OU Powers Past Shockers 4-0

¹³Oklahoma

Wichita State

NORMAN – The No. 13 Oklahoma men's tennis team notched its second straight sweep Thursday night with a 4-0 win over Wichita State at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

"We are building. Every match is building for us, we are trying to get better every time we walk on the court," said head coach Nick Crowell. "We have big things ahead, so we're excited.

"We had another great crowd - thanks to everybody who came out today and support us. It really paid off there in the doubles point - Wichita State really came to play. They played well at No.2 two doubles. At No. 3 doubles we were able to close the match out and then it came down to court one. Spencer (Papa) and Jake (Van Emburgh) played really well down the stretch and the crowd really got into it and those things always help."

The Sooners (2-0) claimed the doubles point to take an early lead in the match. Ferran Calvo and Mason Beiler got a win on court three, taking down Andrea Caligiana and Stefan Latinovic, 6-4. The Sooners held a 3-1 lead in the match before Caligiana and Latinovic closed the gap, but Calvo and Beiler held on to win.

On court two, Alex Bakshi and Jochen Bertsch were defeated by Wichita State's Haru Inoue and Murkel Dellien 6-1.

The point was decided on court one, where Jake Van Emburgh and Spencer Papa got a 7-5 win over Eddie Stoica and Marius Frosa. In a back and forth match, Van Emburgh and Papa tied the Shockers at 4-all and 5-all before breaking away to win the last two games and capture the opening point for the Sooners.

In singles, Papa got a dominant victory at the top spot, defeating Dellien 6-3, 6-2. Papa cruised through the first set, never trailing. In the second frame, Dellien tied the frame at 2-all, but Papa won the next four straight games to put away the match.

"It feels good," said Papa of his win. "It's definitely been a long road to recovery, but it's definitely nice to be back out there."

OU's Van Emburgh defeated Frosa at the No. 2 spot, winning 6-2, 6-4. In the first set, Van Emburgh took a 3-0 lead in the before Frosa got on the board. Van Emburgh came back from a 4-2 deficit in the second frame, winning four straight games to close out his match.

On court four, Calvo clinched the match for the Sooners with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Stefan Latinovic. The Sooner controlled the first frame, but trailed 4-2 in the second. Calvo fought his way back to claim his court and the contest.

When play was suspended, Bakshi led Wichita State's Inoue 3-1 in the second set on court three. Bakshi had narrowly lost the first set after a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4).

On court five, Bertsch had just finished a wild first set, where he defeated Caligiana after an extended tiebreaker 7-6 (6). Beiler led Orel Ovil 4-2 in the second set on court six after dropping the first set 6-4.

Up Next

The Sooners host a doubleheader Sunday, featuring Creighton at 11 a.m. and Omaha at 4 p.m. CT. Free keychains will be available to fans on a first come, first serve basis at Sunday's matches. Fans can also pick up a copy of the 2019 poster.

OU Athletics has introduced a clear bag policy and walk-through metal detectors at all home events this season. More information on the policy and procedures can be found here.

Live stats and live video will be available for all matches.

Admission to home tennis matches is always free.

For updates, follow @OU_MTennis on Twitter or like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook.

Results

Singles Results
1. Spencer Papa (OU) def. Murkel Dellien (WSU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Jake Van Emburgh (OU) def. Marius Frosa (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Alex Bakshi (OU) vs. Haru Inoue (WSU) 6-7 (4-7), 3-1, unfinished
4. Ferran Calvo (OU) def. Stefan Latinovic (WSU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Jochen Bertsch (OU) vs. Andrea Caligiana (WSU) 7-6 (8-6), 0-0, unfinished
6. Mason Beiler (OU) vs. Orel Ovil (WSU) 4-6, 4-2, unfinished

Doubles Results
1. Spencer Papa/Jake Van Emburgh (OU) def. Marius Frosa/Eddie Stoica (WSU) 7-5
2. Murkel Dellien/Haru Inoue (WSU) def. Jochen Bertsch/Alex Bakshi (OU) 6-1
3. Ferran Calvo/Mason Beiler (OU) def. Andrea Caligiana/Stefan Latinovic (WSU) 6-4

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,2,4)