The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma State *
No. 17 Men's Tennis shuts out No. 12 Oklahoma State, 4-0
04.08.2016 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns overpower the Cowboys in doubles and put away three singles wins to close out their first conference win.
DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – No. 17 Texas (16-7, 1-1 Big 12) got off to a fast start in doubles and never let up in singles on its way to a convincing 4-0 win over No. 12 Oklahoma State (16-4, 0-1 Big 12) Friday evening at Polo Tennis Club.
Texas took control midway through the first and second doubles matches before finishing off victories at those courts to claim a 1-0 match lead. UT's 86th-ranked tandem of George Goldhoff and Julian Zlobinsky knocked off OSU's Arjun Kadhe and Tristan Meraut by a 6-3 count at second doubles.
The Horns locked up the doubles point at the first position where the 68th-ranked duo of Adrian Ortiz and Michael Riechmann defeated OSU's Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza, 6-3. The remaining contest at third doubles was suspended.
Texas stretched its lead to 2-0 behind Riechmann's 7-5, 6-1 win over Lukas Finzelberg at fifth singles. Goldhoff delivered a 3-0 Texas lead with his 7-5, 6-1 victory over OSU's 45th-ranked Julian Cash at first singles.
UT freshman Rodrigo Banzer locked up the Longhorns' victory with his 7-5, 6-2 win over Meraut at fourth singles. The remaining matches were suspended.
Texas closes out its weekend home stand Sunday afternoon when it hosts No. 9 Oklahoma. First serve is set for 1 p.m. Central at Polo Tennis Club. The Longhorns will play host to Prairie View A&M later on Sunday at 5 p.m.
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
On tonight's match: I thought we really executed well in the doubles today, which we haven't done in the last few matches. I thought that was a big momentum builder for us to finish off the doubles, so I was really pleased with that. I knew the singles would be a challenge and there were a lot of first sets that could have gone either way. I think we got four of them, saved some set points on some courts, and when we really got the momentum, I thought we did a great job of pushing down the pedal to the metal and really finished them off. They have a really great team, obviously; they have been ranked in the top five for most of the year. It was a great team win. I thought the guys who weren't playing were cheering really hard and we competed very well. We took our opportunities tonight when we got momentum and we took advantage of it.
On the tight first sets in the singles: George [Goldhoff] was in a tiebreaker and Michael Riechmann and [Rodrigo] Banzer were all in really tight first sets where we saved set points. Even Harrison Scott was down in the first set. Those first four sets could have gone their way, so those four guys putting those first four sets on the board really put a lot of pressure on them. We could have lost all six first sets, so I thought that was really key tonight.
No. 17 Texas 4, No. 12 Oklahoma State 0
Doubles – Order of Finish: 2, 1
1 No. 68 Adrian Ortiz/Michael Riechmann (UT) def. Lucas Gerch/Jurence Mendoza (OSU), 6-3
2 No. 86 George Goldhoff/Julian Zlobinsky (UT) def. Arjun Kadhe/Tristan Meraut (OSU), 6-3
3 John Mee/Harrison Scott (UT) vs. Lukas Finzelberg/Julian Cash (OSU), 4-4, susp.
Singles – Order of Finish: 5, 1, 4
1 No. 87 George Goldhoff (UT) def. No. 45 Julian Cash (OSU), 7-6 (0), 6-3
2 Harrison Scott (UT) vs. No. 121 Arjun Kadhe (OSU), 7-5, 2-5, susp.
3 Adrian Ortiz (UT) vs. Lucas Gerch (OSU), 5-7, 2-5, susp.
4 Rodrigo Banzer (UT) def. Tristan Meraut (OSU), 7-5, 6-2
5 Michael Riechmann (UT) def. Lukas Finzelberg (OSU), 7-5, 6-1
6 John Mee (UT) vs. Jurence Mendoza (OSU), 3-6, 5-5, susp.
Players Mentioned
