Cowboys Impress in First-Round Shutout of UMKC

Friday, May 12

1 P.M.

Oklahoma State University

UMKC

May 12, 2017 | Cowboy Tennis

PDF Results

Photos

STILLWATER – The 11th-seeded Oklahoma State men's tennis team shut out UMKC, 4-0, on Friday at the Greenwood Tennis Center to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight season.

"We didn't get off to a great start and had to catch up a little bit, but we were able to find our rhythm and ended up playing a solid match," head coach Jay Udwadia said. "We played a lot of good balls, settled into the match and we were able to come out with a good win."

OSU (22-6; 3-2 Big 12) jumped in front of the Kangaroos quickly on Friday, snagging wins on courts one and three to claim the doubles point for the 21st time this season.

Artur Dubinski and Tristan Meraut were the first Cowboys to wrap up their match, as the right-handers swept UMKC's (14-9; 3-2 WAC) Tom Kruse and Vihn Pham, 6-0, to give OSU the early lead in doubles. The Kangaroos leveled doubles play shortly thereafter when Uldis Gaismins and Amaury Navette defeated Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza, 6-3.

Following the split on courts two and three, doubles came down to Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe on court one. Cash and Kadhe struggled out of the gate against Airam Castellano and Mike Psarros, falling behind two breaks, 4-1. The All-Americans found their groove, however, and snagged four straight games to take their first lead of the match en route to securing a doubles-clinching win, 7-6 (5).

"I thought UMKC came out and played well in doubles, especially for the first 15 minutes or so," Udwadia said. "We had to play catch up for a bit, but were able to get back into the matches and win it with that tiebreak on court one. Cash and Kadhe were down two breaks, but showed some of their resiliency in their ability to bounce back from that deficit and come out on top."

Following their doubles triumph, the Cowboys continued to impress in singles action with wins on courts three, four and six sealing the squad's ninth shutout of the season.

Artur Dubinski, the 2017 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, was the first Cowboy to claim victory in singles action, as he defeated Amaury Navette in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0. Dubinski's win is his 10th singles triumph since joining Oklahoma State in early February.

OSU's German contingent, consisting of Lucas Gerch and Lukas Finzelberg, followed Dubinski's win with straight-set victories of their own.

Finzelberg was the first to conclude his matchup, earning his team-high 19th win of the season after defeating Vihn Pham, 6-3, 6-0, on court six. Finzelberg's 19 wins this season also mark a new career high for the right-hander.

Lucas Gerch finished mere moments after his fellow countrymen, as he dropped UMKC's Tom Kruse, 6-0, 6-3, to secure the Cowboys' spot in the second round. Gerch's win improves him to 18-6 on the year and was his 80th career singles win. The left-hander is the fifth Cowboy in team history to reach the 80-win mark in singles competition.

"We played solid in singles and had our legs underneath us," Udwadia said. "The guys controlled the ball really well today and we were able to play solid and pick up the win."

Oklahoma State will now face No. 25 Illinois on Saturday with a spot in the Round of 16 on the line. That match is currently scheduled to be played at 3 p.m. and will follow the first-round matchups of the women's regional.

No. 10 Oklahoma State 4, UMKC 0
May 12, 2017 | Stillwater, Okla. | Greenwood Tennis Center

Doubles (Order of finish: 3, 2, 1)
C1: No. 7 Cash/Kadhe (OSU) def. Castellano/Psarros (UMKC), 7-6 (5)
C2: Gaismins/Navette (UMKC) def. Gerch/Mendoza (OSU), 6-3
C3: Dubinski/Meraut (OSU) def. Kruse/Pham (UMKC), 6-0

Singles (Order of finish: 4, 6, 3)
C1: No. 26 Julian Cash (OSU) vs. Airam Castellano (UMKC), 6-4, 4-1, unf.
C2: No. 105 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) vs. Uldis Gaismins (UMKC), 6-4, 4-1, unf.
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Tom Kruse (UMKC), 6-0, 6-3
C4: Artur Dubinski (OSU) def. Amaury Navette (UMKC), 6-1, 6-0
C5: Tristan Meraut (OSU) vs. Mike Psarros (UMKC), 6-0, 4-3, unf.
C6: No. 76 Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Vihn Pham (UMKC), 6-3, 6-0