Oklahoma State University Athletics
Sunday, May 15
Stillwater, OK
1 P.M.
Oklahoma State University
4
vs
0
Arkansas
Cowboys Blank Arkansas, Advance To Sweet 16
May 15, 2016 | Cowboy Tennis
STILLWATER – For the 10th time in program history, the Oklahoma State men's tennis squad is heading to the Sweet 16. The Cowboys secured their trip to Tulsa after a shutout 4-0 victory over Arkansas at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Sunday.
"We've got a special group of guys," coach Jay Udwadia said. "Every team is going though ups and down every season and this team has been through a lot. The sweet isn't as sweet without the bitter and to make the Sweet 16 is a great accomplishment for our team."
With the victory, the Pokes return to the round of 16 at the NCAA Tennis Championships for the first time since 2008. Also, OSU moves to 20-7 on the season and collected its 13th win at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
The day started with doubles action and it was a tight contest as each court was within one game or tied early on in doubles. After an early break, Arkansas' Jose Salazar and Johan den Toom led 4-2 on court three, but Cowboys Tristan Meraut/Lukas Finzelberg made a late surge in the match as they won four consecutive games to get the first doubles win of the day.
On court one, All-American's Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe took a quick lead on court one with a break, but No. 19 Mike Redlicki/Giammarco Micolani came back to win the match, 6-4, turning all eyes to court two.
OSU's Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza found themselves in a battle with Santiago Munoz/Adam Sanjurjo, but the Cowboys stayed in control of the match as they never surrendered the lead to the Razorback duo.
With the Pokes one win away from securing doubles, Mendoza spiked a return right between Munoz/Sanjurjo to clinch the point and give OSU a 1-0 lead.
After dropping the doubles point, Arkansas came out strong in singles by leading on five of the six courts in the early going. The success from the Razorbacks wouldn't phase the Pokes as they went on to take four first set victories, including an amazing comeback from Finzelberg, who won six-straight games after trailing 3-0.
"I knew they were going to come out strong after losing the doubles point and we just needed to stay the course," Udwadia said. "I told the guys to relax and I think playing in the second round for the third-straight year really helped us too."
On court three, Gerch was the first Cowboy to get a singles victory as he defeated Santiago Munoz in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-0, to extend the OSU lead to 2-0. The junior extends his singles win streak to 13 and collects his 22nd overall singles win of the season.
"It was great, I feel awesome," Gerch said. "There was such a great crowd and I think everyone played well, especially in doubles."
Mendoza kept the momentum going for the Pokes with a dominant performance on court six, where he only surrendered three games between two sets en route to a 6-2, 6-1 victory to give the Cowboys a 3-0 edge and put themselves one point away from a trip to the Sweet 16.
After a 6-1 first set win, Meraut was in a battle with Arkansas' Micolani on court four. The Paris native proved to be too much for the Razorback as he took the second set, 6-4, and secured the Cowboys a spot in the Sweet 16.
After four days off, the Pokes will head to Tulsa for their round of 16 matchup with top-seeded Virginia. The match will take place at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center and will begin at noon CT.
"When you're in the Sweet 16 everyone can play," Udwadia said. "We respect all opponents, but our job is to go out there and win matches and we are going to be prepared to battle."
For more information and updates on the Cowboys, follow @CowboyTennis on Instagram and Twitter.
No. 16 Oklahoma State def. No. 19 Arkansas, 4-0
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2)
C1: No. 19 Mike Redlicki/Gimmarco Micolani (ARK) def. No. 10 Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash (OSU), 6-4
C2: Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Santiago Munoz/Adam Sanjurjo (ARK), 6-4
C3: Tristan Meraut/Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Jose Salazar/Johan den Toom (ARK), 6-4
Singles (Order of Finish: 3, 6, 4)
C1: No. 56 Julian Cash (OSU) vs. No. 21 Mike Redlicki (ARK), 5-7, 2-4 unf.
C2: Arjun Kadhe (OSU) vs. No. 62 Jose Salazar (ARK), 4-6, 4-5 unf.
