Cowboy Tennis Heads to Big 12 Championships

The Basics
The eighth-seeded Oklahoma State men's tennis team opens its Big 12 Championship run against ninth-seeded BYU on April 17 at 1 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center. The Cowboys defeated BYU, 4-3, at the Greenwood Tennis Center earlier this season with Derek Pham clinching the match on court three. After dropping the doubles point, OSU's Isaac Becroft, Alessio Basile, Ian Bracks, and Pham all collected wins to complete the comeback victory. Oklahoma State has made it to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship in every season except one since the conference came together. The winner of the match faces No. 1 TCU on April 18.

Following the Action
Cowboy fans can watch every match of the Big 12 Championships live on ESPN+. Live stats for all matches can also be found at: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/central.php?gid=b12.

Cowboys at the Big 12 Championship
Oklahoma State is 2-3 under Dustin Taylor at the Big 12 Championship, with wins against UCF and Texas Tech and losses to Texas (2) and TCU. Isaac Becroft went unbeaten in last year's tournament after defeating UCF's Francisco Llanes, 6-1, 6-2, and leaving his match against Texas' Micah Braswell unfinished in the third set. Alessio Basile dropped his lone match of the tournament last season. OSU has reached the semifinals in four of the past five seasons.

Meet the Cowboys
Graduate student Isaac Becroft leads the Cowboys. The captain is one of five returning players from last year's 18-10 squad that went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Other returners include Alessio Basile, Francisco Pini, Derek Pham, and Ty Wunderlich. Head coach Dustin Taylor brought in six freshmen in this year's recruiting class, including Tennessee transfer Nicolas Kobelt, Ian Bracks, Thomas Gadecki, Matei Onofrei, Ben Stecker, and Finn Hopfe.

In The Rankings
The Cowboys enter the Big 12 Championship slotted eighth in the field after going 1-6 in league play. Isaac Becroft is the lone ranked Cowboy coming in at No. 78. The New Zealand native has won four-straight matches.

Series History
OSU faces the Cougars for the second time this season and aims for a fourth consecutive win. Earlier this season, Oklahoma State topped BYU, 4-3, with Derek Pham clinching the match in a third set. The Cowboys are 3-1 all-time against the Cougars, with the only loss coming in 1984. The two have never met in postseason play.

Streaks & Trends

Derek Pham leads the Cowboys in wins with 12
OSU has not lost when Pham wins
OSU is 5-2 when winning the doubles point
Alessio Basile and Nicolas Kobelt lead the Cowboys in doubles wins with six
Finn Hopfe and Nicolas Kobelt are 3-0 as a doubles pairing
Isaac Becroft has won four-straight matches
Becroft did not lose in the Big 12 tournament last season
OSU has reached the semifinals in every season in the Dustin Taylor era
OSU has never met with BYU in the Big 12 tournament
OSU has made the semifinals of the Big 12 Championships in four of the last five seasons
OSU is 1-6 in Big 12 play

An Oklahoma State Win Would...

Make it 2-0 against BYU this season
Advance it to the quarterfinals for the 25th-straight season
Make it 3-3 in the Dustin Taylor era at the Big 12 Championships
Make it 1-0 against BYU in postseason play

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Alessio Basile

Isaac Becroft

Ian Bracks

Thomas Gadecki

Finn Hopfe

Nicolas Kobelt

Matei Onofrei

Derek Pham

Francisco Pini

Ben Stecker

Ty Wunderlich

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