In an under the radar top 20 clash out in La Jolla it was #5 Oklahoma State edging #18 Cal 4-3. Oklahoma State took the doubles pint with 6-3 wins at #1 and #3 but Cal came back strong in singles and took four opening sets.
Oklahoma State only took two first sets in singles but both Julian Cash and Lukas Finzelberg managed to finish in straight sets. Cash upset the ITA #7 Andre Goransson 6-3, 6-2 at #1 while Finzelberg got the best of J.T. Nishimura 6-4, 6-3 at #6. Oklahoma State’s lead was now 3-0 but it’d be a while before they could find its fourth point because Cal was in control on each of the remaining four courts.
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| Lucas Gerch (OkState.com) |
Oskar Wikberg gave Cal its first point with a 6-3, 6-4 win at #5 and then a while later Florian Lakat rang up a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win over Temur Ismailov at #2. Billy Griffith evened the match at 3-3 with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Arjun Kadhe at #3 so it’d all come down to #4.
Cal’s Filip Bergevi came into the match riding a seven-match winning streak and in fact he hadn’t dropped a set all year (hadn’t even dropped more than 4 games in a set). Bergevi took the first set over Lucas Gerch 6-3 and then had a match point in the second set tiebreak but Gerch managed to take the tiebreak 10-8 to send it to a third set. Gerch got a late break in the third and then served it out for the 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 win.
#5 Oklahoma State 4, #18 Cal 3
March 3, 2016, in La Jolla, Calif. La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club
Doubles competition
1. No. 15 Julian Cash/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (Cal) 6-3
2. Andre Goransson/Billy Griffith (Cal) vs. Temur Ismailov/Lucas Gerch (OSU) 4-3 Abandoned
3. Lukas Finzelberg/Jurence Mendoza (OSU) def. J.T. Nishimura/Oskar Wikberg (Cal) 6-3
Singles competition
1. No. 75 Julian Cash (OSU 13.84) def. No. 7 Andre Goransson (Cal 14.31) 6-3, 6-2
2. No. 47 Florian Lakat (Cal 13.97) def. No. 115 Temur Ismailov (OSU 13.79) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
3. No. 28 Billy Griffith (Cal 14.11) def. No. 109 Arjun Kadhe (OSU 14.07) 7-5, 7-5
4. Lucas Gerch (OSU 13.59) def. No. 117 Filip Bergevi (Cal 14.24) 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4
5. No. 52 Oskar Wikberg (Cal 13.77) def. Tristan Meraut (OSU 13.42) 6-3, 6-4
6. Lukas Finzelberg (OSU 13.85) def. J.T. Nishimura (Cal 13.53) 6-4, 6-3
Match Notes
Oklahoma State 12-1; National Ranking #5
Cal 6-2; National Ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,6,5,2,3,4)
“We knew Cal was one of the top teams in the country and it was going to be a battle,” coach Jay Udwadia said. “It was a seesaw match right up to the end. I give a lot of credit to our team for competing so well and it was a great job by Gerch to close out the match.”
“I think winning the doubles point was huge and really helped us win this match,” Gerch said.
“I took some great momentum from doubles,” Cash said. “I knew I had to play well today and that’s what I did. I stuck to my game plan and kept focus on what I had to do.”
“I played a little bit defensive in the first set, but fought back and played more aggressive in the second and third,” Gerch said. “It was a really tight match and Cal is a really good team.”
“We came out slowly and lost the doubles point but stormed back to win the first set on four courts, Cal head coach Peter Wright said. “We had a match point in the second set of No. 4 singles, and that ended up being the deciding match.
“Credit Oklahoma State for solid play throughout the match. We played well today, and it’s clear that we need to continue working hard so we can be one of the teams battling to make a significant impact in conference play and the NCAA championships.
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Loyola Marymount def. #72 Arizona 4-3 –
LMU recap
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