University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Oklahoma State
Gophers Upset No. 24 Oklahoma State, 4-1
2/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
MINNEAPOLIS - The 46th-ranked Minnesota men's tennis team earned its fourth-straight win Sunday afternoon as it defeated No. 24-ranked Oklahoma State, 4-1, at the Baseline Tennis Center. The Gophers improved to 5-0 at home and 3-1 against ranked opponents on the season.
The No. 24 Cowboys became the highest-ranked team Minnesota defeated since the Maroon and Gold beat then-No. 19 Illinois back on March 31, 2013. The victory avenged a 4-1 season-opening defeat the Gophers suffered in Stillwater, Okla. in January 2014.
The match began with Minnesota continuing its dominance in doubles. Matic Spec and Eric Frueh dispatched Lucas Gerch and Tristan Meraut, 6-2, at No. 3 for their fourth-straight win to start the spring. Jack Hamburg and Mathieu Froment then jumped out to a 5-0 lead against the 12th-ranked tandem of Arjun Kadhe and Jakob Sude en route to a 6-2 triumph.
Minnesota has won the doubles competition in all seven of its matches to start 2015 with a cumulative individual record of 14-1.
After dropping three of the four singles matches that finished at OSU last season, the Gophers flipped the script Sunday. Hamburg was the first one to win, as he took down No. 74-ranked Kadhe in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Toledo, the No. 17 ranked singles player in the country, then finished off No. 98 Sude, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, to give the home team a 3-0 advantage.
Hamburg's win at No. 2 was his third against a ranked opponent. Toledo beat a ranked foe for the third time on the weekend and for the fifth time this season. He now has 20-career wins against top-125 players.
The Pokes got on the board with a win at No. 6, but Spec ended the contest by rallying to defeat Lukas Finzelberg, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 6-3, in his first-ever match at the No. 4 spot. No. 107-ranked Spec is now 6-0 in dual match singles and is 15-2 in singles in 2014-15.
No. 117 Corwin and Ruben Weber did not finish their singles matches. Both were in the third set.
The Gophers pick up play next Saturday on the road against Wisconsin for their first Big Ten match. They will then travel to Cambridge, Mass. to play No. 26 Vanderbilt and No. 32 Harvard.
No. 46 Minnesota 4, No. 24 Oklahoma State 1
Minneapolis, Minn. (Baseline Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. No. 17 Leandro Toledo (MINN) def. No. 98 Jakob Sude (OKST) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
2. Jack Hamburg (MINN) def. No. 74 Arjun Kadhe (OKST) 6-4, 6-4
3. Ruben Weber (MINN) vs. Lucas Gerch (OKST) 6-2, 6-7 (4), 3-3, unfinished
4. No. 107 Matic Spec (MINN) def. Lukas Finzelberg (OKST) 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4), 6-3
5. No. 117 Felix Corwin (MINN) vs. Nicolai Ferrigno (OKST) 3-6, 6-2, 6-6, unfinished
6. Jaurence Mendoza (OKST) def. Mathieu Froment (MINN) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Jack Hamburg/Mathieu Froment (MINN) def. No. 12 Arjun Kadhe/Jakob Sude (OKST) 6-2
2. No. 58 Felix Corwin/Leandro Toledo (MINN) vs. Jaurence Mendoza/Nicolai Ferrigno (OKST) 4-3, unfinished
3. Matic Spec/Eric Frueh (MINN) def. Lucas Gerch/Tristan Meraut (OKST) 6-2
Match Notes
Oklahoma State 5-2 (0-0 Big 12)
Minnesota 6-1 (0-0 Big Ten)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,1,6,4)
Time: 2:52; Attendance: 176
###
