Oklahoma State University Athletics
Sunday, January 24
Fort Worth, TX
1:00 P.M.
Oklahoma State University
3
vs
4
No. 3 TCU
Cowboys Finish Runner-Up At ITA Kick-Off Weekend
January 24, 2016 | Cowboy Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas – Oklahoma State's men's tennis squad (4-1; 0-0 Big 12) went the distance in a thriller against No. 3-ranked TCU (2-0; 0-0 Big 12), but would come up short in the ITA Kick-Off Championship, hosted by TCU, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center on Sunday.
"Unbelievable match that came right down to the very end," coach Udwadia said. "We knew it was going to be a battle and everyone fought hard, but it was disappointing to lose after such an amazing effort."
Amazing was right, as the Cowboys got off to a hot start in doubles play with OSU tandem Temur Ismailov/Lucas Gerch creating some momentum by taking a quick 5-0 lead on TCU duo Guillermo Nunez/Jerry Lopez.
No. 53-ranked Cowboy duo Lukas Finzelberg/Jurence Mendoza fed off the momentum created by their teammates to take a 5-2 advantage in their match against Alex Rybakov/Reese Stalder of TCU.
With No. 9-ranked duo Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash in a battle on court one, Oklahoma State needed their second and third duos to pick up the All-Americans and they did just that.
After a late surge from Nunez/Lopez, OSU's Ismailov/Gerch put away the TCU tandem to bring the Cowboys that much closer to the doubles point.
Five minutes later, Cowboys Finzelberg/Mendoza secured the doubles point and gave the Pokes a 1-0 advantage going into singles by defeating Rybakov/Stalder, 6-2, respectively.
In singles play, TCU wouldn't waste any time tying the match up as the No. 4-ranked Cameron Norrie beat new Cowboy Ismailov in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-2.
But the Pokes would answer the TCU with one of their own, as German-native Finzelberg made quick work of Stalder, 6-3, 6-2, respectively.
Following the Cowboy win on court six, TCU would claim victories in back-to-back matches on courts two and five. The All-American Kadhe and sophomore Meraut would fall in straight-sets to TCU's Rybakov and Eduardo Nava, which gave the Horned Frogs a 3-2 edge with two matches remaining.
All-American and No. 68-ranked Cash would put an end to the TCU streak with an impressive three set victory over No. 24-ranked Nunez, 7-6 (4), 6-7(4), 6-4, to square the match up at three.
That means all eyes turned to court four, where Gerch was in a battle with No. 109 Lopez. The Cowboy forced a third set by winning three-straight games in the second to win, 7-5.
After exchanging the first few games, Lopez began to pull away from Gerch and that would prove to be too much for the Cowboy. TCU's Lopez defeated Gerch, 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-3, to give the Horned Frogs a 4-3 victory over the Pokes.
With the loss, the Cowboys are now 2-1 this season on the road against ranked opponents with victories over No. 32 Harvard and No. 45 Memphis. The Pokes will get another shot against TCU in conference play, when Oklahoma State travels back to Fort Worth on April 10.
"It was a good test for us early on in the season to play a top-five team," Udwadia said. "We will regroup this week and get ready for next weekend's matches at home."
Up next for coach Udwadia and the Cowboy Tennis squad is the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. The Pokes will host No. 11-ranked Wake Forest at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Friday at 6 p.m.
For updates and more on the Cowboys, follow @CowboyTennis on Instagram and Twitter.
No. 3 TCU def. No. 28 Oklahoma State, 4-3
January 24, 2016 | Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center
Doubles| Order of Finish: 2, 3
Court 1: No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU) vs. Norrie/Johnson (TCU), 4-4 unf.
Court 2: Ismailov/Gerch (OSU) vs. Nunez/Lopez (TCU), 6-2
Court 3: No. 53 Finzelberg/Mendoza (OSU) vs. Rybakov/Stadler (TCU), 6-2
Singles | Order of Finish: 1, 6, 2, 5, 3, 4,
Court 1: No. 4 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Temur Ismailov (OSU), 6-1, 6-2
Court 2: Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. No. 112 Arjun Kadhe (OSU), 7-5, 6-1
Court 3: No. 68 Julian Cash (OSU) def. No. 24 Guillermo Nunez (TCU), 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
Court 4: No. 109 Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Lucas Gerch (OSU), 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3
Court 5: Eduardo Nava (TCU) def. Tristan Meraut (OSU), 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
Court 6: Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Reese Stalder (TCU), 6-3, 6-2
"Unbelievable match that came right down to the very end," coach Udwadia said. "We knew it was going to be a battle and everyone fought hard, but it was disappointing to lose after such an amazing effort."
