Oklahoma State University Athletics
Saturday, March 26
Stillwater, OK
12:00 P.M.
Oklahoma State University
4
vs
0
SMU
Cowboys Split Doubleheader, Beat Oral Roberts
March 26, 2016 | Cowboy Tennis
STILLWATER - Oklahoma State's men's tennis squad split its doubleheader at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Saturday with a 4-1 win over Oral Roberts and a 4-0 loss to No. 36 SMU.
The Pokes are now 16-2 on the season and 9-1 at the Greenwood Tennis Center. Also, the victory gives OSU its 20th-straight win over Oral Roberts.
"The theme of the day was doubles play," coach Jay Udwadia said. "I think we just had a little heart-to-heart after doubles (in the Oral Roberts match). Then we decided to show up and play Cowboy tennis."
MATCH ONE (vs. No. 36 SMU)
The Cowboys got off to a slow start in doubles play as No. 9 Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash struggled in their match against SMU's Hunter/Yates Johnson, falling, 6-1.
With close matches on courts two and three, the Pokes still had a good chance to take the doubles point. OSU's Tristan Meraut/Lucas Gerch were locked in a battled on two with SMU's Nate Lammons/Markus Kerner, but Cowboys Lukas Finzelberg/Jurence Mendoza couldn't keep the point alive as they dropped their match on three to give SMU the point.
In singles play, the Mustangs (17-5; 2-1 American) continued the momentum they took from doubles as they took four first set victories. Meraut and Gerch were the only Cowboys to win their first sets.
SMU's Lammons got the Mustangs on the board quickly in singles with a straight-sets win over OSU's No. 48 Cash, 7-5, 6-3.
Shortly after, the All-American Kadhe would fall on to No. 73 Hunter Johnson, 6-4, 6-3, to extend the Mustang lead to 3-0.
One point away from defeat, the Cowboys needed to win the remaining four singles matches to keep their win streak alive.
Unfortunately, Finzelberg couldn't bounce back after losing a tough tiebreak in the first set to SMU's Tony Russell as he fell in straight-sets, 7-6(3), 6-3, giving SMU the 4-0 victory.
"I think we had a very good team come to campus that was ready to play," Udwadia said. "Losing that doubles point was huge. We definitely could have played better. It was a day where we were kind of stuggling, but you still need to find a way to win."
With the loss, the Cowboys 11-match win streak was snapped and they suffered their first loss home loss of the season.
MATCH TWO (vs. Oral Roberts)
After a tough loss to SMU, the Cowboys tried to get back on track against Oral Roberts as they entered the match with 19-straight victories against the Golden Eagles.
The doubles point looked to be in the favor of OSU early with All-American duo Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe shutting out ORU's Jan Pehnec/Kenneth Boykin, 6-0. Both Cowboy duos led on their respective courts, but the Golden Eagles (10-8; 2-0 Summit League) would make a surge as they ended up winning those two matches to steal the doubles point from the Pokes.
"Oral Roberts came out ready to play and we definitely have a lot of respect for them," coach Jay Udwadia said. "At this level, anyone can beat anyone so you have to be on your toes."
Needing to win four of six matches in singles, all six Cowboys would win the first set in their match. Gerch knotted up the score quickly with a dominant, 6-0, 6-0, win over Amar Saletovic.
"We quickly set the tone in the first 10-15 minutes of singles and it just carried through the entire match," Udwadia said.
OSU's Nathan Roper kept the Cowboy comeback going as he only surrendered one game in his match to give the Pokes a 2-1 lead with four matches remaining.
Arjun Kadhe, ranked No. 121, and Jurence Mendoza would wrap up the match for the Pokes with victories on courts two and five. The All-American Kadhe clinched the match on two with a straight-set victory against Pehnec, 6-1, 6-4.
The Pokes remain undefeated at home against unranked opponents as they sit at 5-0 on the season.
Up next for the Cowboys is in-state rival Tulsa on April 1. OSU looks to make it back-to-back victories against the Golden Hurricanes as they defeated them last year in a thriller at the Greenwood Tennis Center, 4-3.
