Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Takes On UAPB and No. 46 Minnesota
January 28, 2015 | Cowboy Tennis
MTEN Notes - UAPB and Minnesot 
The Basics
The No. 24 Oklahoma State men's tennis squad will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Jan. 29 at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center at 2:30 p.m., before traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., to face the No. 46 Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Baseline Tennis Center on Feb. 1 at 12 p.m.
Keep Up with the Matches
Fans can follow all the action this weekend through updates on Twitter by following @CowboyTennis. There will also be live stats on okstate.com for the UAPB match as well as live stats on gophersports.com for the Minnesota match.
In the ITA Rankings
The Cowboys stayed put in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings at No. 24. Minnesota is ranked No. 46 this week.
Two OSU players make appearances in the ITA singles rankings with sophomore All-American Arjun Kadhe at No. 74 and senior and fellow All-American Jakob Sude at No. 98. Minnesota has three singles players ranked in Leandro Toledo (No. 17), Matic Spec (No. 107) and Felix Corwin (No. 117).
Kadhe and Sude also enter the weekend as the 12th-ranked doubles team in the nation. Minnesota has the 58th-ranked doubles teams in Leandro Toledo and Felix Corwin.
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Cowboys competed at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in South Bend, Ind., where they suffered a tough 4-3 loss to No. 14 Notre Dame in their match of the event. The next day, the Pokes responded with a dominating 4-1 win over No. 17 Tennessee.
No. 24 Oklahoma State 4, No. 17 Tennessee 1
Jan. 25, 2015 :: South Bend, Ind. :: Consolation match
Doubles | Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
No. 1 - No. 12 Sude/Kadhe (OSU) def. No. 2 Libietis/Reese (TENN) 7-6
No. 2 - No. 45 Smelyanski/Valero (TENN) def. Finzelberg/Ferrigno (OSU) 7-5 (9-7)
No. 3 -Meraut/Gerch (OSU) def. Dromsky/Schipanski (TENN) 7-5
Singles | Order of finish: 3, 1, 6, 2*
No. 1 - No. 16 Mikelis Libietis (TENN) def. No. 98 Jakob Sude (OSU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 - No. 74 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. Hunter Reese (TENN) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 - Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Igor Smelyanski (TENN) 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 - Tristan Meraut (OSU) vs. Luis Valero (TENN), 3-6, 6-3, 4-1 unfinished
No. 5 - Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) vs. Jack Schipanski (TENN) 7-5, 5-4, unfinished
No. 6 - Nicolai Ferrigno (OSU) def. Jess Jones (TENN) 6-4, 6-2
Fall Review
Oklahoma State is coming off a fall season, where several Cowboys gained experience, playing all over the country. The Pokes had a strong showing as three players picked up at least one win at the ITA All-American Championship, which is considered the most prestigious tournament of fall.
Arjun Kadhe produced a runner-up finish at the Cajun Classic early in the fall and finished out his fall advancing to the round of 16 at the ITA Central Region Championships.
Nicolai Ferrigno also made his way to the round of 16 of the ITA Central Regional, notching a dominant straight-set win over Amar Saletovic (ORU).
All-American Jakob Sude competed in only two events this fall: ITA All-American Championship and ITA Central Region Championship.
Connections
Assistant coach Nate Feldman will visit his old stomping grounds this weekend, traveling to his alma mater, Minnesota. While playing at Minnesota, the Gophers reached three NCAA tournaments. Feldman graduated in 2004 with a degree in sports studies before receiving his master's in kinesiology and sports management in 2005.
Cowboys vs. Opponents
The Cowboys own a 4-3 series advantage over Minnesota with the teams last meeting in January last season with the Cowboys taking a decisive 4-1 win. The Pokes have not yet met up with Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Series History
1974 W 9-0
1984 W 5-2
1986 L 1-5
1987 L 1-5
1992 L 4-5
2003 W 4-2
2014 W 4-1
The Team
Coach Jay Udwadia enters the 2015 spring season with a full roster of 10 Cowboys. He returns two All-Americans in senior Jakob Sude and sophomore Arjun Kadhe as well as the team's Most Valuable Player for the 2014 season, Lucas Gerch. Denmark native and senior Nicolai Ferrigno returns for his second and final season with the Cowboys, while youngsters Nathan Roper and Lukas Finzelberg round out the returners for the Pokes.
New to the lineup is Jurence Mendoza, who enters his second semester as a Cowboy. Joining the squad in January was Trent Botha of South Africa, Leonard Gerch of Germany and Tristan Meraut of France.
Feldman Joins the Coaching Staff
This summer, the Pokes welcomed Nate Feldman to the coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Feldman joins the Cowboys after spending the last three years at Norfolk State, where he coached both the men's and women's tennis squads.
Before taking over at Norfolk State, Feldman gained invaluable coaching experience as an assistant at multiple top-tier programs, including a role with the 2010 North Carolina women's team, which reached the NCAA Semifinals and spent four weeks as the nation's top-ranked team. He helped guide the Middle Tennessee State men's squad to a Sun Belt tournament title, earning him a nomination for the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Feldman also served as an ITF travel coach, which took him all over the United States and South America.
ITA Introduces New Dual Match Format
In December, the ITA Division I Operating Committee made changes to the dual match format so that it shortens the length of the match. Changes include:
-No-ad scoring in singles and doubles.
-Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tie-break at 6-all.
-Followed (after a 5-minute intermission) by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tie-breaks at 6-all.
-No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles)
Follow Cowboy Tennis
Stay up to date with the Oklahoma State men's tennis team on the following social media sites:
Twitter: @CowboyTennis
Facebook: Oklahoma State Cowboy Tennis
Snapchat: OSUathletics
YouTube: youtube.com/osuathletics
