Cowboys Surge in Singles to Secure Comeback Win Over SMU

Sunday, March 26

Dallas, TX

3:00 P.M.

Oklahoma State University

SMU

March 26, 2017 | Cowboy Tennis

DALLAS – The Oklahoma State men's tennis team picked up four wins in singles to extend its winning streak to nine, as the seventh-ranked Cowboys came back to knock off No. 32 SMU, 4-2, on Sunday at the SMU Tennis Complex.

The Cowboys (17-3; 0-0 Big 12) began Sunday's match in unfamiliar territory, as they dropped the doubles point for just the fourth time in 20 matches this season.

Oklahoma State's Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza, ranked No. 76 in the nation, were the first to finish in doubles on Sunday. The left-handed duo earned its 14th win of the season with a 6-4 victory over SMU's Samm Butler and Ronald Slobodchikov.

Following the Cowboys' victory on court two, SMU picked up wins on the remaining courts to secure the match's first point. Hunter and Yates Johnson, ranked No. 35 in the country, won on court one, 7-5, to hand OSU's Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe their first doubles loss since February 12. The Mustangs then won a tiebreak on court three to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.

SMU then doubled its lead in the ensuing singles action with a win on court two, but the Cowboys quickly pulled level after victories on courts one and three.

Lucas Gerch was the first to Cowboy to strike as he extended his singles winning streak to eight with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Samm Butler. Gerch's win also marked his 77th career singles victory, tying him with Glenn Nakazawa for fifth place in team history.

The left-hander was followed by Julian Cash, who recorded his 16th singles win of the season by defeating No. 83 Hunter Johnson in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5. Cash's 16 wins leads all Cowboys this season.

Oklahoma State's singles surge continued on court five, where Tristan Meraut bested Yates Johnson, 6-3, 6-4, to give OSU its first lead of the match and extend the junior's winning streak to nine. Meraut's nine-match winning streak is the longest by any Cowboy this year. OSU is also now 9-0 in dual matches this season when Meraut is victorious in singles play.

Lukas Finzelberg provided the final point for the Cowboys on Sunday, as he defeated Markus Kerner, 7-6, 6-4, to secure OSU's ninth-straight win. Finzelberg has now won 15 singles contests this season, including each of his last four.

Up next, the Cowboys will open Big 12 play when they host No. 19 TCU at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center on Friday, March 31, at 5 p.m.

No. 7 Oklahoma State 4, No. 32 SMU 2
March 26, 2017 | SMU Tennis Complex | Dallas, Texas

Doubles (Order of finish: 2, 1, 3)
C1: No. 35 H. Johnson/Y. Johnson (SMU) def. No. 2 Cash/Kadhe, 7-5
C2: No. 76 Gerch/Mendoza (OSU) def. Butler/Slobodchikov (SMU), 6-4
C3: Kerner/Russell (SMU) def. Dubinski/Finzelberg (OSU), 7-6

Singles (Order of finish: 2, 3, 1, 5, 4)
C1: No. 23 Julian Cash (OSU) def. No. 83 Hunter Johnson (SMU), 6-2, 7-5
C2: No. 55 Ronald Slobodchikov (SMU) def. No. 77 Arjun Kadhe (OSU), 6-2, 6-2
C3: Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Samm Butler (SMU), 6-1, 6-4
C4: No. 69 Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. Markus Kerner (SMU), 7-6, 6-4
C5: Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. Yates Johnson (SMU), 6-3, 6-4
C6: Jurence Mendoza (OSU) vs. Tony Russell (SMU), 6-7, 3-4, unf.