NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 13 University of Oklahoma men's tennis team beat in-state rival Oklahoma State, 5-2, in the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Bedlam Series Sunday, April 21, at the Headington Family Tennis Pavilion on Senior Day.
Although the Sooners (17-6, 4-1 Big 12) beat the Cowboys (12-13, 0-5 Big 12) by three points, OU head coach John Roddick said he thought the team could play better.
"I think today is definitely going to be helpful if we use it in the right way," Roddick said. "Today's a good example of them understanding that it's not about winning and losing; it's about what you do. My guess would be that this week will be a really good week of practice."
Oklahoma began the match by capturing the doubles point.
Costin Paval and Dane Webb sailed to an 8-4 victory over Rifat Biktyakov and Matt Campbell. However, OSU tied doubles after Brady Bohrnstedt and Chris Haworth beat Lawrence Formentera and Leonard Stakhovsky, 9-7, on Court 3.
The doubles point came down to Court 2, where Guillermo Alcorta and Axel Alvarez Llamas battled Richard Del Nunzio and Denys Pume.
Del Nunzio and Pume jumped ahead quickly. At one point, Alcorta and Alvarez Llamas trailed by as much as three games, but the duo began a big comeback. They eventually bested the OSU duo, 9-8 (7-1) and won the first team point for OU.
In singles, Costin Paval continued his dominance at the No. 1 position with a 6-0, 1-0 victory over Biktyakov after the Cowboy forfeited the match.
Playing at the No. 3 position, Axel Alvarez Llamas added onto the OU's lead after he cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Denys Pume.
Dane Webb clinched the win for the Sooners after he defeated Del Nunzio 6-3, 6-2.
After that, the Cowboys picked up two wins when Guillermo Alcorta and Leonard Stakhovsky dropped their matches in tie breaking third sets on Courts 2 and 5, respectively.
OU claimed one more point to make the final score 5-2 after OSU's Olesiy Arovin forfeited the match to John Harrison Warden. Arovin stopped play after injuring himself when Warden was up 6-2, 3-6, 4-3.
The win over the Cowboys gives the Sooners' the No. 2 seed for next week's Big 12 Championships, hosted in Norman Friday, April 26, to Sunday, April 28. OU will begin tournament play Saturday, April 27.
Follow @OU_Tennis on Twitter and like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook for more information about the men's tennis program.
Oklahoma 5, Oklahoma State 2
Doubles
1. No. 31 Paval/Webb (OU) def. Biktyakov/Campbell (OSU), 8-4
2. No. 74 Alcorta/Alvarez Llamas (OU) def. Del Nunzio/Pume (OSU), 9-8 (7-1)
3. Bohrnstedt/Haworth (OSU) def. Formentera/Stakhovsky (OU), 9-7
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. No. 19 Costin Paval (OU) def. Rifat Biktyakov (OSU), 6-0, 1-0 (forfeit)
2. Chris Haworth (OSU) def. No. 54 Guillermo Alcorta (OSU), 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4)
3. Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) def. Denys Pume (OSU), 6-0, 6-1
4. No. 63 Dane Webb (OU) def. Richard Del Nunzio (OSU), 6-3, 6-2
5. Brady Bohrnstedt (OSU) def. Leonard Stakhovsky (OU), 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-3)
6. John Harrison Warden (OU) def. Oleksiy Arovin (OSU), 6-2, 3-6, 4-3 (forfeit)
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4*, 2, 5, 6
