Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Season Preview
January 09, 2015 | Cowboy Tennis
Oklahoma State's men's tennis team had one of its most successful seasons in recent years in 2014 under the direction of head coach Jay Udwadia.
After a second-round appearance in the NCAA team championship, the Pokes finished ranked No. 25 in the nation, their highest finish since 2009, and they look to continue that success during the 2015 spring season.
“Our expectations for the season are to keep building OSU each year, and I think we have a team that can meet a lot of the goals that we have to bring the program to the next level,” Udwadia said. “We want to compete every match and take it a step further than we did last year.”
The Cowboys, led by Udwadia and first-year assistant coach Nate Feldman, are coming off a fall season that saw them compete in several tournaments across the country.
“The main focus on the fall was to get a lot of matches, develop the players where they needed it in their game and just help them improve to be better prepared for the spring season,” Udwadia said. “We had a good tournament at the ITA All-American Championship, which is the most prestigious tournament in the fall. Jakob (Sude) and Arjun (Kadhe) made it to the doubles semifinals. Everyone else had decent performances. We're excited about the spring season after a fall season that helped us develop and get match-ready.”
Heading into the spring, the Cowboys' roster is stacked with 10 talented players, including three mid-season enrollees. Among the returners are All-Americans Jakob Sude and Arjun Kadhe, who reached the semifinals of the NCAA doubles championship last season. The pair enter the season as the 12th-ranked team in the country. Individually, Kadhe and Sude start the season as the No. 74 and No. 98 players in the nations, respectively. The Pokes also bring back sophomore Lucas Gerch, who was named the 2014 team MVP.
Other Cowboys primed to make an impact are senior Nicolai Ferrigno, sophomores Nathan Roper and Jurence Mendoza, redshirt freshman Lukas Finzelberg and newcomers Trent Botha, Tristan Meraut and Leonard Gerch.
“I'm happy about the level of depth on our team, and I'm excited to see how the guys perform,” Udwadia said. “We have a team that is motivated. Everyone is here for the right reasons and working hard, academically and on court. It's already been a fun year. I can't wait to start competing and grinding it out on the tennis court with these guys.”
Entering the season ranked No. 25 in the country, the Cowboys will take on 16 teams this spring who are preseason-ranked in the top 75. Of those, eight are top-25 teams. The Pokes will also face a tough conference schedule as all six Big 12 teams are in the top 75, with three teams ranked in the top 10.
“The spring should be really exciting. The schedule is challenging,” Udwadia said. “We like to play the best teams that we can play, and that gives us a chance to be challenged and to improve the most we can and maximize our development. It also gives us a chance to knock off some of the nation's top teams, so scheduling is important.”
Oklahoma State men's tennis kicks off on Jan. 17 as the Cowboys host Nebraska at 1:30 p.m. at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.
