Griz swept by #5 Cowboys

Friday, March 17

Las Vegas, Nev.

5:00 PM (MT)

Montana

Oklahoma State

3/17/2017 10:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis

By: Montana Sports Information

The No. 5 Oklahoma State Cowboys packed a punch too big for the Montana men's tennis team to handle as OSU brushed past the Griz 4-0 in UM's first match of its spring break trip on Friday night at UNLV's Fertitta Tennis Complex in Las Vegas.

The Cowboys (15-3, 0-0- Big 12) extended their win streak to seven-straight matches after knocking off the Rebels 4-1 earlier in the day on their home court.

The Griz move to 7-4 on the season (3-2 BSC) after facing their highest-ranked opponent since the 2014 NCAA Tournament, doing enough to leave head coach Kris Nord pleased with the team's effort in their first match played outdoors this season.

"It was tough, the guys got a good taste of high-level tennis today," said Nord. "I'm not disappointed, though. I thought the guys, for the most part, handled it well."

The Cowboys put the Griz on the back foot immediately, taking the doubles point with two quick wins.

Alexander Canellopoulos and Yannick Schmidl were brushed aside by OSU's Mendoza/Scaglia pair 6-0 on court two. The point was sealed for OSU on court one when Peter Mimnagh-Fleming and Max Korkh fell to the Nation's No. 31 pairing of Lucas Gerch and Arjun Kadhe, 6-2.

Montana's Ignacio Tejerina was the only Grizzly to take a set from the Cowboys in the singles competition, opening with a 3-6 win in the first set on court six, but the match would go unfinished as OSU closed out the win on court two.

Canellopoulos took four games in the first set against OSU's Nathan Roper on court five, but that match was also called before he could push Roper any further.

"At the bottom end of the lineup it was very good tennis," Nord said, but the top of Montana's lineup didn't fare as well.

In his first match of the year on court one, Victor Casadevall fell to the nation's No. 54 player in Arjun Kadhe 6-3, 6-0. On court two, Schmidl won two games in both the first and second set to the No. 62 ranked Lukas Finzelberg but eventually fell, 6-2, 6-2.

"All in all, it's a good start. We needed to get outdoor tennis and see the sun, and it was a good day in that respect."

Montana now turns its attention to the host Runnin' Rebels of UNLV. The Griz and Rebs match gets underway Saturday at Noon.

"UNLV is tough. It will be another step up for us, and that will be fine," said Nord

"We talked after today's match, and they realized the guys across the net are human, and they don't have to play spectacular tennis, they have to play real solid tennis to hang in there, and hopefully we'll take that message to UNLV."

#5 Oklahoma State 4, Montana 0
Mar 17, 2017 at Las Vegas, NV (Fertitta Tennis Complex)

Singles competition
1. #54 Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. CASADEVALL, Victor (UM) 6-3, 6-0
2. #62 Lukas Finzelberg (OSU) def. SCHMIDL, Yannick (UM) 6-2, 6-2
3. Tristan Meraut (OSU) def. KORKH, Max (UM) 6-0, 6-1
4. Jurence Mendoza (OSU) vs. MIMNAGH-FLEMING, P. (UM) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
5. Nathan Roper (OSU) vs. CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 6-4, 2-1, unfinished
6. Mathieu Scaglia (OSU) vs. TEJERINA, Ignacio (UM) 3-6, 4-1, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. #31 Lucas Gerch/Arjun Kadhe (OSU) def. MIMNAGH-FLEMING, P./KORKH, Max (UM) 6-2
2. Jurence Mendoza/Mathieu Scaglia (OSU) def. SCHMIDL, Yannick/CANELLOPOULOS, Alex (UM) 6-0
3. Tristan Meraut/Nathan Roper (OSU) vs. CASADEVALL, Victor/HALLGREN, Ludvig (UM) 4-5, unfinished

Match Notes
Montana 7-4
Oklahoma State 15-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,1,2)