Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Notre Dame
No. 24 Cowboy Tennis Edged by No. 14 Notre Dame
January 24, 2015 | Cowboy Tennis
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Oklahoma State's men's tennis team fell in a 4-3 heartbreaker to No. 14 Notre Dame at the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday.
The Cowboys fell behind early, losing the doubles point as Notre Dame's eighth-ranked Lawson/Pecor team and ninth-ranked Hagar/Covalschi duo picked up wins on courts one and two, respectively.
In singles, the Fighting Irish extended their lead to 3-0 with wins on courts two and five, but the Cowboys stormed back, winning three-straight matches and tying the team score, 3-3.
In the No. 3 spot, sophomore Lucas Gerch improved to 4-0 on the spring, when he defeated Eddy Covalschi in three sets, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
No. 98 Jakob Sude followed with a three-set win for himself, upsetting 37th-ranked Quentin Monaghan. He took the first set with a quick 6-2 win, but Monghan forced a third set, winning the next, 6-4. The Cowboy senior closed out the match with a decisive 6-3 win in the third set.
“For me, it was a good win,” Sude said. “He's No. 37 guy in the nation, and he was really tough to play. I overpowered him in the first set and played my game. It's a little disappointing that we couldn't get the team win, but we're keeping our heads up and now we'll focus on Tennessee tomorrow.”
The final point for the Pokes came from Nicolai Ferrigno, who took down Alex Lawson, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, and kept the match in reach for the Cowboys.
The match came down to court four, where newcomer Tristan Meraut and Eric Schnurrenberger battled through three sets for the team win. Meraut lost the first, 6-2, but forced a third set when he won the second 7-5. The freshman was bested in a tiebreaker in the third set and Notre Dame took the 4-3 win.
The Cowboys will play No. 17 Tennessee in the consolation match on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.
No. 14 Notre Dame 4, No. 24 Oklahoma State 3
Jan. 24, 2015 :: South Bend, Ind. :: First Round
Doubles | Order of finish: 1, 3
No. 1 – No. 8 Lawson/Pecor (ND) def. No. 12 Kadhe/Sude (OSU), 6-4
No. 2 – No. 9 Hagar/Covalschi (ND) vs. Finzelberg/Ferrigno (OSU), dnf.
No. 3 – Monaghan/Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) def. Meraut/Lu. Gerch (OSU), 6-4
Singles | Order of finish: 2, 5, 3, 1, 6, 4*
No. 1 – No. 98 Jakob Sude (OSU) def. No. 37 Quentin Monaghan (ND) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
No. 2 – No. 82 Josh Hagar (ND) def. No. 74 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 – Lucas Gerch (OSU) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4 – Eric Schnurrenberger (ND) def. Tristan Meraut (OSU) 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6)
No. 5 – Billy Pecor (ND) def. Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 – Nicolai Ferrigno (OSU) def. Alex Lawson (ND) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5
