byrnes for Oklahoma State.
Scouting the Bears
Baylor is 20-5, 5-0 and is No. 5 in this week's rankings. The Bears clinched a share of their eighth straight Big 12 regular season title with a win over Texas Tech on April 14.
Denes Lukacs is the sixth-ranked singles player in the country and boasts a 5-0 record in Big 12 matches. He is 18-3 on the spring and is riding a 12-match winning streak while playing all of his matches at the No. 1 position. He is set to likely face Nedovyesov for the Cowboys. The two have never squared off.
David Galic and Jordan Rux are the No. 28 doubles team in the nation. The duo has a 5-0 record in Big 12 matches. Nedovyesov and Byrnes have faced Galic and Rux twice, claiming wins in both matches.
Champions Crowned This Weekend
Because there is not an individual conference tournament, conference champions are crowned based on records in Big 12 matches.
Oklahoma State's Nedovyesov is the defending Big 12 champion and No. 1 singles. He and Byrnes won the Big 12 title at No. 1 doubles a year ago. This weekend's matches will go a long way in determining if those Cowboys will repeat their championships.
These are the standings for the positions that Cowboy players are still alive to win Big 12 championships.
No. 1 Singles
Denes Lukacs, BU 5-0
Oleksandr Nedovyesov, OSU 4-0
Conor Pollock, TAMU 3-2
Raony Carvalho, TTU 2-1
Andrei Daescu, OU 2-3
No. 5 Singles
Josh Zavala, UT 2-0
Hendrik Stahmer, NU 2-0
Benedikt Lineheim, NU 2-1
Anton Bobytskyi, OSU 2-1
No. 6 Singles
Colin Hoover, TAMU 3-1
Maros Horny, BU 3-1
Francois Van Impe, NU 2-0
Igor Sobolta, OSU 2-2
Jonah Kane-West, UT 1-0
Josh Zavala, UT 1-1
No. 1 Doubles
David Galic/Jordan Rux, BU 4-0
Nedovyesov/Nathan Byrnes, OSU 3-1
Carvolho/Christian Rojmar, TTU 2-1
Big 12 Championships
The 2009 Big 12 Tennis Championships will be held at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. on April 24-26.
Baylor is the defending tournament champion for 2007 and 2008.
