Cowboy Tennis Falls To Baylor In Big 12 Championship

Thursday, April 28

Stillwater, OK

All Day

Oklahoma State University

Baylor

April 29, 2016 | Cowboy Tennis

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State's men's tennis squad fell in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tennis Championship to No. 42 Baylor, 4-2, in front of a packed crowd at the Greenwood Tennis Center.

"I have to give Baylor credit," OSU head coach Jay Udwadia said. "Their backs were against the wall, they needed to beat us to get into the tournament and they came out ready to go."

After being moved inside due to inclement weather, singles play would get started for the Cowboys at 10:40 a.m. CT. The Pokes got off to a hot start in singles as four Cowboys took an early lead in the first set, including Tristan Meraut and Jurence Mendoza, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start their respective matches.

After the tremendous start from the Cowboys, Baylor battled their way back into the match as they ended up splitting first sets with three going to each team. Lukas Finzelberg, Mendoza and Kadhe were the three Cowboys to win first sets in singles.

Mendoza was dominant in the second set to get the Cowboys on the board quickly with an impressive, 6-2, 6-0, victory over Baylor's Tyler Stayer to give the Cowboys a 1-0 edge.

After the Mendoza victory, OSU picked up some momentum as the big crowd helped lift three Cowboys to second set victories to force a third set in their respective matches.

"I think it was standing-room only," Udwadia said. "It was nice for several hundred people to come out and we are appreciative of all their support."

Baylor's Max Tchoutakian, ranked No. 99, knotted the score at 1-1 as he defeated Kadhe on court two, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.

The victory would give the Bears momentum as Finzelberg was the next Cowboy to fall. The sophomore dominated in the first set, but Tommy Podvinski won the final two sets in the match to claim a 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, victory over Finzelberg to give the Bears a 2-1 lead.

All-American Julian Cash, ranked No. 52, found himself in a battle with No. 16 Julian Lenz on court one. Lenz won the first set against the Cowboy, but Cash had an impressive comeback in the second to force a third set. In the third, both players went back-and-forth in the first few games before Lenz made a late push to win the set and match on one, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, giving the Bears a 3-1 advantage.

One win away from defeat, the Cowboys needed to win the final two matches to keep the match alive and force a doubles tiebreaker.

Lucas Gerch led the late surge for the Pokes with a comeback victory over Baylor's Felipe Rios. After dropping the first set, the junior won the second set, 6-3, and fought his way back in the third to force a tiebreaker for the match. In the tiebreak, Gerch couldn't find any separation from Rios early, but the German native won two late points to clinch the tiebreak and cut the Baylor deficit to 3-2.

"At the beginning, I was really frustrated because he was playing really well," Gerch said. "In the second set, I just really tried to stick with him and he gave me an opportunity so I used it. The third set was just a battle and it came down to a tiebreak."

Meanwhile, all eyes were turned to court four where Tristan Meraut found himself in a hole against Baylor's Jimmy Bendeck. Meraut lost a tough tiebreak in the first set and needed to win the second set to keep the match alive. In the second, the sophomore battled back to force another tiebreak, which he would eventually win, 10-8. The third set would be another tight one, but with the score tied at four,

Bendeck won two-straight games to take the match and give the Bears a 4-2 victory over the Pokes.

"Baylor didn't give us much and we didn't capitalize on our opportunities," Udwadia said. "The difference was that they were winning matches when they were one point away. I just think they ended up being a little more mentally tough."

With the regular season done, the Cowboys will now await their landing spot for the NCAA Tournament, which will be announced on the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Team Selection Show on Tuesday. The show will be aired on NCAA.com and begin at 4:30 p.m. CT.

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

No. 42 Baylor def. No. 15 Oklahoma State, 4-2

Singles | Order of Finish: 6, 2, 5, 1, 3, 4

1. #16 Julian Lenz (BU) def. #52 Julian Cash (OSU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
2. #99 Max Tchoutakian (BU) def. Arjun Kadhe (OSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
3. Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Felipe Rios (BU) 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
4. Jimmy Bendeck (BU) def. Tristan Meraut (OSU) 7-6 (10-8), 6-7 (8-10), 6-4
5. Tommy Podvinski (BU) def. Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. Tyler Stayer (BU) 6-2, 6-0