Cowboys Triumph In Win Over Red Raiders

Friday, April 15

Stillwater, OK

6:00 P.M.

Oklahoma State University

Texas Tech

April 15, 2016 | Cowboy Tennis

Box Score

STILLWATER -- For the second time in Greenwood Tennis Center history, the Cowboys defeated a top-10 opponent as they knocked off No. 10 Texas Tech, 4-1, to collect their first Big 12 win of the season.

"After winning the doubles point, we took advantage of playing on our home court and I thought that was one of our best played matches," coach Jay Udwadia said. "I'm really proud of the guys' effort today."

Oklahoma State moves to 17-5 on the year and 1-2 in Big 12 play. The Pokes have now defeated 11 ranked opponents this season with three victories coming against top-15 teams (No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 11 Wake Forest and No. 14 South Florida).

Action got started with doubles play as Cowboys Jurence Mendoza/Lucas Gerch got the crowd going from the start with a dominant 6-1 victory against Texas Tech's Felipe Soares/Connor Curry on court two. The Red Raiders (23-4; 1-1 Big 12) would answer the OSU victory with a win on court three, which turned all the attention to court one.

All-American's Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe were in a battle with No. 73 Alex Sendegeya/Bjorn Thomson as the Red Raider tandem looked to have the early edge in the tiebreak, but Kadhe/Cash stormed back to win five of the final six points and give the Pokes the a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.

"It was a huge because doubles is massive in every match," Cash said. "It's more of a mental thing because you only have to win three singles matches if you win the point or win four if you don't. It gives everyone that little pep in their step before they start singles."

After the heroic victory in doubles, Cash continued his hot play in singles with a dominant straight-set victory over No. 18 Soares, 6-3, 6-4, giving the Pokes a 2-0 advantage. The English native has collected three wins over top 25 singles opponents this spring.

"I feel like this was a good first match back for me," Cash said. "I did want I needed to do and played solid. I just need to stick to that and get back on the train, now that I'm fit."

Gerch would be the next Cowboy to get a victory in singles as he beat Texas Tech's Sedengeya, 6-4, 6-4, to extend his singles win streak to 11 and give OSU a 3-0 lead with four matches remaining.

"I never bet against (Lucas) Gerch because he's one of my boys," coach Udwadia said. "He's got a great head on his shoulders and I'll think he will keep it going."

The Pokes ended up taking four first set victories, but the Red Raiders would extend the three remaining singles matches to a third set after Thomson defeated Roper on six, 6-3, 6-4, to cut the Cowboys lead to 3-1.

On court two, Tech's Hugo Dojas won four of the first five games in the third set to take a 4-1 advantage, but the two-time All-American Kadhe made an amazing comeback by winning five of the next six games to take a 6-5 edge over the Red Raider.

Meanwhile, Mendoza was turning all eyes to court five as he surged back in the second set against Curry and won the tiebreak to force another set.

"I was too defensive in first two sets, but coach (Nate) Feldman told me to use my forehand more and I think that helped me become more aggressive."

In the third, the sophomore went on the offensive and continued to find his rhythm late against Curry, which ultimately ended up in a dominant 6-1 third set victory and secured the Pokes' first Big 12 win since 2014.

"It was a great win for us because we've been through so much adversity with injuries and tough losses on the road," Mendoza said. "I think we all just stuck together."

OSU will look to win multiple Big 12 matches for the first time since 2009 when No. 37 Baylor heads to town on Sunday. College MatchDay will be in Stillwater for the match against the Bears, which will begin at 3:30 p.m. CT and be televised on Fox Sports 2.

"We need to just keep the momentum going in Big 12's as we had a big win tonight, but we need to take the positives here and keep them going on Sunday against Baylor," Mendoza said.

For more information and updates on the Pokes, follow @CowboyTennis on Instagram and Twitter.

No. 14 Oklahoma State def. No. 10 Texas Tech, 4-1

April 15, 2016 | Greenwood Tennis Center | Stillwater, Oklahoma

Doubles | Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

C1: #5 Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. #73 Alex Sendegeya/Bjorn Thomson (TT) 7-6 (7-5)
C2: Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Felipe Soares/Connor Curry (TT) 6-1
C3: Hugo Dojas/Carlos DiLaura (TT) def. Tristan Meraut/Nate Roper (OSU) 6-3

Singles | Order of Finish: 1, 3, 6, 5

C1: #59 Julian Cash (OSU) def. #18 Felipe Soares (TT) 6-3, 6-4
C2: #119 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) vs. Hugo Dojas (TT) 6-2, 3-6, 6-6 (1-0) unf.
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Alex Sendegeya (TT) 6-4, 6-4 \
C4: Tristan Meraut (OSU) vs. Jolan Cailleau (TT) 6-4, 4-6, 4-3 unf.
C5: #125 Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Connor Curry (TT) 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1
C6: Bjorn Thomson (TT) def. Nate Roper (OSU) 6-3, 6-4