Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Tulsa
No. 32 Cowboy Tennis Edges Tulsa, 4-3
February 19, 2015 | Cowboy Tennis
STILLWATER – No. 32 Oklahoma State's men's tennis team defeated No. 43 Tulsa in a 4-3 nail biter in front of a packed house at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Thursday. It was the Pokes' first win over Tulsa since 2010.
“Today was a gutsy performance,” coach Jay Udwadia said. “It had its ups and downs, but it was a great college atmosphere and a great college match. Up until the last point, it was anyone's game. It was a good team win, and they showed a lot of heart.”
The Cowboys (8-2; 0-0 Big 12) dropped the doubles point, falling on courts one and three, 6-2, and 6-3, respectively. Action on court two was not finished, but the Cowboy duo of Tristan Meraut and Jurence Mendoza led the Hurricane tandem, 5-4.
In singles, the Cowboys picked up three-consecutive team points with straight-set wins to surge past the doubles deficit with victories coming on courts six, three and four, respectively.
Senior Nicolai Ferrigno handled his opponent, Dylan McCloskey, on court six, surrendering only one game, 6-0, 6-1.
Lucas Gerch followed suit on court three, shutting down Juan Gonzalez, 6-1, 6-2, to give the Cowboys a 2-1 lead in the match.
Shortly after, Tristan Meraut put up a 6-3, 6-1 win against Mitchell Pritchard on court four.
The remaining matches were tightly contested as the Cowboys on courts one, two and five all forced their matches to a third set.
Sophomore and 87th-ranked Arjun Kadhe came back on court two, taking the second set over Alejandro Espejo after losing the first, 6-2. The two exchanged games in the third until it was brought to a 6-6 tie. Kadhe never trailed in the seven-point tiebreaker to win it 7-5, clinching the match for the Cowboys and snapping OSU's four-match losing streak to the Golden Hurricane.
“To clinch the match at home in a third-set tiebreaker feels really good,” Kadhe said. “I kept fighting throughout the entire match. As a team, our mindset was always positive and we stayed in there. The hard work is paying off and we got the W.”
Play continued as Jakob Sude battled back to win his second set, 6-4, but the Cowboy senior was outlasted, falling 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, on court one.
Tulsa earned its third point of the night, when Jurence Mendoza retired on court five.
The Cowboys will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., this weekend to face No. 19 Wake Forest on Saturday at 12 p.m.
No. 32 Oklahoma State 4, No. 43 Tulsa 3
Feb. 19, 2015 :: Greenwood Tennis Center (Stillwater, Okla.)
Doubles | Order of finish: 3, 1
1. Bautista/Espejo (TU) def. #12 Sude/Kadhe (OSU), 6-2
2. Meraut/Mendoza (OSU) vs. McCloskey/Pritchard (TU), 5-4 unf.
3. Ram-Harel/Gozalez (TU) def. Lu. Gerch/Ferrigno (OSU), 6-3
Singles | Order of finish: 6, 3, 4, 2*, 1, 5
1. Or Ram-Harel (TU) def. No. 88 Jakob Sude (OSU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
2. No. 87 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. Alejandro Espejo (TU), 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)
3. Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Juan Gonzalez (TU), 6-1, 6-2
4. Tristan Meraut (OSU) vs. Mitchell Pritchard (TU), 6-3, 6-1
5. Carlos Bautista (TU) def. Jurence Mendoza (OSU), 7-5, 5-7, 1-4 ret.
6. Nicolai Ferrigno (OSU) def. Dylan McCloskey (TU), 6-0, 6-1
