Cowboys Set To Host Third Doubleheader vs. SMU & ORU

Notes vs. SMU & ORU

The Basics
Back in the top five for the third time this season, the Cowboys look to continue their success against No. 36 SMU and Oral Roberts on Saturday at the Greenwood Tennis Center. The Pokes will take on the Mustangs at noon, followed with the Golden Eagles at 5:30 p.m. CT. This will be the third doubleheader OSU hosts this season.

Follow the Match Live
Live scoring will be available on the men's tennis page at okstate.com. For updates on each match, follow @CowboyTennis on Twitter.

In the ITA Rankings
After jumping up one spot to No. 5 on Tuesday, the Pokes find themselves in the top five once again this year. This marks the third week OSU has been inside the top five of the Oracle/ITA Rankings.

Another set of doubles and singles rankings were released as well. All-American Julian Cash highlights the singles poll for the Cowboys, sitting in the top 50 at No. 48. Arjun Kadhe checks in for the Pokes at No. 121, while Temur Ismailov makes his second appearance in the singles poll at No. 118.

Two OSU duos are featured in the doubles rankings as Kadhe/Cash remain in the top 15 for the 11th consecutive week at No. 9. Cowboys Lucas Gerch/Temur Ismailov are back in the doubles poll at No. 71.

Coach Udwadia Records 200th Career Victory
Oklahoma State's victory against No. 32 Harvard was a special one for Cowboy head coach Jay Udwadia as he collected his 200th career win. Udwadia becomes only the second coach in Cowboy history to record his 200th win with OSU, the only other coach was Cowboy legend James Wadley.

Cowgirl Tennis head coach Chris Young honored Udwadia in the Cowboys' home match against Georgia State. Young presented a celebratory plaque to Udwadia during the intermission between doubles and singles play.

When he arrived at OSU, Udwadia had 145 career wins with stops at Drake and Fresno State where he turned both programs into yearly conference title contenders. At Fresno State, Udwadia reached the conference finals six of his eight years and won the title in 2011 and 2012.

The New York native is also only the second coach in Cowboy Tennis history to collect more than 50 wins in his first three seasons, as he won 51 games before entering this season.

After back-to-back NCAA Second Round appearances, the future looks bright for coach Udwadia and the Oklahoma State men's tennis program.

Cowboys vs. Opponents
The Cowboys face two familiar foes this weekend at the Greenwood Tennis Center in SMU and Oral Roberts. OSU leads the series against both teams.

In the last meeting with SMU, OSU pulled out a nail-biting win over the Mustangs in Dallas. After losing the doubles point, the Pokes took four of the six singles matches to claim a 4-3 victory over No. 34 SMU.

The Greenwood Tennis Center would be the site of the last meeting between ORU and OSU. Former Cowboy Leonardo Gerch clinched the match for the Pokes as he defeated Alvaro Santamaria in straight-sets to propel OSU to a 5-0 victory over the Golden Eagles.

In the ITA Rankings, SMU has two players in the singles poll with Hunter Johnson and Nate Lammons at No. 73 and No. 115. The Mustangs also have a couple doubles teams in the top 30. Yates Johnson/Hunter Johnson sit in the top 25 at No. 25 and Aradijs Slobodkins/Lammons at No. 19. Oral Roberts has no singles player or doubles teams in the rankings.

Series History vs. SMU, Oral Roberts
                             SMU                                          ORU
   Overall series:     Cowboys lead 8-5           Cowboys lead 19-5
   First meeting:      OSU lost 7-2 (1975)        OSU lost 7-0 (1971)
   Last meeting:       OSU won 4-3 (2015)       OSU won 5-0 (2015)
   Last OSU win:     2015                                           2015

Big 12 Strongest in the Nation
The Big 12 conference continues to be one of the most talented leagues in the nation with all six teams staying in the top 30. Three teams remain in the top 10 for the conference in TCU, OSU and Texas Tech.

Last Time Out
The Oklahoma State men's tennis squad got its 10th victory over a ranked opponent last Saturday with a shutout victory over No. 71 Pepperdine in Malibu, California.

