Sooners Earn First Win At Blue-Gray

March 21, 2009

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The 41st-ranked University of Oklahoma men's tennis team (8-5) trounced No. 48 Mississippi State (5-7), 4-2, at the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic held at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center in Montgomery, Ala.

OU bounced back, securing its first win of the tournament, after a disappointing first round loss to No. 22 Boise State.

"It was a great win today coming off the disappointing loss to Boise State yesterday," head coach Paul Lockwood said. "I was very proud of how the players responded today."

The Sooners began the match taking the early doubles point and a 1-0 lead. OU looked to capitalize in singles competition, but did so after a rocky start.

Mississippi State evened the score after MSU's Artem Ilyushin took the first singles point, defeating OU's David Pultr at the No. 2 position, 6-2, 6-4. MSU then took its first and only lead after Louis Cant defeated Sooner senior Sergey Avdeyev, 6-2, 6-1.

OU's 94th-ranked junior Andrei Daescu led the comeback for the Sooners. Daescu represented OU at the No. 1 position and defeated the Bulldogs' Ryan Farlow, ranked 108, 6-2, 6-3.

Freshman George Chanturia continued the winning trend as he defeated the Bulldogs' Chris Doerr, 6-1, 7-6(5). The match decision came down to sophomore Ionut Beleleu at the No. 3 spot. He defeated Antonio Lastre in identical sets, 6-4, 6-4, to claim the victory for OU.

"Mississippi just came off an impressive SEC win at Auburn, which is one of the top-25 teams in the nation," said Lockwood.

Next up for the Sooners is a date with 75th-ranked Hawaii. Hawaii advanced after defeating No. 56 Middle Tennessee State, 4-1. The match is set for 11 a.m.

#41 OKLAHOMA 4, #48 MISSISSIPPI STATE 2

Doubles
1. Ionut Beleleu/Sergey Adyvev (OU) def. Chris Doerr/Tanner Stump (MSU) 8-6
2. Andrei Daescu/David Pultr (OU) def. Louis Cant/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-2
3. Ryan Farlow/Antonio Lastre (MSU) vs. George Chanturia/Blake Boswell (OU) 7-4, DNF

Singles
1. #94 Daescu (OU) def. #108 Farlow (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Ilyushin (MSU) def. Pultr (OU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Beleleu (OU) def. Lastre (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Cant (MSU) def. Adveyev (OU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Chanturia (OU) def. Doerr (MSU) 6-1, 7-6(5)
6. Stump (MSU) vs. Boswell (OU) 2-6, 5-2, DNF

Order of Finish: Doubles - 2, 1; Singles - 2, 4, 1, 5, 3

Next Event

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics