Fifth-Ranked Cowboys Return to the Golden State

PDF Notes - Michigan & Pacific Coast Doubles

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State men's tennis team continues its spring season this week, as the fifth-ranked Cowboys head to the west coast for a neutral-site showdown against No. 9 Michigan on Thursday in La Jolla, California. The Cowboys' matchup against the Wolverines will mark their sixth straight contest against a top-25 opponent. The Cowboys' matchup against the Wolverines will mark their sixth straight contest against a top-25 opponent.

OSU's trip to California will also see the Cowboys compete in the 128th Annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship. An Oklahoma State tandem has won the event in each of the past two seasons.

The Oklahoma State Lineup
- At the top of the Cowboys' doubles lineup is the returning All-American duo of Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe. Cash and Kadhe won 34 matches as a tandem last season and became the fourth team in OSU history to earn All-America honors.
- The Cowboys also return five other upperclassmen this season in Lukas Finzelberg, Lucas Gerch, Jurence Mendoza, Tristan Meraut and Nathan Roper. All five figure to play a key role in the OSU lineup this season, including Gerch, whose 69 career singles victories puts him in ninth place on OSU's all-time wins list.
- The final members of head coach Jay Udwadia's roster are newcomers Mathieu Scaglia and Artur Dubinski.

Match Updates
- For updates during matches, follow @CowboyTennis on Twitter and then check okstate.com for post-match results and a recap from the day's action.

Oklahoma State from a Distance
- Oklahoma State returns seven upperclassmen from a season that saw the Cowboys host an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2007 and advance to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in program history. The Cowboys racked up 20 duals wins for the second time under head coach Jay Udwadia, with 12 of those victories coming against ranked competition.
- Udwadia is currently in his fifth season in charge of the Cowboys. He earned his 75th win as OSU's head coach when his Cowboys blanked No. 14 Kentucky on January 28 to secure their spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. Udwadia is joined by first-year assistant coach Marek Michalicka.

Chasing a Third Straight Crown
- Oklahoma State has taken home the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship in each of the past two seasons, with Lucas Gerch and Nicolai Ferrigno winning the title in 2015 and Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe claiming the crown last season.
- OSU will field three teams in this years field, with Gerch and Kadhe partnering together for the first time in their Cowboy careers. Oklahoma State's other two tandems will consist of Jurence Mendoza and Artur Dubinski, as well as Frenchmen Mathieu Scaglia and Tristan Meraut

Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Cowboys have been ranked in the top-30 of the ITA Rankings for 31 consecutive weeks. The last time OSU was outside of the top-30 was May 1, 2015.
- The Cowboys have won at least 15 matches in each of the last three seasons under head coach Jay Udwadia. Twice during that stretch OSU has hit the 20-win mark, winning 22 in 2014 and 20 a season ago.
- Oklahoma State has had a doubles tandem earn All-America honors in each of the past three seasons. Last season it was Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe achieving the feat, while Kadhe and Jakob Sude recorded the first two during the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Tournaments. Kadhe is the first OSU player to ever be named an All-American in doubles on three occasions.
- Since 2013, the Cowboys have made three-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including advancing to the Round of 16 last season. That streak is the second longest in program history, trailing only a seven-year streak from 2003-09 that saw the Cowboys reach the Round of 16 on three occasions.
- Julian Cash has routinely gone toe-to-toe with the nation's best singles competitors this season. The junior has played in 17 matches this season, with 13 of those coming against ranked foes. Ten of those ranked opponents occupy a spot in the top 50, with four of them holding down spots in the top-10 of the ITA Rankings.
- Lucas Gerch has been instrumental in the Cowboys' success this spring, as he has posted a 9-1 mark in dual-match play. Oklahoma State is 8-1 this season when Gerch wins his singles matchup.

