Cowboy Tennis Set to Wrap Up Home Slate with No. 5 Texas, Baylor

Friday, April 5

Stillwater, OK

5:00 p.m.

Oklahoma State University

Texas

Photo by: Oklahoma State University Athletics

Cowboy Tennis Set to Wrap Up Home Slate with No. 5 Texas, Baylor

April 04, 2024 | Cowboy Tennis

Match Notes (PDF)

The Basics
The 33rd-ranked Oklahoma State men's tennis team (15-6 overall; 2-2 Big 12) will look to get back on track following a pair of losses against No. 29 UCF in a tight 4-3 loss, before returning home and falling to third-ranked TCU. OSU has won 11 of its last 15, sporting an 11-4 home record this season. The Cowboys will host No. 5 Texas on Friday at 5 p.m. CT and 31st-ranked Baylor on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.

Following the Action
For both matches, live stats can be found at: okstate.statbroadcast.com. For the Texas match, live video can be found at: https://okla.st/3xhbCIr and Baylor at: https://okla.st/3J62WqE. Both matches can be streamed on Cracked Racquets' Crosscourt Cast on ESPN+.

In The Rankings
Oklahoma State appeared at No. 33 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's latest rankings, announced on April 2. It marks the seventh week OSU appeared in the top 35 this season. With a 15-6 record, the Pokes hold the most wins since the 2019 campaign.

OSU's court one player, Tyler Zink, checked in at No. 23 in singles. It is his fourth highest, with all rankings coming in the top 30 this season. He's earned four ranked wins in 2024, including a victory over San Diego's No. 5 Oliver Tarvet.

Alex Garcia was slotted at No. 71, six spots north of his previous ranking. The graduate senior is 11-4 in singles action, riding a three-match winning streak. Eight of his 11 wins have come on court two, including a victory over MTSU's No. 4 Marcel Kamrowski.

No. 78 Isaac Becroft earned a singles ranking for the second consecutive week. He began 2024 13-0 in singles, the best OSU start to a season since Lucas Gerch in 2014. He defeated Illinois' highest ranked player, No. 30 Karlis Ozolins on March 14 en route to an OSU victory.

Zink and Becroft appeared 30th, going 8-2 in the fall, securing four matches in a row to win the ITA Fall Regional in Stillwater.

Series History
OSU is 4-34 against Texas. The Pokes faced off with the Longhorns in Austin this season at ITA Kickoff Weekend, falling 4-1. Erik Schiessl earned his first ranked win of his career against No. 82 Cleeve Harper, 7-5, 6-2. The last win against Texas came on April 2, 2017, at the Greenwood Tennis Center, with the Pokes taking a 4-2 victory.

Baylor holds a 32-9 series lead over the Pokes, with the first meeting coming in 1980, where the Cowboys took a 9-0 victory. The last Cowboy victory came in 2018, with the Pokes defeating the Bears, 4-3.

Streaks & Trends

Oklahoma State is 15-6
In OSU wins, it is outscoring opponents, 78-15
The Cowboys are third in the Big 12 Conference in overall wins
OSU is 118-36 all time at the Greenwood Tennis Center, including a 11-4 mark this season
The Pokes are 77-30 in singles matchups
All six courts have a .632 or better winning percentage
Ten Cowboys tallied a win in singles play
In singles, four Cowboys beat ranked opponents
Isaac Becroft and Tyler Zink are tied for the team lead with 14 wins
The Cowboys collected seven out of eight doubles points from Feb. 3 to Feb. 25
In doubles, court one is 10-4 and court two is 14-7
Ten different doubles pairings have notched a win
Alessio Basile and Isaac Becroft hold the team lead with 11 doubles wins
Tyler Zink and Alex Garcia are 9-4 on court one in doubles, with all four losses to ranked opponents
OSU is 31-21 in doubles matchups

A Pair of Oklahoma State Wins Would...

Improve its record to 17-6
Give it its third top-15 win of the season, with a victory over Texas
Improve its record to 13-4 at the Greenwood Tennis Center
Give it its fifth win all time against Texas and first since 2017
Give it its first win over Baylor since 2018 and 10th all time
Improve its standing to as high as first in the Big 12
Give it its best start to conference play since 2017
Give Dustin Taylor his first wins over Texas and Baylor as OSU head coach

Becroft Brilliance

Senior Isaac Becroft started 13-0 in singles, the best start to a season since Lucas Gerch in 2014
He tallied six victories on court two and eight wins on court three
The New Zealand native dropped two ranked opponents, including Illinois' No. 30 Karlis Ozolins
Becroft and Alessio Basile hold a team-high 11 wins in doubles, all on court two
The pairing is 6-4 in their last 10 matches

E. Schiesty

Freshman Erik Schiessl is 11-4 in singles
He started the season 8-0
He is 8-4 on court four and 3-0 on court five
Nine out of his 11 wins have come in straight-set fashion
He has two ranked victories over Texas' No. 82 Cleeve Harper and Illinois' No. 55 Kenta Miyoshi