Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Hosts Conference Foes Texas Tech, Baylor
April 09, 2014 | Cowboy Tennis
April 9, 2014
STILLWATER, Okla. -
The No. 24 Oklahoma State men's tennis team will host two conference battles at the Greenwood Tennis Center this weekend, welcoming No. 37 Texas Tech on Friday and sixth-ranked Baylor on Sunday.
The Cowboys (20-3, 1-1 Big 12) concluded their nonconference schedule on Sunday with a 4-2 win over SMU, solidifying a 19-2 final mark for the squad outside of Big 12 action. Sunday's match was also OSU's final indoor appearance of the regular season, as the remainder of OSU's home matches will be played at the outdoor portion of the Greenwood Tennis Center, barring inclement weather.
Friday's meeting with Texas Tech will hold first serve at 6 p.m., and the Cowboys' Sunday clash with No. 6 Baylor will begin at 1 p.m. For more updates and information, follow @CowboyTennis on Twitter.
Eyeing the Opposition
No. 37 Texas Tech comes into Friday's matchup having won seven of its last eight matches in a run that includes victories over three ranked squads. The Red Raiders opened conference play at Baylor on Tuesday, but were defeated by the Bears, 7-0. Tech boasts wins over seven ranked opponents, and each of the teams losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top 50. Hugo Dojas (#105) and Felipe Soares (#115) run the Red Raiders' singles attack.
The Cowboys will look to end a five-match slide against the Red Raiders, who have won each meeting since OSU grabbed a 4-3 win over Tech in the 2009 Big 12 Tournament. Oklahoma State will also look to narrow the all-time head-to-head series, as Texas Tech currently holds a 17-12 advantage.
Sixth-ranked Baylor has had a strong second half of the 2014 dual season after losing four out of five matches in an early-season stretch. The Bears have won 11 straight matches, highlighted by victories at No. 3 UCLA, No. 20 California and No. 6 Illinois. Baylor has also ran out to a 2-0 start in Big 12 play after earning victories over Texas Tech and TCU. Julian Lenz (#2), Patrick Pradella (#15) and Diego Galeano (#29) give the Bears one of the country's best trios at Nos. 1-3, and Tony Lupiere also holds the No. 102 singles ranking.
An Oklahoma State win on Sunday would end a nine-match winning streak owned by the Bears in the teams' all-time head-to-head series. Baylor has also won 22 of the last 23 meetings, with the Cowboys only victory during the stretch coming in at the ITA National Indoors in 2008.
Welcome to the Rankings
Three members of the 2014 Cowboy Tennis squad were inserted into the ITA National Rankings on Feb. 11, marking the first time a Cowboy individual has been represented in the polls this season.
Junior Jakob Sude received the first individual ranking of his career, coming in at No. 70 in ITA's National Singles Rankings. Sude has compiled a 9-5 singles record in 19 appearances, highlighted by his straight sets victory over Tennessee's Mikelis Libietis, formerly the nation's 34th-ranked singles standout, as well as a strong performance in an unfinished match against No. 12 Danii Proskura. Sude currently sits at No. 86 as of April 8. Sude's ranking is the highest in singles since former Cowboy Vlad Bondarenko's No. 60 position on Jan. 3, 2012.
In the ITA National Doubles Rankings, undefeated Arjun Kadhe and Jakob Sude premiered at the No. 21 spot on April 8 after racking up eight consecutive wins to open the 2014 season. The duo boasts wins over #10 Chappell/Stein (TCU) and #11 Hess-Olesen/Glasspool (Texas), and became the highest-ranked Cowboy Tennis tandem since Rifat Biktyakov and Aleksey Bessonov sat at No. 20 in the April 12, 2011 rankings.
Doubles Domination
The 2013 Cowboy Tennis squad saw its doubles team compile a 37-14 dual record, marking a massive improvement for the team and helping OSU begin to develop a reputation as one of the nation's up-and-coming doubles powers.
That success has passed on into 2014, as the Cowboys' doubles squads remain an impressive 38-14 through 23 matches in dual play. The team also provided strong performances in the fall despite pairing with new partners, as Oklahoma State sent two doubles teams to the quarterfinal round of ITA's Central Region Championships.