For more information and updates on the Pokes, follow @CowboyTennis on Instagram and Twitter.
No. 36 SMU def. No. 5 Oklahoma State, 4-0
March 26, 2016 | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Oklahoma
Doubles | Order of Finish: 1, 3
C1: No. 25 H. Johnson/Y. Johnson (SMU) def. No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU), 6-1
C2: Meraut/Gerch (OSU) vs. Lammons/Kerner (SMU), 4-4 unf.
C3: Slobodchikov/Russell (SMU) def. Mendoza/Finzelberg (OSU), 6-3
Singles | Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5*
C1: No. 115 Lammons (SMU) def. No. 48 Cash (OSU), 7-5, 6-3
C2: No. 73 H. Johnson (SMU) def. No. 121 Kadhe (OSU), 6-4, 6-3
C3: Gerch (OSU) vs. Butler (SMU), 7-5, 2-3 unf.
C4: Meraut (OSU) vs. Slobodchikov (SMU), 7-6(5), 1-4 unf.
C5: Russell (SMU) def. Finzelberg (OSU), 7-6(3), 6-3
C6: Mendoza (OSU) vs. Y. Johnson (SMU), 4-6, 5-6 unf.
No. 5 Oklahoma State def. Oral Roberts, 4-1
March 26, 2016 | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Oklahoma
Doubles | Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
C1: No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU) def. Pehnec/Boykin (ORU), 6-0
C2: Koncz/Saletovic (ORU) def. Gerch/Meraut (OSU), 6-4
C3: Sosnowski/Bates (ORU) def. Finzelberg/Mendoza (OSU), 6-4
Singles | Order of Finish: 3, 6, 5, 2
C1: No. 48 Julian Cash (OSU) vs. Barnabas Koncz (ORU), 6-4, 4-2 unf.
C2: No. 121 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. Jan Pehnec (ORU), 6-1, 6-4
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Amar Saletovic (ORU), 6-0, 6-0
C4: Tristan Meraut (OSU) vs. Kenneth Boykin (ORU), 6-4, 4-3 unf.
C5: Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Michael Sosnowski (ORU), 6-0, 6-4
C6: Nathan Roper (OSU) def. Alvaro Santamaria (ORU), 6-0, 6-1
The Pokes are now 16-2 on the season and 9-1 at the Greenwood Tennis Center. Also, the victory gives OSU its 20th-straight win over Oral Roberts.
"The theme of the day was doubles play," coach Jay Udwadia said. "I think we just had a little heart-to-heart after doubles (in the Oral Roberts match). Then we decided to show up and play Cowboy tennis."
MATCH ONE (vs. No. 36 SMU)
The Cowboys got off to a slow start in doubles play as No. 9 Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash struggled in their match against SMU's Hunter/Yates Johnson, falling, 6-1.
With close matches on courts two and three, the Pokes still had a good chance to take the doubles point. OSU's Tristan Meraut/Lucas Gerch were locked in a battled on two with SMU's Nate Lammons/Markus Kerner, but Cowboys Lukas Finzelberg/Jurence Mendoza couldn't keep the point alive as they dropped their match on three to give SMU the point.
In singles play, the Mustangs (17-5; 2-1 American) continued the momentum they took from doubles as they took four first set victories. Meraut and Gerch were the only Cowboys to win their first sets.
SMU's Lammons got the Mustangs on the board quickly in singles with a straight-sets win over OSU's No. 48 Cash, 7-5, 6-3.
Shortly after, the All-American Kadhe would fall on to No. 73 Hunter Johnson, 6-4, 6-3, to extend the Mustang lead to 3-0.
One point away from defeat, the Cowboys needed to win the remaining four singles matches to keep their win streak alive.
Unfortunately, Finzelberg couldn't bounce back after losing a tough tiebreak in the first set to SMU's Tony Russell as he fell in straight-sets, 7-6(3), 6-3, giving SMU the 4-0 victory.
"I think we had a very good team come to campus that was ready to play," Udwadia said. "Losing that doubles point was huge. We definitely could have played better. It was a day where we were kind of stuggling, but you still need to find a way to win."
