Oklahoma State University Athletics
Sunday, January 31
Stillwater, OK
12:00 P.M.
Oklahoma State University
6
vs
1
No. 22 Minnesota
Cowboys Complete Sweep of Top-25 Foes
January 31, 2016 | Cowboy Tennis
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State's men's tennis squad (6-1; Big 12 0-0) defeated its second straight top-25 opponent Sunday, as they dominated in singles play to beat the No. 22-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-2; Big Ten 0-0) at the Greenwood Tennis Center, 6-1.
"I'm happy the guys were able to bounce back and win all six courts after losing the doubles point," coach Jay Udwadia said.
With the victory, the Cowboys have now defeated four-ranked opponents already this season in No. 11 Wake Forest, No. 22 Minnesota, No. 32 Harvard and No. 45 Memphis.
The Cowboys went into the match undefeated in doubles play with a 6-0 record, but the Golden Gophers looked to put an end to that streak.
On court one, All-American duo Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe faced a familiar challenge in Minnesota's No. 20-ranked tandem Matic Spec/Felix Corwin, as the two duos met in the ITA Central Regional doubles final back in October. Spec/Corwin claimed victorious that day and would do the same on Sunday with a 6-2 victory over Kadhe/Cash.
Shortly after, No. 53-ranked OSU duo Jurence Mendoza/Lukas Finzelberg won their match on court three, making it come down to the match on court two between Cowboys Temur Ismailov/Lucas Gerch and Minnesota's Mariano Alpeza/Ruben Weber.
Trailing 5-3, the Pokes needed to win two straight games to keep the match going, but they did one better by winning three consecutive games to put them one win away from the doubles point.
Unfortunately, Golden Gopher's Alpeza/Weber would force a tiebreak and win the match by taking the tiebreak, 7-4.
"Minnesota played really well in doubles, they came out hitting their shots and it wasn't so much that we were playing flat it was more they were playing pretty well," Udwadia said. "It's going to happen once in a while because you're going to run into a team that gets hot, but you just have to stay focused."
Stay focused the Cowboys did, as No. 68-ranked Cash got Oklahoma State back on track with his dominant and impressive straight-set victory over No. 121 Corwin, 6-2, 6-1, to knot the score at one.
With the momentum back in the Cowboys corner, Oklahoma State's Gerch and Tristan Meraut won their singles matches in straight-sets on courts four and five to put the Pokes up 3-1.
One point away from clinching the match, the Cowboys looked to their closer in Finzelberg on court six. The sophomore took the first set in his match 7-5 and would do the same in the second, securing the Cowboy victory.
"He's playing with a lot of heart right now and showing good emotion on the court," Udwadia said. "He's a worker and he will always come ready to play."
With the win already in hand, Kadhe won the fifth singles match of the day for the Pokes by taking the final two sets after dropping the first to defeat Minnesota's No. 95-ranked Weber, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Oklahoma State's Ismailov completed the sweep in singles with his victory over Minnesota's Spec, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3.
In their last four victories against ranked-opponents this season, the Pokes have outscored them 18-3 and will look to continue that trend when No. 36-ranked North Carolina State heads to town on Tuesday.
"Overall, it was a great match and we got to get ready for NC State because they're going to come here ready to play," Udwadia said.
The match against the Wolfpack will start at 3:30 p.m. CT and will be played at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
For more info and updates on the Cowboys, follow @CowboyTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
No. 25 Oklahoma State def. No. 22 Minnesota, 6-1
January 31, 2016 | Greenwood Tennis Center
Doubles | Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2*
C1: No. 20 Spec/Corwin (MINN) def. No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU), 6-2
C2: Alpeza/Weber (MINN) defeat Ismailov/Gerch (OSU), 7-6(4)
C3: No. 53 Finzelberg/Mendoza (OSU) def. Krstanovic/Levin (MINN), 6-3
Singles | Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 6*, 3, 1
C1: Temur Ismailov (OSU) def. Matic Spec (MINN), 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3
C2: No. 68 Julian Cash (OSU) def. No. 101 Felix Corwin (MINN), 6-2, 6-1
C3: No. 112 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. No. 95 Ruben Weber (MINN), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
C4: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Justyn Levin (MINN), 6-4, 6-3
C5: Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. Josip Krstanovic (MINN), 6-3, 6-4
C6: Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Mariano Alpeza (MINN), 7-5, 7-5
"I'm happy the guys were able to bounce back and win all six courts after losing the doubles point," coach Jay Udwadia said.
