Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Abilene Christian
Cowboy Netters Down ACU, 5-2
April 09, 2011 | Cowboy Tennis
April 9, 2011
STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma State men's tennis team won a tough match under windy conditions Saturday at the DeBois Tennis Complex, defeating Abilene Christian, 5-2.
“Conditions were horrific with 25-35 m.p.h. gusts of wind,” coach James Wadley said. “I thought some of our guys really played hard and there were others I was disappointed in. It's an equalizer and whoever wants it the most wins on a day like this.”
The dual wasted no time providing excitement, as the doubles point came down to a last-match tiebreaker to determine the winner.
After OSU's 74th-ranked duo of Maniel Bains and Eric West handily beat Eldad Campbell and Nick Plum, 8-3, at No. 2 and ACU edged out an 8-6 victory at No. 3, the point would be decided on the No. 1 court where OSU's No. 18-ranked duo of Aleksey Bessonov and Rifat Biktyakov had just taken their match against ACU's Hans Hoch and Bryan Joiner into a tiebreaker.
The tandems traded points to a 6-6 tie until the Cowboys finally won back-to-back points for the 9-8(6) win to give Oklahoma State a 1-0 lead entering singles play.
The Wildcats picked up the first singles point as Bains defaulted in the first set on court No. 1, but the Cowboys stormed back to win the next four matches and clinch the team victory.
Vlad Bondarenko picked up the first singles win with a straight-set decision at No. 3, followed by Bessonov at No. 5, West at No. 4 and Biktyakov at No. 2.
Ilija Martinoski took his No. 6 match against Abilene Christian's Bryan Joiner to a third set, but fell. 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Oklahoma State, now 4-10, has Sunday off before taking on Seminole College Monday at 2 p.m. at the DeBois Tennis Complex in Stillwater.
Oklahoma State 5, Abilene Christian 2
April 9, 2011 | DeBois Tennis Complex | Stillwater, Okla.
DOUBLES | Order of finish: 2,3,1
No. 1 – #18 Aleksey Bessonov/Rifat Biktyakov (OSU) def. Hans Hoch/Bryan Joiner (ACU) 9-8(6)
No. 2 – #74 Maniel Bains/Eric West (OSU) def. Eldad Campbell/Nick Plum (ACU) 8-3
No. 3 – Jake Hendrie/John Strahl (ACU) def. Vlad Bondarenko/Tomas Patiño (OSU) 8-6
SINGLES | Order of finish: 1,3,5,4*,2,6
No. 1 – Hans Hoch (ACU) def. #72 Maniel Bains (OSU), 3-2, def.
No. 2 – Rifat Biktyakov (OSU) def. Eldad Campbell (ACU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
No. 3 – Vlad Bondarenko (OSU) def. Alfredo Desiati (ACU) 6-1, 6-4
No. 4 – Eric West (OSU) def. Jake Hendrie (ACU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Aleksey Bessonov (OSU) def. John Strahl (ACU) 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 – Bryan Joiner (ACU) def. Ilija Martinoski (OSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Match Notes:
OSU – 4-10
ACU – 13-9
Match time – 3:36
Players Mentioned
