Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Ready for Pair of Matches in Las Vegas
March 09, 2010 | Cowboy Tennis
March 9, 2010
The Basics About the Cowboys About the Opponents UNLV, ranked No. 56 in the ITA team rankings, enters the weekend with a 7-6 record. The Rebels will square off against Ball State and Weber State in a doubleheader Friday before taking on the Cowboys Saturday afternoon. UNLV returns four letterwinners from a squad that finished 14-12 in 2009. Oklahoma State is 1-4 all time against UNLV, with the Rebels winning the last match in 2005, 4-3. All About Oleksandr "He is the highest-ranked ATP player we have ever recruited,” coach James Wadley said. “He is an unbelievable talent. He has solid strokes in every area. As the defending player of the year, it will be difficult for him this season. Everyone is going to be gunning and going after him. He knows that, and he needs to rise to the challenge. He has risen to the challenge before, and he will again." Cowboys in the Rankings Up Next
The No. 69 Oklahoma State men's tennis team travels to Las Vegas, Nev., this week for a pair of dual matches at UNLV's Fertitta Tennis Complex. The Cowboys take on 41st-ranked Hawai'i Wednesday at 12 p.m. CST and No. 56 UNLV Saturday at 4 p.m. CST.
The Cowboys are 3-4 on the year. They won their season-opening dual match against Memphis, 5-2, before dropping matches against Rice and Texas A&M at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in College Station, Texas. In their next match against Sacramento State, the Cowboys won 4-3 with the help of a last-match, dual-deciding victory from defending ITA National Player of the Year Oleksandr Nedovyesov at No. 1 singles. Oklahoma State then lost a non-conference dual against Oklahoma, 4-3, ending a 20 match Bedlam win streak that lasted 15 years. In its last competition, Oklahoma State defeated Western Michigan, 5-2, before losing to No. 10 Louisville, 6-1. The Cowboys return three letterwinners from last year's squad, which finished with a 14-8 record and reached the NCAA Tournament for a school-record seventh consecutive season.
Hawai'i enters the match on a two-game win streak with a 7-4 record in 2010. The Rainbow Warriors will be wrapping up their competition in Las Vegas when they face Oklahoma State, as they lost to No. 71 UNLV before beating No. 70 Marquette and Pacific at the Fertitta Tennis Complex last weekend. Sophomore Leo Rosenberg is a perfect 10-0 in singles play this year after winning at the No. 3 spot against Pacific. Hawai'i, ranked No. 41 in the ITA rankings, returns seven letterwinners from a squad that finished 11-10 in 2009. Oklahoma State owns a 4-2 all time series advantage over Hawai'i, with the Rainbow Warriors winning the last match, 4-3, at the 2009 NCAA tournament.
Oklahoma State senior Oleksandr Nedovyesov has already left his mark as one of the best athletes in the history of the Cowboy tennis program. Nedovyesov was named the 2009 ITA Player of the Year and has been the No. 1-ranked singles player for much of his career. Nedovyesov holds a 5-2 record at No. 1 singles this year, while he finished the 2009 fall campaign with a 12-3 record, winning the ITA Central Regional Championships.
Oklahoma State finished the 2009 season ranked No. 25 in the final ITA team rankings, which is where it opened the 2010 season. The Cowboys have been ranked in every ITA poll in 2010. OSU is holds the No. 69 spot in the latest edition of the rankings. In addition to the team ranking, Oleksandr Nedovyesov and Anton Bobytskyi are ranked in the ITA singles rankings at No. 15 and 61, respectively, while Nedovyesov and Aleksey Bessonov are the 12th-ranked doubles tandem in the ITA poll.
After the Cowboys take on the Rebels Saturday, they will travel to Montgomery, Ala., to compete in the Blue Gray Tennis Classic March 18-21.
