Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Ready For Final Home Matches
April 15, 2010 | Cowboy Tennis
April 15, 2010
The No. 54 Oklahoma State men's tennis team will play its final home matches of the 2010 season this weekend, facing No. 16 Texas Tech Friday and No. 11 Baylor Sunday. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at the DeBois Tennis Complex in Stillwater, Okla. In the event of inclement weather, the matches will be played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
About the Cowboys
The Cowboys enter the weekend with an 8-10 (0-4) record on the year. OSU has faced 12 consecutive ranked opponents, with this match marking the 13th straight. In those 12 matches, Oklahoma State has gone 5-7, recording wins over then-No. 34 Tulsa, No. 41 Hawai'i, No. 56 UNLV, No. 44 Penn State and No. 63 UCF. The Cowboys have also defeated Memphis, Sacramento State and Western Michigan in 2010. OSU returns 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.
About the Opponents
Texas Tech enters the match with an 18-3 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Big 12 competition. The Red Raiders have lost two of their last three matches, but won 15 consecutive contests prior to that stretch. TTU is ranked No. 16 in the ITA team rankings and holds a pair of places in the ITA singles and doubles rankings. Raony Carvalo and Gonzalo Escobar are the No. 15 and 58, respectively, singles players, while Carvalho and Rafael Garcia are the No. 20 doubles team and Escobar and Andre Stabile are the No. 59 duo. Oklahoma State holds a 17-7 all time series advantage over Texas Tech, with the Red Raiders winning the last match earlier this year at the Blue Gray Tennis Classic, 4-2.
Baylor, which faces Oklahoma Friday at 6 p.m., enters the weekend with a 17-5 (1-2) record. The Bears have won four of their last six matches and are coming off of a, 4-3, win against Nebraska. BU is the No. 11-ranked team in the ITA team rankings and holds several places in the singles and doubles rankings. No. 16 Denes Lukacs and No. 39 Jordan Rux headline the Bears' singles athletes, while Lukacs and Roberto Maytin make up the No. 34 doubles team, Rux and Maros Horny are the No. 45 team and Lukacs and Horny form the No. 54 duo. Oklahoma State is 6-17 all time against Baylor, with the Bears winning the last match at the 2009 Big 12 Championship, 4-1.
Stout Competition
Oklahoma State has faced 16 different opponents in 18 matches this year. Among those opponents, 13 are ranked in the latest ITA poll, including six in the top-30. Also, five of the Cowboys eight wins this year have come against teams in the ITA rankings and the Cowboys' last 12 opponents are ranked.
All About Oleksandr
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 15-3(3-1) 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.
"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
Oklahoma State finished the 2009 season ranked No. 25 in the final ITA team rankings, which is where it opened the 2010 season. Since then, the Cowboys have been ranked in every ITA poll in 2010. OSU holds the No. 54 spot in the latest edition of the rankings (April 13) after being No. 46 in the previous poll. In addition to the team ranking, Oleksandr Nedovyesov and Anton Bobytskyi are ranked in the ITA singles rankings at No. 14 and No. 124, respectively, while Nedovyesov and Aleksey Bessonov are the 18th-ranked doubles team.
Up Next
After the Cowboys take on the Bears Sunday, they will begin preparation for the Big 12 Championship, which is scheduled to begin April 30, in Austin, Texas.
