Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Tennis Hosts No. 45 Alabama, No. 56 Arkansas
February 06, 2015 | Cowboy Tennis
The Basics
Oklahoma State's men's tennis team, ranked No. 31 in the nation, will host a big weekend at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center as it welcomes No. 45 Alabama on Saturday at 12 p.m. and No. 56 Arkansas on Sunday at 1 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 both matches. Visit the Cowboy Tennis home page.
In the ITA Rankings
The Cowboys dropped from No. 24 to No. 31 in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 45, while the Razorbacks jumped two spots to No. 56.
Two OSU players remain in the ITA singles rankings with sophomore All-American Arjun Kadhe remaining at No. 74, and senior All-American Jakob Sude staying put at No. 98. Neither Arkansas nor Alabama have ranked singles players.
Kadhe and Sude enter the weekend cemented as the 12th-ranked doubles team in the nation. Arkansas and Alabama do not have a ranked doubles team.
Last Time Out
Last weekend, the Cowboys hosted Arkansas-Pine Bluff before traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., to take on 46th-ranked Minnesota. In their home match, the Cowboys dominated the UAP Golden Lions, 7-0. Later that weekend, the Pokes suffered a tough 4-1 loss to Minnesota.
No. 46 Minnesota 4, No. 24 Oklahoma State 1
Feb. 1, 2015 :: Minneapolis, Minn. (Baseline Tennis Center)
Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 1
1. Hamburg/Froment (MINN) def. No. 12 Kadhe/Sude (OKST) 6-2
2. No. 58 Corwin/Toledo (MINN) vs. Mendoza/Ferrigno (OKST) 4-3, unfinished
3. Spec/Frueh (MINN) def. Gerch/Meraut (OKST) 6-2
Singles | Order of finish: 2, 1, 6, 4*
1. No. 17 Leandro Toledo (MINN) def. No. 98 Jakob Sude (OKST) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2. Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. No. 74 Arjun Kadhe (OKST) 6-4, 6-4
3. Ruben Weber (MINN) vs. Lucas Gerch (OKST) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 3-3, unfinished
4. No. 107 Matic Spec (MINN) def. Lukas Finzelberg (OKST) 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
5. No. 117 Felix Corwin (MINN) vs. Nicolai Ferrigno (OKST) 3-6, 6-2, 6-6, unfinished
6. Jurence Mendoza (OKST) def. Mathieu Froment (MINN) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
Connections
Head coach Jay Udwadia will coach against his alma mater this weekend as he brings in the Arkansas Razorbacks. Udwadia is a 1997 graduate of the University of Arkansas, where he was a four-year letter winner. During his collegiate career, the Razorbacks made it to three NCAA tourneys as well as earning a top-25 ranking.
On A Roll
Sophomore Lucas Gerch is undefeated this spring in singles, boasting a 5-0 record. Gerch plays primarily at the No. 3 spot, but has notched wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. All but one of his wins came in straight sets.
Freshman Trent Botha is also undefeated this spring, making two appearances at the No. 6 spot and one appearance on court five.
Scheduling Tough
The Cowboys are about the face their fourth and fifth ranked opponents within the last six matches. Against its first three ranked opponents, Oklahoma State is 1-2. They were edged by No. 14 Notre Dame, 4-3, at the ITA Kickoff Weekend before knocking off No. 17 Tennessee, 4-1, the next day. Most recently, the Cowboys suffered a loss to the No. 46 Minnesota Gophers.
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.
Cowboys vs. Opponents
The Cowboys own a 2-1 series advantage over Alabama with the teams last meeting in February last season. The Cowboys won it 4-0. The Pokes have a tight series with Arkansas as the Razorbacks lead it 14-15. OSU looks to even it up this weekend.
Series History vs. Alabama
Overall series OSU leads, 2-1
First Meeting (1975) BAMA 7, OSU 2
Last Meeting (2014) OSU 4, BAMA 0
Series History vs. Arkansas
Overall series ARK leads, 14-15
First Meeting (1970) OSU 3, ARK 1
Last Meeting (2014) OSU 5, ARK 2
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
