Oklahoma State University Athletics
Sunday, March 5
La Jolla, Calif.
ALL DAY
Oklahoma State University
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Pacific Coast Doubles
Gerch and Kadhe Capture Cowboys' Third Straight Pacific Coast Doubles Title
March 05, 2017 | Cowboy Tennis
LA JOLLA, Calif. – Oklahoma State tennis' Lucas Gerch and Arjun Kadhe picked up two more victories on Sunday to win the 128th Annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship.
Gerch and Kadhe's success marks the third straight year that an OSU tandem has won the event, with Gerch and Nicolai Ferrigno winning in 2015, and Kadhe winning with Julian Cash last season. Sunday's title run also marked a historic moment for Arjun Kadhe, as he became Oklahoma State's all-time doubles wins leader thanks to his and Gerch's victory in the semifinals.
"I feel really humbled and thankful for the opportunities I've gotten at Oklahoma State," Kadhe said after his historic victory. "Those opportunities made it possible for me to become the one to get the highest amount of doubles wins in the team's history. Reaching 100 doubles wins is the next landmark for me and it's on my list so it'll be pretty cool if I can reach it."
In that semifinal match, the top-seeded duo took control of the contest early by snagging a second break point to take a 4-2 lead in the first set. Redlicki and Zhu clawed their way back into the set, ultimately tying it at 4-4. However, Gerch and Kadhe surged late and put the set away by holding serve and recording another timely break point.
Redlicki and Zhu bounced back in the second set, taking a 4-0 lead and putting the Cowboys on their heels. OSU's senior duo responded in impressive fashion though, as they cut the deficit to just one before the Bruins were able to hold serve and earn the split.
In the third set, the two tandems continued to match one another. They each recorded break points to open the set and then each held serve to stay level at 2-2. Gerch and Kadhe then produced another strong sequence of play as the Cowboy duo won the next four games to seal the match, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
The Cowboys' three-set win marked Kadhe's 93rd career doubles victory, pushing him past Charlie Laster and into the top spot on OSU's all-time doubles wins list. Kadhe didn't get to celebrate for long, however, as he and Gerch still had a championship match to play on Sunday.
In the tournament finals, Gerch and Kadhe squared off with Stanford's Jack Barber and William Genesen, who made up the tournament's No. 9-seeded tandem. The two duos traded games to open the match, eventually settling in with the score knotted at 3-3. From there though, the Cowboys made a late charge, winning the final three games to snag the first set.
The Cowboys continued to build on their momentum from the first set by going up a break early in the second set. Stanford then captured a couple of tightly-contested games to level the set at 3-3. Once again though, Gerch and Kadhe, mirroring their performance in the semifinals, came to life in the second half of the set. The duo won three of the final four games to become OSU's third consecutive Pacific Coast Doubles champion.
"It was a great week for me and Gerch and we played some amazing doubles this weekend," Kadhe said. "I'm really happy to win this beautiful trophy for the second time personally, and the third time in a row for Oklahoma State. We tried to enjoy our tennis this weekend and we ended up playing a really high level of doubles."
Gerch, Kadhe and the rest of the OSU men's tennis team will resume their spring season next weekend when the fifth-ranked Cowboys return to Stillwater to host Memphis and San Diego State. Oklahoma State's showdown with Memphis on Friday at 3:30 p.m. will mark the squad's first home match since February 12.
128th Annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships
March 5, 2017 | La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club | La Jolla, Calif.
Semifinals
(1) Lucas Gerch/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. (3) No. 24 Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Finals
(1) Lucas Gerch/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. (9) Jack Barber/William Genesen (STAN), 6-3, 6-4
Gerch and Kadhe's success marks the third straight year that an OSU tandem has won the event, with Gerch and Nicolai Ferrigno winning in 2015, and Kadhe winning with Julian Cash last season. Sunday's title run also marked a historic moment for Arjun Kadhe, as he became Oklahoma State's all-time doubles wins leader thanks to his and Gerch's victory in the semifinals.
"I feel really humbled and thankful for the opportunities I've gotten at Oklahoma State," Kadhe said after his historic victory. "Those opportunities made it possible for me to become the one to get the highest amount of doubles wins in the team's history. Reaching 100 doubles wins is the next landmark for me and it's on my list so it'll be pretty cool if I can reach it."
In that semifinal match, the top-seeded duo took control of the contest early by snagging a second break point to take a 4-2 lead in the first set. Redlicki and Zhu clawed their way back into the set, ultimately tying it at 4-4. However, Gerch and Kadhe surged late and put the set away by holding serve and recording another timely break point.
Redlicki and Zhu bounced back in the second set, taking a 4-0 lead and putting the Cowboys on their heels. OSU's senior duo responded in impressive fashion though, as they cut the deficit to just one before the Bruins were able to hold serve and earn the split.
In the third set, the two tandems continued to match one another. They each recorded break points to open the set and then each held serve to stay level at 2-2. Gerch and Kadhe then produced another strong sequence of play as the Cowboy duo won the next four games to seal the match, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
The Cowboys' three-set win marked Kadhe's 93rd career doubles victory, pushing him past Charlie Laster and into the top spot on OSU's all-time doubles wins list. Kadhe didn't get to celebrate for long, however, as he and Gerch still had a championship match to play on Sunday.
In the tournament finals, Gerch and Kadhe squared off with Stanford's Jack Barber and William Genesen, who made up the tournament's No. 9-seeded tandem. The two duos traded games to open the match, eventually settling in with the score knotted at 3-3. From there though, the Cowboys made a late charge, winning the final three games to snag the first set.
The Cowboys continued to build on their momentum from the first set by going up a break early in the second set. Stanford then captured a couple of tightly-contested games to level the set at 3-3. Once again though, Gerch and Kadhe, mirroring their performance in the semifinals, came to life in the second half of the set. The duo won three of the final four games to become OSU's third consecutive Pacific Coast Doubles champion.
"It was a great week for me and Gerch and we played some amazing doubles this weekend," Kadhe said. "I'm really happy to win this beautiful trophy for the second time personally, and the third time in a row for Oklahoma State. We tried to enjoy our tennis this weekend and we ended up playing a really high level of doubles."
Gerch, Kadhe and the rest of the OSU men's tennis team will resume their spring season next weekend when the fifth-ranked Cowboys return to Stillwater to host Memphis and San Diego State. Oklahoma State's showdown with Memphis on Friday at 3:30 p.m. will mark the squad's first home match since February 12.
128th Annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships
March 5, 2017 | La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club | La Jolla, Calif.
Semifinals
(1) Lucas Gerch/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. (3) No. 24 Martin Redlicki/Evan Zhu (UCLA), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Finals
(1) Lucas Gerch/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. (9) Jack Barber/William Genesen (STAN), 6-3, 6-4
Players Mentioned
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