Bertsch Clinches 4-3 Thriller Over No. 15 FSU

⁴²Oklahoma

¹⁵Florida State

ORLANDO – OU's lone senior came up big Friday night to clinch the Sooners' 4-3 comeback victory over No. 15 Florida State. With the match tied at 3-all, Jochen Bertsch held on for a three-set win at the No. 6 line to claim the contest for the Sooners.

OU won the doubles point, but Florida State took a 3-1 lead in singles when the Seminoles won the top three courts. The Sooners rallied on the bottom three, winning that trio in third sets to turn the tables and win the match.

The win was good for OU's fourth straight victory and the Sooners improved to 8-3 on the season. It was also good for Oklahoma's second victory over a top-25 opponent this season.

The Sooners took the doubles point handily. In their first match as a pair, Jochen Bertsch and Jake Van Emburgh routed Sebastian Arcila and Alex Knaff 6-2 at the No. 1 line.

Max Stewart and Alex Martinez sealed the point with a 6-4 victory over Marcus Walters and Loris Pourroy on court four. When play was halted, Mason Beiler and Justin Schlageter trailed Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar and Richard Thongoana 5-4 at the three spot.

FSU jumped out to a 3-1 lead in singles. No. 107 Van Emburgh fell to No. 82 Knaff 6-2, 6-3 on court one; No. 100 Beiler was defeated by Arcila 6-4, 6-2 at the two spot; and Mandlik suffered his first loss of the season when he fell to Pourroy 6-4, 6-2.

Martinez, Schlageter and Bertsch rallied to save the match with all three holding on to take their courts in three sets. Martinez took out No. 104 Singh Bhullar 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 at the No. 4 line before Schlageter tied the match with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Enzo Le Seguillion at the No. 5 line.

The contest came down to court six, where senior Bertsch clinched with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 win over Thongoana. Leading 5-4 on serve, Bertsch held at deuce point to secure the victory for the Sooners.

Up Next
The Sooners are home to host Pepperdine on Monday at 1 p.m. CT. The Midway Deli food truck will be on site and admission to the Headington Family Tennis Center is always free.

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

Results

Singles
1. #82 Alex Knaff (FSU) def. #107 Jake Van Emburgh (OU), 6-2, 6-3
2. Sebastian Arcila (FSU) def. #100 Mason Beiler (OU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Loris Pourroy (FSU) def. Mark Mandlik (OU), 6-4, 6-2
4. Alex Martinez (OU) def. #104 Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar (FSU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
5. Justin Schlageter (OU) def. Enzo Le Seguillion (FSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
6. Jochen Bertsch (OU) def. Richard Thongoana (FSU),6-4, 1-6, 6-4

Doubles
1. Jochen Bertsch/Jake Van Emburgh (OU) def. Sebastian Arcila/Alex Knaff (FSU), 6-2
2. Max Stewart/Alex Martinez (OU) def. Marcus Walters/Loris Pourroy (FSU), 6-4
3. Mason Beiler/Justin Schlageter (OU) vs. Rana-Roop Singh Bhullar/Richard Thongoana (FSU), 4-5, unfinished

Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,2,3,4,5,6)