Amazing was right, as the Cowboys got off to a hot start in doubles play with OSU tandem Temur Ismailov/Lucas Gerch creating some momentum by taking a quick 5-0 lead on TCU duo Guillermo Nunez/Jerry Lopez.
No. 53-ranked Cowboy duo Lukas Finzelberg/Jurence Mendoza fed off the momentum created by their teammates to take a 5-2 advantage in their match against Alex Rybakov/Reese Stalder of TCU.
With No. 9-ranked duo Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash in a battle on court one, Oklahoma State needed their second and third duos to pick up the All-Americans and they did just that.
After a late surge from Nunez/Lopez, OSU's Ismailov/Gerch put away the TCU tandem to bring the Cowboys that much closer to the doubles point.
Five minutes later, Cowboys Finzelberg/Mendoza secured the doubles point and gave the Pokes a 1-0 advantage going into singles by defeating Rybakov/Stalder, 6-2, respectively.
In singles play, TCU wouldn't waste any time tying the match up as the No. 4-ranked Cameron Norrie beat new Cowboy Ismailov in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-2.
But the Pokes would answer the TCU with one of their own, as German-native Finzelberg made quick work of Stalder, 6-3, 6-2, respectively.
Following the Cowboy win on court six, TCU would claim victories in back-to-back matches on courts two and five. The All-American Kadhe and sophomore Meraut would fall in straight-sets to TCU's Rybakov and Eduardo Nava, which gave the Horned Frogs a 3-2 edge with two matches remaining.
All-American and No. 68-ranked Cash would put an end to the TCU streak with an impressive three set victory over No. 24-ranked Nunez, 7-6 (4), 6-7(4), 6-4, to square the match up at three.
That means all eyes turned to court four, where Gerch was in a battle with No. 109 Lopez. The Cowboy forced a third set by winning three-straight games in the second to win, 7-5.
After exchanging the first few games, Lopez began to pull away from Gerch and that would prove to be too much for the Cowboy. TCU's Lopez defeated Gerch, 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-3, to give the Horned Frogs a 4-3 victory over the Pokes.
With the loss, the Cowboys are now 2-1 this season on the road against ranked opponents with victories over No. 32 Harvard and No. 45 Memphis. The Pokes will get another shot against TCU in conference play, when Oklahoma State travels back to Fort Worth on April 10.
"It was a good test for us early on in the season to play a top-five team," Udwadia said. "We will regroup this week and get ready for next weekend's matches at home."
Up next for coach Udwadia and the Cowboy Tennis squad is the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. The Pokes will host No. 11-ranked Wake Forest at the Greenwood Tennis Center on Friday at 6 p.m.
For updates and more on the Cowboys, follow @CowboyTennis on Instagram and Twitter.
No. 3 TCU def. No. 28 Oklahoma State, 4-3
January 24, 2016 | Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center
Doubles| Order of Finish: 2, 3
Court 1: No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU) vs. Norrie/Johnson (TCU), 4-4 unf.
Court 2: Ismailov/Gerch (OSU) vs. Nunez/Lopez (TCU), 6-2
Court 3: No. 53 Finzelberg/Mendoza (OSU) vs. Rybakov/Stadler (TCU), 6-2
Singles | Order of Finish: 1, 6, 2, 5, 3, 4,
Court 1: No. 4 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Temur Ismailov (OSU), 6-1, 6-2
Court 2: Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. No. 112 Arjun Kadhe (OSU), 7-5, 6-1
Court 3: No. 68 Julian Cash (OSU) def. No. 24 Guillermo Nunez (TCU), 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
Court 4: No. 109 Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Lucas Gerch (OSU), 7-6 (7-2), 5-7, 6-3
Court 5: Eduardo Nava (TCU) def. Tristan Meraut (OSU), 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
Court 6: Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Reese Stalder (TCU), 6-3, 6-2
Players Mentioned
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