Sooner Comeback Bid Falls Short Against Buckeyes

No. 4 Ohio State

No. 13 Oklahoma

Highlights

Results

2015 Stats

NORMAN – The 13^th-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team fell 4-1 to No. 4 Ohio State Sunday afternoon at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The match was slated to be played outdoors, but was moved inside due to high winds.

The Sooners (7-5) dropped the doubles point to the Buckeyes (15-1) and then lost the first two singles matches to trail 3-0 at one point. OU would rally to take a win of its own at the six position, and with three matches left looked like it might make a comeback, but Ohio State held a crucial game to take the match at number four singles and clinch the dual.

“Ohio State is a very good team and they beat us, but this is the best I have seen our level in a few weeks so I think we can build some confidence on that."
- Head Coach John Roddick

“I thought we played at a good level,” head coach John Roddick said. “Ohio State is a very good team and they beat us, but this is the best I have seen our level in a few weeks so I think we can build some confidence on that. We have some guys who have been struggling with some things start to figure it out. Much different attitude in the locker room, even though it's a loss, than say the Arkansas match. Again, give Ohio State a lot of credit. That's a team that can be there at the end of the NCAAs.”

The doubles point looked promising early, with the Sooners grabbing breaks at number two and three doubles in the Buckeyes' first service games, but the momentum would not last. On court one, the nation's 19^th-ranked duo of Herkko Pollanen and Mikael Torpegaard broke OU's Andrew Harris and Alex Ghilea in the match's first game and would not yield from there, taking the win 6-4.

At number two doubles, senior Axel Alvarez and sophomore Spencer Papa held their early lead and would win 6-4 over No. 13 Ralf Steinbach and Martin Joyce. It would not be enough however, as Ohio State would take a pair of breaks, coming from behind to beat Andre Biro and Austin Siegel 6-4 at the three spot and take the doubles point.

Facing No. 6 Torpegaard at the top singles spot, Alvarez dropped a close first set 6-4. Torpegaard would control the second set, taking a pair of breaks before winning 6-2 to take the match. On court six, Biro dropped the first set in his match with Joyce 6-3, and kept pace early in the second before giving up a break and falling 6-4 to lose the match.

Trailing 3-0, the Sooners began a furious rally. At number five singles Max Mora finished off a big, upset win over No. 47 Steinbach. The freshman took both sets 6-4 to grab his first ranked win of the year.

With just three matches left, the Sooners were in good shape on two of them. At number two singles, Ghilea rallied from a first-set loss to No. 17 Hugo Di Feo to take the second 6-2 and was cruising in the third. At the three spot, Papa had taken the first set from Steinbach 7-5 and had rallied from a deficit to push the second set to a breaker.

The Sooners' toughest match was at number four where Florin Bragusi trailed by a set and 5-3 in the second against No. 32 Chris Diaz. The junior from Romania held for 4-5 and then pushed the next game to 40-all but, playing no-ad scoring, Diaz won the next point to take the match and clinch the dual for Ohio State at 4-1.

Ghilea led 40-0 and 5-0 in the third set on court two, and Papa led 1-0 in a second-set breaker on court three when Bragusi fell. Those matches were not finished.

“Max had a great win and Ghilea, even though he didn't win that, the guy was stalling and we all know that was a win. All in all I am pleased with the direction we are going. Harris is getting healthier and healthier and when that time comes we are going to be firing on all cylinders. We have a lot of work to do and bodies to get healthy, but it was a much better effort and we're going in a much better direction.”

The schedule doesn't let up for the Sooners. They travel to Tulsa, Okla., next weekend for a neutral-site showdown with No. 2 Virginia on Saturday, March 12 at noon at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Case Center will be the host site of this year's NCAA Championships.

For more information on Oklahoma Men's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter at @OU_MTennis.

RESULTS

DOUBLES

1.^#19Pollanen/Torpegaard def. ^#35Ghilea/Harris - 6-4
2. Alvarez/Papa def. ^#13Steinbach/Joyce - 6-4
3. Di Feo/Mendez def. Mora/Bragusi - 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3

SINGLES

1. ^#6Mikael Torpegaard def. ^#60Axel Alvarez - 6-4, 6-2
2. ^#100Alex Ghilea vs. #17Hugo Di Feo - 4-6, 6-2, 5-0, unfinished

3. Spencer Papa vs. Ralf Steinbach - 7-5, 6-6 (1-0), unfinished

4. ^#32Chris Diaz def. ^#119Florin Bragusi - 6-2, 6-4

5. Maxime Mora def. ^#45Herkko Pollanen - 6-4, 6-3

6. Martin Joyce def. Andre Biro - 6-3, 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 6, 5, 4