Record Watch
- Arjun Kadhe's 87 career doubles wins puts him in second place on Cowboys' all-time list. Kadhe needs just five more wins this season to tie Charlie Laster for the program record. The Pune, India native also holds 68 career singles wins, which leaves him in 10th place on the singles wins list.
- With 74 career singles wins, Lucas Gerch is currently in seventh place on the all-time list. If the German international matches last season's 22 wins, he would conclude his OSU career in fifth place.
- Julian Cash's record-setting 2015-16 season left him with 34 doubles wins as a Cowboy. If he and partner Arjun Kadhe were to replicate their success from last season, Cash would find himself in sixth place after his junior campaign.
- Arjun Kadhe currently sits with Oleksandr Nedovyesov and his former doubles partner Jakob Sude as the only three-time All-Americans in OSU history. With his senior campaign underway, Kadhe can become the first Cowboy to earn All-America honors on four occasions this year.

Off to a Flying Start
- Fast starts have become a trend under head coach Jay Udwadia. During his four-plus years the Cowboys have been unbeaten through their first six matches twice, posting a 9-0 mark to open the 2014 campaign and a 6-0 mark this season. Udwadia also led Oklahoma State to its best 15-match record last season, as the Cowboys posted a 14-1 mark to open the year.
- The Cowboys won, on average, 82 percent of their matches during seasons in which they were unbeaten through the first six matches. OSU also captured the conference title during four of those campaigns (1959, 1960, 1961 and 1963).
- Oklahoma State's best start to a season came in 1959 when Myron Roderick guided the Pokes to a 13-0 record in what was the first of two consecutive unbeaten seasons.

Cowboys in the ITA Rankings
- Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe have posted 19 wins in doubles play this season, as they continue to cement themselves as one of OSU's greatest doubles tandems. The duo in currently ranked No. 4 in the nation.
- Cash is currently Oklahoma State's highest-ranked singles competitor, jumping up 14 spots in last week's rankings to No. 18. The junior is joined in the singles rankings by Kadhe, who sits just three spots off his career-best mark at No. 69, and Lukas Finzelberg, who is ranked No. 102.
- Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza were also big movers last week, climbing 19 spots to No. 31 in the doubles rankings. The ranking marks the highest for either Cowboy in doubles, regardless of their partner.

The Udwadia Effect
- The Cowboys have been a resurgent program since head coach Jay Udwadia took over the program in June 2012. OSU's 71 wins during Udwadia's first four years marks the most in a four-year stretch since the Cowboys won 76 from 2005-08.
- The Cowboys have routinely faced the toughest the nation has to offer during Udwadia's four years at the helm, tallying 32 wins against ranked competition, including eight wins over top-25 foes.. This season the Pokes will again face one of the nation's toughest schedules as their 2016-17 slate includes 15 teams that earned NCAA Tournament a year ago.

Home, Sweet Home
- In the three-plus years since it first opened, the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center has provided an incredible home-court advantage to the Cowboys. During that time, OSU has won a staggering 40 matches when playing in the confines of the Greenwood Tennis Center.

Thriving in the Classroom
- Oklahoma State men's tennis has been a fixture of academic success dating back to the first Academic All-Big 12 team in 1997. In each of the past 20 seasons, OSU has had a representative on the Academic All-Big 12 team every year and has had multiple Cowboys earn the honor on 18 occasions.
- Under head coach Jay Udwadia, the Cowboys boast an impressive total of 17 Academic All-Big 12 selections and 11 ITA Scholar-Athletes. Senior Lucas Gerch added to OSU's list of academic achievement last season when he was named the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Dubinski Makes His Debut
- Artur Dubinski made his Oklahoma State debut this past weekend, as the sophomore teamed with Lukas Finzelberg and dropped North Carolina State's Georgiy Malyshev and Michael Ogden, 6-4, to help the Cowboys secure the doubles point for a fifth time this season.
- Dubinski joined the Cowboys after finding success on the ITF Futures Tour, winning more than 70 matches and capturing one title during the early stages of his professional career. He is currently the only sophomore on the OSU roster.
- The sophomore picked up his first collegiate singles victory in the Cowboys' showdown against Alabama on February 10, as Dubinski dropped Spencer Richey, 6-3, 6-3, to clinch the win for Oklahoma State.

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Players Mentioned

Julian Cash

Artur Dubinski

Nicolai Ferrigno

Lukas Finzelberg

Lucas Gerch

Arjun Kadhe

Jurence Mendoza

Tristan Meraut

Nathan Roper

Mathieu Scaglia

Jakob Sude

Oklahoma State University Athletics