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Santiago Munoz (ARK), 6-4, 6-0
C4: Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. Giammarco Micolani (ARK), 6-1, 6-4
C5: Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) vs. Adam Sanjurjo (ARK), 6-3, 4-4 unf.
C6: Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. William Albanese (ARK), 6-2, 6-1
"We've got a special group of guys," coach Jay Udwadia said. "Every team is going though ups and down every season and this team has been through a lot. The sweet isn't as sweet without the bitter and to make the Sweet 16 is a great accomplishment for our team."
With the victory, the Pokes return to the round of 16 at the NCAA Tennis Championships for the first time since 2008. Also, OSU moves to 20-7 on the season and collected its 13th win at the Greenwood Tennis Center.
The day started with doubles action and it was a tight contest as each court was within one game or tied early on in doubles. After an early break, Arkansas' Jose Salazar and Johan den Toom led 4-2 on court three, but Cowboys Tristan Meraut/Lukas Finzelberg made a late surge in the match as they won four consecutive games to get the first doubles win of the day.
On court one, All-American's Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe took a quick lead on court one with a break, but No. 19 Mike Redlicki/Giammarco Micolani came back to win the match, 6-4, turning all eyes to court two.
OSU's Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza found themselves in a battle with Santiago Munoz/Adam Sanjurjo, but the Cowboys stayed in control of the match as they never surrendered the lead to the Razorback duo.
With the Pokes one win away from securing doubles, Mendoza spiked a return right between Munoz/Sanjurjo to clinch the point and give OSU a 1-0 lead.
After dropping the doubles point, Arkansas came out strong in singles by leading on five of the six courts in the early going. The success from the Razorbacks wouldn't phase the Pokes as they went on to take four first set victories, including an amazing comeback from Finzelberg, who won six-straight games after trailing 3-0.
"I knew they were going to come out strong after losing the doubles point and we just needed to stay the course," Udwadia said. "I told the guys to relax and I think playing in the second round for the third-straight year really helped us too."
On court three, Gerch was the first Cowboy to get a singles victory as he defeated Santiago Munoz in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-0, to extend the OSU lead to 2-0. The junior extends his singles win streak to 13 and collects his 22nd overall singles win of the season.
"It was great, I feel awesome," Gerch said. "There was such a great crowd and I think everyone played well, especially in doubles."
Mendoza kept the momentum going for the Pokes with a dominant performance on court six, where he only surrendered three games between two sets en route to a 6-2, 6-1 victory to give the Cowboys a 3-0 edge and put themselves one point away from a trip to the Sweet 16.
After a 6-1 first set win, Meraut was in a battle with Arkansas' Micolani on court four. The Paris native proved to be too much for the Razorback as he took the second set, 6-4, and secured the Cowboys a spot in the Sweet 16.
After four days off, the Pokes will head to Tulsa for their round of 16 matchup with top-seeded Virginia. The match will take place at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center and will begin at noon CT.
"When you're in the Sweet 16 everyone can play," Udwadia said. "We respect all opponents, but our job is to go out there and win matches and we are going to be prepared to battle."
For more information and updates on the Cowboys, follow @CowboyTennis on Instagram and Twitter.
No. 16 Oklahoma State def. No. 19 Arkansas, 4-0
Doubles (Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2)
C1: No. 19 Mike Redlicki/Gimmarco Micolani (ARK) def. No. 10 Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash (OSU), 6-4
C2: Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Santiago Munoz/Adam Sanjurjo (ARK), 6-4
C3: Tristan Meraut/Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Jose Salazar/Johan den Toom (ARK), 6-4
Singles (Order of Finish: 3, 6, 4)
C1: No. 56 Julian Cash (OSU) vs. No. 21 Mike Redlicki (ARK), 5-7, 2-4 unf.
C2: Arjun Kadhe (OSU) vs. No. 62 Jose Salazar (ARK), 4-6, 4-5 unf.
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Santiago Munoz (ARK), 6-4, 6-0
C4: Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. Giammarco Micolani (ARK), 6-1, 6-4
C5: Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) vs. Adam Sanjurjo (ARK), 6-3, 4-4 unf.
C6: Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. William Albanese (ARK), 6-2, 6-1
Players Mentioned
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