Strength of Schedule
Coach Udwadia has given the Cowboys a challenging task for the spring by scheduling 16 ranked opponents, giving OSU the 33rd most difficult schedule in the country based on number of ranked opponents faced and quality of opponent.
The team's tough slate includes six matches against teams ranked in the Top 25, as well as contests against top-10 opponents Baylor, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Seven of the Cowboys' ranked opponents will visit Stillwater, including three in the top ten. OSU is 8-3 against currently ranked opponents in 2014.
Home Cooking
The 2014 season has not only seen the Cowboys jump out to their best start in school history, but also helped OSU compile its longest home winning streak since a 12-match run from 2006-08.
The Pokes are 11-1 at the Greenwood Tennis Center, and will look to increase that mark on this weekend in matches against Texas Tech and Baylor.
Tenacious Ties
In do-or-die tiebreaker situations this year, the Cowboys have compiled a 20-11 advantage, signifying that the team has performed extremely well when under pressure. Jakob Sude is 4-1 in deciding singles set tiebreakers, and Lucas Gerch owns five tiebreaker victories of his own.
Oklahoma State's clutch tiebreaker wins have been instrumental in the team's two biggest wins of the year, as the Pokes won four out of five tiebreakers against No. 6 Tennessee and went a perfect 6-0 in tiebreaker play in the team's sweep over No. 36 Alabama.
Shock And Awe
After defeating Georgia St. on Feb. 9, the Cowboys reached 8-0 for the first time in school history, setting a school record for the best start ever for Cowboy Tennis. The eight wins to begin the season surpassed the 1998 squad's six and the previous-high of seven from 1997. The Cowboys' loss at No. 32 Tulsa on Feb. 23 ended the team's record start.
Bring Out The Brooms
OSU has shutout ten opponents in 23 matches this season, the most in as many matches since the 2006 squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2014, the Cowboys have swept currently-ranked opponents San Diego State, Dartmouth and Alabama, as well as South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, New Orleans, Oral Roberts, Nebraska-Omaha and Lamar.
The Future Is Now
The Cowboys bring in the year with a bang by debuting the Greenwood Tennis Center, Oklahoma State's newest athletic facility that will give the tennis program its first new home in more than 30 years. The state-of-the-art complex houses six indoor courts and 12 future outdoor courts, as well as an electronic scoreboard and videoboard.
2014 will also mark the debut of new assistant coach Pepe Cabellero, who joins the Cowboys after serving two years as head coach of the Hong Kong Tennis Association. Caballero takes the team's position after former assistant Yevgen Bondarchuk held the spot for the last eight years.
Taking Their Talents to Stillwater
Head Coach Jay Udwadia's 2014 signing class brings five new members to the Cowboy Tennis squad and is highlighted by several international standouts, as well as last year's top high school player in Oklahoma.
- Sebastian Sachs (Ditzingen, Germany) – posted a 4-4 fall record that included a semifinal trip in the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational. Sachs has also made a name for himself on the international circuit by earning several ATP points and performing well against international competition.
- Arjun Kadhe (Pune, India) – has experience in each of the four Grand Slams at the junior level, including a quarterfinal doubles run at last year's French Open. He has also consistently held a No. 1 ranking in each of India's junior age groups.
- Lucas Gerch (Berlin, Germany) – combined with Vasili Caripi to reach the doubles quarterfinal at last fall's ITA Central Region Championships, finishing the season with a 6-1 doubles mark. Gerch also went 2-4 in singles play.
- Nathan Roper (Edmond, Okla.) – earned Oklahoma's Jim Thorpe Player of the Year award twice after winning three consecutive individual state champions at Edmond North HS. Roper was also named an Army National Reserve Scholar-Athlete, and led Edmond North to team state championships in each of his four varsity years.
- Nicolai Ferrigno (Hvidovre, Denmark) – joins the Cowboys after two successful years at Cameron University. Ferrigno compiled an impressive 22-2 singles mark last year at Cameron, and finished the season ranked No. 18 in ITA's Division II rankings.