With the victory, the Cowboys have now defeated four-ranked opponents already this season in No. 11 Wake Forest, No. 22 Minnesota, No. 32 Harvard and No. 45 Memphis.
The Cowboys went into the match undefeated in doubles play with a 6-0 record, but the Golden Gophers looked to put an end to that streak.
On court one, All-American duo Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe faced a familiar challenge in Minnesota's No. 20-ranked tandem Matic Spec/Felix Corwin, as the two duos met in the ITA Central Regional doubles final back in October. Spec/Corwin claimed victorious that day and would do the same on Sunday with a 6-2 victory over Kadhe/Cash.
Shortly after, No. 53-ranked OSU duo Jurence Mendoza/Lukas Finzelberg won their match on court three, making it come down to the match on court two between Cowboys Temur Ismailov/Lucas Gerch and Minnesota's Mariano Alpeza/Ruben Weber.
Trailing 5-3, the Pokes needed to win two straight games to keep the match going, but they did one better by winning three consecutive games to put them one win away from the doubles point.
Unfortunately, Golden Gopher's Alpeza/Weber would force a tiebreak and win the match by taking the tiebreak, 7-4.
"Minnesota played really well in doubles, they came out hitting their shots and it wasn't so much that we were playing flat it was more they were playing pretty well," Udwadia said. "It's going to happen once in a while because you're going to run into a team that gets hot, but you just have to stay focused."
Stay focused the Cowboys did, as No. 68-ranked Cash got Oklahoma State back on track with his dominant and impressive straight-set victory over No. 121 Corwin, 6-2, 6-1, to knot the score at one.
With the momentum back in the Cowboys corner, Oklahoma State's Gerch and Tristan Meraut won their singles matches in straight-sets on courts four and five to put the Pokes up 3-1.
One point away from clinching the match, the Cowboys looked to their closer in Finzelberg on court six. The sophomore took the first set in his match 7-5 and would do the same in the second, securing the Cowboy victory.
"He's playing with a lot of heart right now and showing good emotion on the court," Udwadia said. "He's a worker and he will always come ready to play."
With the win already in hand, Kadhe won the fifth singles match of the day for the Pokes by taking the final two sets after dropping the first to defeat Minnesota's No. 95-ranked Weber, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Oklahoma State's Ismailov completed the sweep in singles with his victory over Minnesota's Spec, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3.
In their last four victories against ranked-opponents this season, the Pokes have outscored them 18-3 and will look to continue that trend when No. 36-ranked North Carolina State heads to town on Tuesday.
"Overall, it was a great match and we got to get ready for NC State because they're going to come here ready to play," Udwadia said.
The match against the Wolfpack will start at 3:30 p.m. CT and will be played at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
For more info and updates on the Cowboys, follow @CowboyTennis on Twitter and Instagram.
No. 25 Oklahoma State def. No. 22 Minnesota, 6-1
January 31, 2016 | Greenwood Tennis Center
Doubles | Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2*
C1: No. 20 Spec/Corwin (MINN) def. No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU), 6-2
C2: Alpeza/Weber (MINN) defeat Ismailov/Gerch (OSU), 7-6(4)
C3: No. 53 Finzelberg/Mendoza (OSU) def. Krstanovic/Levin (MINN), 6-3
Singles | Order of Finish: 2, 4, 5, 6*, 3, 1
C1: Temur Ismailov (OSU) def. Matic Spec (MINN), 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3
C2: No. 68 Julian Cash (OSU) def. No. 101 Felix Corwin (MINN), 6-2, 6-1
C3: No. 112 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. No. 95 Ruben Weber (MINN), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
C4: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Justyn Levin (MINN), 6-4, 6-3
C5: Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. Josip Krstanovic (MINN), 6-3, 6-4
C6: Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Mariano Alpeza (MINN), 7-5, 7-5
Players Mentioned
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