Cowboys Ready To Take On Virginia In Sweet 16

Notes vs. Virginia (Sweet 16)

The Basics
For the first time since 2008, the Cowboys are headed to the Sweet 16 where they will match up with top-seeded Virginia on Friday. The match will be played at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma at noon CT. With a victory, the Cowboys would face either Florida or SMU in the quarterfinals on Sunday at noon.

Follow the Match Live
A live stream and live stats feed for all matches at the NCAA Men's & Women's Tennis Championships can be found at TulsaHurricane.com/2016NCAATennis.

As always, live updates for each match can be seen on the OSU men's tennis Twitter page (@CowboyTennis).

In the ITA Rankings
Oklahoma State checks in at No. 16 in the latest Oracle/ITA Rankings, which were released on May 5.

A new singles poll was released as well and Cowboy Julian Cash remains in the top 60 as he sits at No. 56 in the latest rankings.

Two Cowboys duos are featured in the newest doubles rankings as All-Americans Arjun Kadhe/Cash sit at No. 10. Pokes Lucas Gerch/Temur Ismailov are the other OSU doubles team with a spot in the poll at No. 90.

Cash Receives Central Region ITA Player to Watch Award
Oklahoma State's Julian Cash was named the 2015-16 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Player to Watch, it was announced on Monday.

To be named a Regional ITA Player to Watch, a player must have been ranked nationally or regionally and be one of the top returning regional players next year.

The sophomore becomes the second Cowboy in program history to earn the award as he joins three-time All-American Oleksandr Nedovyesov who received the honor three times during his career.

Cash collected 18 singles wins and 32 doubles victories with partner Arjun Kadhe. Ranked No. 56, Cash earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors twice, which made him only the third Cowboy in program history to receive the weekly honor multiple times in a season.

Cash & Kadhe Earn Bids To NCAA Singles & Doubles Championship
Oklahoma State's men's tennis squad had two players receive bids to participate in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles & Doubles Championships.

All-American Julian Cash was selected as one of 50 at-large selections to compete in the 64-player singles tournament, which will take place from May 25-30 at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Cash earns a spot in the singles championship after an incredible season in which he collected 18 total victories between the fall and spring seasons. The sophomore defeated three top-25 opponents in the spring, including a straight-set victory over No. 7-ranked Andre Goransson from California.

For the third straight-season, two-time All-American Arjun Kadhe received an automatic bid to compete with his doubles partner, Cash, in the 32-duo doubles championship. Kadhe/Cash were one of 14 tandems to receive automatic bids to the championship as they spent the entire dual season ranked in the top-10.

Kadhe/Cash, ranked No. 8, finished the regular season with 32 victories in doubles, which included a remarkable spring season where they collected 21 wins and took the 127th Pacific Coast Doubles title with seven victories in three days

Spring Season Is Gerch's Time To Shine
OSU's Lucas Gerch continues to dominate this spring as he's currently riding a 13-match winning streak in singles.

A hot start in the spring isn't uncommon for the German as he won 14 of 15 singles matches to begin the spring last season and is off to another great start this spring, sitting at 15-2 in singles.

Gerch has also played well with doubles partner Jurence Mendoza as the two Cowboys have a 6-1 dual record this spring, while they sit at 11-3 overall. The junior also developed good chemistry with partner Temur Ismailov as they are ranked No. 90 in the latest Oracle/ITA Rankings.

Cowboy Tennis In the Tournament
Making their 20th appearance in the tournament, the Cowboys have reached the Sweet 16 in 10 of those 20 bids after defeating Bryant and No. 19 Arkansas this past weekend in Stillwater.

The Pokes will look to make history this year as they look to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament, which would mark the best finish in program history.

OSU's overall record in the tournament is 17-19, but the Cowboys are 4-2 in the NCAA Tennis Championships since coach Jay Udwadia took the helm.

Cowboys Potential Second Round Opponents
If the Pokes defeat Virginia in the round of 16 on Friday they will face the winner of Florida and SMU in the quarterfinals on Sunday at noon. The Cowboys have only faced the Gators twice in program history as they won the first ever meeting between the two teams in 2001, 4-1.

On the other hand, OSU has faced SMU 14 times, including a meeting this season at the Greenwood Tennis Center where the Mustangs beat the Pokes, 4-0. Prior to this year, the Cowboys had won eight of the last 10 matches against SMU.

Cowboys vs. Opponent
When the Pokes take on Virginia at noon on Friday it will be the first ever meeting between the two teams. Overall, the Cowboys are 12-13 when facing ACC opponents. OSU's last victory against an ACC foe was this season when the Cowboys defeated North Carolina State at the Greenwood Tennis Center in January, 7-0.

NCAA Tennis Championships Info
For the third time in school history, the University of Tulsa will be hosting the NCAA Tennis Championships. Ticket prices for single days will be $15 for adults and $8 for youth admission (16 and under). Play starts on Thursday with the women at 9 a.m., while the men begin on Friday at 9 a.m. as well.

More information on the tournament can be found at http://tulsahurricane.com/sports/2016/3/24/2016-ncaa-division-i-mens-and-womens-tennis-championships.aspx.

Last Time Out
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.

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.

OSU's Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza found themselves in a battle with Santiago Munoz/Adam Sanjurjo on court two, 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.

Straight-set singles victories from Gerch, Mendoza and Meraut would propel the Cowboys to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2008.

The Greenwood Tennis Center Effect
Since being built in 2014, the Greenwood Tennis has provided the Cowboys with a tremendous home advantage as they have won 33 of 41 matches at the beautiful facility.

The Pokes collected 13 victories at the Greenwood Tennis Center this season, including two against top 15 teams in No. 10 Texas Tech & No. 11 Wake Forest. The win against Tech in April was only the second time in Greenwood Tennis Center history that the Cowboys defeated a top 10 opponent at home.

Also, the Greenwood Tennis Center made its Big 12 Championship debut this season as OSU hosted both the Big 12 men's and women's tournaments. Hosting had its perks and the Cowgirls took advantage of it as they completed the clean sweep by winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament title.

Follow Cowboy Tennis
Stay up to date with the Oklahoma State men's tennis team:
Twitter: @CowboyTennis
Instagram: @CowboyTennis
Facebook: Oklahoma State Cowboy Tennis
Snapchat: OSUathletics
YouTube: youtube.com/osuathletics

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Players Mentioned

Julian Cash

Lukas Finzelberg

Lucas Gerch

Temur Ismailov

Arjun Kadhe

Jurence Mendoza

Tristan Meraut

Oklahoma State University Athletics