With the loss, the Cowboys 11-match win streak was snapped and they suffered their first loss home loss of the season.
MATCH TWO (vs. Oral Roberts)
After a tough loss to SMU, the Cowboys tried to get back on track against Oral Roberts as they entered the match with 19-straight victories against the Golden Eagles.
The doubles point looked to be in the favor of OSU early with All-American duo Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe shutting out ORU's Jan Pehnec/Kenneth Boykin, 6-0. Both Cowboy duos led on their respective courts, but the Golden Eagles (10-8; 2-0 Summit League) would make a surge as they ended up winning those two matches to steal the doubles point from the Pokes.
"Oral Roberts came out ready to play and we definitely have a lot of respect for them," coach Jay Udwadia said. "At this level, anyone can beat anyone so you have to be on your toes."
Needing to win four of six matches in singles, all six Cowboys would win the first set in their match. Gerch knotted up the score quickly with a dominant, 6-0, 6-0, win over Amar Saletovic.
"We quickly set the tone in the first 10-15 minutes of singles and it just carried through the entire match," Udwadia said.
OSU's Nathan Roper kept the Cowboy comeback going as he only surrendered one game in his match to give the Pokes a 2-1 lead with four matches remaining.
Arjun Kadhe, ranked No. 121, and Jurence Mendoza would wrap up the match for the Pokes with victories on courts two and five. The All-American Kadhe clinched the match on two with a straight-set victory against Pehnec, 6-1, 6-4.
The Pokes remain undefeated at home against unranked opponents as they sit at 5-0 on the season.
Up next for the Cowboys is in-state rival Tulsa on April 1. OSU looks to make it back-to-back victories against the Golden Hurricanes as they defeated them last year in a thriller at the Greenwood Tennis Center, 4-3.
For more information and updates on the Pokes, follow @CowboyTennis on Instagram and Twitter.
No. 36 SMU def. No. 5 Oklahoma State, 4-0
March 26, 2016 | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Oklahoma
Doubles | Order of Finish: 1, 3
C1: No. 25 H. Johnson/Y. Johnson (SMU) def. No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU), 6-1
C2: Meraut/Gerch (OSU) vs. Lammons/Kerner (SMU), 4-4 unf.
C3: Slobodchikov/Russell (SMU) def. Mendoza/Finzelberg (OSU), 6-3
Singles | Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5*
C1: No. 115 Lammons (SMU) def. No. 48 Cash (OSU), 7-5, 6-3
C2: No. 73 H. Johnson (SMU) def. No. 121 Kadhe (OSU), 6-4, 6-3
C3: Gerch (OSU) vs. Butler (SMU), 7-5, 2-3 unf.
C4: Meraut (OSU) vs. Slobodchikov (SMU), 7-6(5), 1-4 unf.
C5: Russell (SMU) def. Finzelberg (OSU), 7-6(3), 6-3
C6: Mendoza (OSU) vs. Y. Johnson (SMU), 4-6, 5-6 unf.
No. 5 Oklahoma State def. Oral Roberts, 4-1
March 26, 2016 | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Oklahoma
Doubles | Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3*
C1: No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU) def. Pehnec/Boykin (ORU), 6-0
C2: Koncz/Saletovic (ORU) def. Gerch/Meraut (OSU), 6-4
C3: Sosnowski/Bates (ORU) def. Finzelberg/Mendoza (OSU), 6-4
Singles | Order of Finish: 3, 6, 5, 2
C1: No. 48 Julian Cash (OSU) vs. Barnabas Koncz (ORU), 6-4, 4-2 unf.
C2: No. 121 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. Jan Pehnec (ORU), 6-1, 6-4
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Amar Saletovic (ORU), 6-0, 6-0
C4: Tristan Meraut (OSU) vs. Kenneth Boykin (ORU), 6-4, 4-3 unf.
C5: Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Michael Sosnowski (ORU), 6-0, 6-4
C6: Nathan Roper (OSU) def. Alvaro Santamaria (ORU), 6-0, 6-1
Players Mentioned
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