Cowboys Fall to Sooners In Top-20 Bedlam Clash

Saturday, April 22

Norman, OK

12:30 P.M.

Oklahoma State University

Oklahoma

April 22, 2017 | Cowboy Tennis

NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma State men's tennis team concluded its regular season Saturday, as the fifth-ranked Cowboys dropped a hard-fought match to No. 17 Oklahoma, 4-0, in the 74th edition of Bedlam.

Saturday's defeat is the first time that the Cowboys (21-5; 3-2 Big 12) have dropped a true road match this season, as they entered Bedlam with a 7-0 mark in such contests. Despite the loss, however, Oklahoma State finishes the season second in the Big 12, marking the Cowboys' first top-two finish in the league since 2007.

Bedlam action opened with doubles on Saturday, where Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza provided OSU with an early spark on court two. The left-handed duo found themselves in a big hole early, trailing 3-0, but Gerch and Mendoza were able to win six of the next seven games to knock off No. 62 Florian Bragusi and Alex Ghilea, 6-4. The Sooners picked up wins on courts one and three, however, and snagged the match's first point.

The Cowboys then switched focus and looked to secure their fourth comeback win of the season in singles play, but the Sooners snagged wins on courts one, two and six to polish off their win.

Arjun Kadhe was the first Cowboy to fall in singles play Saturday, as he was knocked off by Oklahoma's Spencer Papa, now ranked No. 18 in the nation, 6-2, 6-2. The Sooners then pushed their lead to 3-0 with Adrian Oeztbach's 6-4, 6-3 win over Lukas Finzelberg on court six.

No. 40-ranked Andrew Harris, playing in his first match since February 18, sealed Oklahoma's win on court one, where he defeated OSU's Julian Cash in straight sets. Cash and Harris went game-for-game throughout the first set, but Harris claimed a break point late to go up 6-5 before holding serve to seal the set. The top-40 competitors continued to battle each other in a tight second set, but again it was the Sooner who snagged the key break point and clinched the match, 7-5, 6-4.

The Cowboys will return to Norman, Oklahoma next weekend when they compete in the 2017 Big 12 Tennis Championships. OSU will enter the event as the No. 2 seed and will have a first-round bye, meaning that the squad's first match will be next Friday at 10 a.m.

No. 5 Oklahoma State 0, No. 17 Oklahoma 4
April 22, 2017 | Norman, Okla. | Headington Family Tennis Center

Doubles (Order of finish: 2, 1, 3)
C1: No. 35 Harris/Papa (OU) def. No. 4 Cash/Kadhe (OSU), 6-4
C2: Gerch/Mendoza (OSU) def. No. 62 Bragusi/Ghilea (OU), 6-4
C3: Bertsch/Oetzbach (OU) def. Finzelberg/Meraut (OSU), 7-5

Singles (Order of finish: 2, 6, 1)
C1: No. 40 Andrew Harris (OU) def. No. 23 Julian Cash (OSU), 7-5, 5-4
C2: No. 18 Spencer Papa (OU) def. No. 93 Arjun Kadhe (OSU), 6-2, 6-2
C3: No. 108 Lucas Gerch (OSU) vs. No. 41 Alex Ghilea (OU), 6-7 (1), 2-5, unf.
C4: Artur Dubinski (OSU) vs. No. 99 Florin Bragusi (OU), 2-6, 5-6, unf.
C5: Tristan Meraut (OSU) vs. Johen Bertsch (OU), 5-7, 5-1, unf.
C6: Adrian Oetzbach (OU) def. No. 75 Lukas Finzelberg (OSU), 6-4, 6-3