Cowboys Defeat No. 6 Texas for First Time Since 2007

Sunday, April 2

Stillwater, Okla.

1:00 P.M.

Oklahoma State University

Texas

April 02, 2017 | Cowboy Tennis

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State men's tennis team picked up its first conference win of the season on Sunday, as the eighth-ranked Cowboys defeated No. 6 Texas, 4-2, at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.

OSU's victory on Sunday marked the Cowboys' (18-4; 1-1 Big 12) first win over Texas since April 14, 2007. It is also the third time this season that the squad has defeated a top-10 opponent.

"Texas is always tough for us and it was great to be able to get the win in front of our home crowd," OSU head coach Jay Udwadia said. "They beat us earlier this season at National Indoors in a tight 4-2 match, so it was nice to be able to pull through and cross the finish line today."

Sunday's match began outdoors, and the Cowboys quickly took the early lead by claiming the doubles point for the 17th time this season.

Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza, ranked No. 76 in the nation, were the first Cowboys to finish as they knocked off Yuya Ito and Colin Markes, 6-4, to earn their 15th win of the season. The left-handers' win was followed up shortly thereafter by second-ranked Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe on court one, where the All-American tandem bested George Goldhoff and Leo Telles, 6-3, to secure the all-important point.

"It was night and day in doubles from Friday to today," Udwadia said. "I told the guys to keep doing whatever they've done for the last 48 hours. I think that Gerch and Mendoza really picked it up today. We don't want to rely on one team every match and I was really happy to see that those guys stepped up."

Near the end of doubles play, a light rain rolled through Stillwater, forcing the two teams to move inside for singles action.

Despite the change in courts, Oklahoma State continued to build on the momentum it created in doubles with wins on courts two and three to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the Longhorns.

Lucas Gerch was again the first to finish as the senior picked up one of the biggest wins of his career by defeating No. 29 Yuya Ito in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Gerch's win gives him a team-high 16 this season and 78 for his illustrious OSU career.

Gerch's win was followed by his fellow senior Arjun Kadhe on court two, where Kadhe defeated No. 46 Harrison Scott, 7-5, 6-2. Kadhe lost to Scott in the two teams' previous meeting this season, but today's victory marked the right-hander's 71st career singles win and pushes him into the top-10 in team history.

Texas didn't go away easily, however, as the Longhorns picked up wins on courts four and five to cut the OSU lead to 3-2.

From there, a raucous crowd at the Greenwood Tennis Center lifted the Cowboys on the remaining two courts and helped catapult OSU to its 18th victory of the year.

"After every point we could hear the crowd cheering us on," Tristan Meraut said. "I knew it didn't matter what I did because I was going to have so many people behind me and it helped me push through to get a win."

Meraut, with the crowd in full-force behind him, once again provided the clinching point for Oklahoma State by defeating Rodrigo Banzer in a three-set thriller, 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-3. The junior's win marked his 10th straight singles win, which ranks as the longest streak by a Cowboy this season.

"Tristan has been incredibly solid over the past few matches," Udwadia said. "He's been on fire and he's been consistent the way he plays. He definitely played some great tennis down the stretch and I'm really happy for him and the team."

Oklahoma State will continue Big 12 play next weekend as they head to Lubbock, Texas to face Texas Tech on Friday. The Cowboys will then head to Waco, Texas for a match against No. 4 Baylor on Sunday.

No. 8 Oklahoma State 4, No. 6 Texas 2
April 2, 2017 | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Okla.

Doubles (Order of finish: 3, 2, 1)
C1: No. 2 Cash/Kadhe (OSU) def. Goldhoff/Telles (TEXAS), 6-3
C2: No. 76 Gerch/Mendoza (OSU) def. Ito/Markes (TEXAS), 6-4
C3: Sigsgaard/Zlobinsky (TEXAS) def. Dubinski/Finzelberg (OSU), 6-2

Singles (Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 4, 6)
C1: No. 23 Julian Cash (OSU) vs. No. 16 Christian Sigsgaard (TEXAS), 6-3, 4-6, 6-6 (6-3), unf.
C2: No. 77 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. No. 46 Harrison Scott (TEXAS), 7-5, 6-2
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. No. 29 Yuya Ito (TEXAS), 6-4, 6-4
C4: George Goldhoff (TEXAS) def. Artur Dubinski (OSU), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
C5: No. 112 Leo Telles (TEXAS) def. No. 69 Lukas Finzelberg (OSU), 7-5, 6-1
C6: Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. Rodrigo Banzer (TEXAS), 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-3