OSU jumped out to a quick start in doubles as all three teams led by three games early. Cowboys Lucas Gerch/Tristan Meraut secured the doubles point for the Pokes on court two by defeating Pepperdine's Iamachkine/Pane, 6-3.

Lukas Finzelberg would clinch his fourth match of the season for the Cowboys with a straight-set victory on court five, giving OSU its 10th win over a ranked opponent. Gerch's win on court two extended the OSU lead to 7-0 and marked the eighth time this season the Pokes have shutout an opponent.

No. 6 Oklahoma State def. No. 71 Pepperdine, 7-0

Doubles | Order of Finish: 3, 2
C1: No. 9 Kadhe/Cash (OSU) vs. No. 27 Hadlich/Sidney (PEPP), 5-4 unf.
C2: Gerch/Meraut (OSU) def. Iamachkine/Pane (PEPP), 6-3
C3: Finzelberg/Mendoza (OSU) def. Hill/Menichella (PEPP), 6-2

Singles | Order of Finish: 3, 4, 5*, 6, 1, 2
C1: No. 49 Julian Cash (OSU) def. Guilherme Hadlich (PEPP), 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
C2: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Lautaro Pane (PEPP), 7-5, 7-6(4), 1-0 (11-9)
C3: No. 115 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. Gabriel Sidney (PEPP), 6-2, 6-2
C4: Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. Stefan Menichella (PEPP), 6-2, 6-4
C5: Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Pedro Iamachkine (PEPP), 6-4, 6-3
C6: No. 125 Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Jack Van Slyke (PEPP), 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8)

The Finz-isher
Cowboy Lukas Finzelberg has proven to be one of the key players for the Pokes thus far as he currently sits at 11-0 in singles.

The sophomore has finished off three matches for the Pokes this season, each one being against a ranked opponent. Finzelberg closed out the Pokes' biggest win of the year against No. 11 Wake Forest at the Greenwood Tennis Center in late January. He split the first two sets against Wake Forest's Christian Seraphim before grinding out a hard-earned three set victory to give the Cowboys their first win against a top 15 opponent since 2014.

The German native wouldn't wait long to clinch another match as he capped off the weekend by securing the win against No. 22 Minnesota just two days later.

With the Cowboys about to enter conference play next month, Finzelberg looks to continue being a force for the Pokes.

All-American's Kadhe/Cash Win Pacific Coast Doubles Title
For the second consecutive year a Cowboy duo has won the Pacific Coast Doubles Championship.

Arjun Kadhe/Julian Cash, ranked No. 9, joined the likes of Arthur Ashe and John McEnroe by winning the prestigious title. The All-American duo won seven doubles matches in three days, including a victory over Stanford's Fawcett/Romanwicz in the final.

Kadhe/Cash have now been crowned doubles champs twice this season with the other one coming in October at the ITA All-American Championships.

Kadhe Seeks Third-Straight All-American Honor
Last season, Kadhe and Jakob Sude were the first Cowboy doubles team in Oklahoma State history to earn back-to-back All-American honors.

Kadhe looks to become only the third Cowboy in OSU history to earn three All-American honors. The two Cowboys with three All-American honors are Oleksandr Nedovyesov (2008-2010) and Sude (2014-15).

He will have a good chance at completing the task, as Kadhe and his new doubles partner Julian Cash have developed a great connection on the court together, which helped them earn the third-highest doubles ranking in program history at No. 5.

Follow Cowboy Tennis
Stay up to date with the Oklahoma State men's tennis team on the following social media sites:
Twitter: @CowboyTennis
Instagram: @CowboyTennis
Facebook: Oklahoma State Cowboy Tennis
Snapchat: OSUathletics
YouTube: youtube.com/osuathletics

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Players Mentioned

Julian Cash

Lukas Finzelberg

Lucas Gerch

Temur Ismailov

Arjun Kadhe

Jurence Mendoza

Tristan Meraut

Jakob Sude

Oklahoma State University Athletics