Cowboy Tennis Set to Host Big 12 Championships

 

The Basics

The fifth-seeded Oklahoma State men's tennis team will look to make noise in the Big 12 Conference Championships from April 19-21 in Stillwater. OSU will face off with fourth-seeded UCF in the conference quarterfinals on Friday at 3 p.m. CT. The Cowboys would advance to the semifinals and play either [1] Texas or [8] BYU with a win.

Following the Action

Fans can stream the match via Cracked Racquets' Crosscourt Cast on ESPN+, with Alex Gruskin on the call. To follow live stats, visit: https://okla.st/3Q6OTFv.

Big 12 Conference Championships

Stillwater will play host to the Big 12 Conference Championships for the second time in program history, the last in 2016. In its history, OSU has collected a combined 21 conference titles, with the last three coming in consecutive years in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Since 1997, the Cowboys have made 12 semifinals appearances, with the most recent coming in 2023.

In The Rankings

Oklahoma State was slotted at No. 36 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association DI poll. The Cowboys were ranked in the top 40 for the ninth consecutive time, owning 16 wins, the most since the 2019 season. It earned wins over No. 5 Southern California, No. 11 Illinois and No. 31 Baylor.

Tyler Zink and Isaac Becroft were ranked 15th nationally. It marks the first time an OSU pairing has appeared in the ITA top 15 since Matej Vocel and Dominik Kellovsky ranked 3rd on Jan. 13, 2021. Zink and Becroft added another win against Oklahoma's No. 52 Baptiste Anselmo and Alex Martinez on April 13 in Norman, Oklahoma. The duo improved to 3-0 in the spring, all on the featured court.

The first time ranked as a pairing this season, Zink and Alex Garcia were ranked 84th. The duo is 9-4 in doubles, the second-most wins on the team. They played all matches on court one, winning seven of eight from Jan. 13 to Feb. 25.

In singles, Zink appeared in the top 30 for the eighth consecutive time this season. He leads the team with 15 singles wins, all coming on court one. In his third year at OSU, the graduate retains 37 victories as a Cowboy.

Ranked at No. 85, Becroft is second on the team in singles wins with 14, recording victories on courts two and three. He has two ranked wins to add to his resume, including a win over Illinois' No. 30 Karlis Ozolins.

Garcia rounded out the singles ranks for the Pokes, again appearing in the top 100. He has landed in all seven spring season polls, tallying 11 singles wins, including a ranked victory. He has recorded eight wins on court two and three on court three.

Notable Streaks & Trends

  • Oklahoma State is 16-8
  • In OSU wins, it is outscoring opponents, 82-17
  • The Cowboys are fourth in the Big 12 Conference in overall wins
  • The Pokes are 80-43 in singles matchups
  • All six courts have a .550 or better winning percentage
  • Ten Cowboys tallied a win in singles play
  • In singles, four Cowboys beat ranked opponents
  • Five Cowboys have double-digit wins
  • OSU collected seven out of eight doubles points from Feb. 3 to Feb. 25
  • Oklahoma State is 37-22 in doubles matchups
  • In doubles, courts one and two have a .708 or better winning percentage
  • Eleven different doubles pairings have notched a win
  • Alessio Basile and Isaac Becroft hold the team lead with 11 doubles wins
  • Tyler Zink and Alex Garcia are 9-4 on court one in doubles, with all four losses to ranked opponents

Oklahoma State Wins Would...

  • Give it back-to-back semifinals appearances
  • Be the first championship round appearance since 2003
  • Be the second semifinals, and first championship appearance under head coach Dustin Taylor
  • Make it conference champions for the first time since 1991
  • Give it the most in a single season since 2019

Tyler Zink: Court One Warrior

  • Zink carries the most singles wins on the team with 15
  • He has logged five ranked wins, including a straight-set victory over San Diego's No. 5 Oliver Tarvet
  • He has played all singles and doubles matches on court one
  • The graduate is ranked in singles and owns two doubles rankings (No. 15/Becroft, No. 84/Garcia)
  • He has 13 total doubles wins with three different partners

Becroft Brilliance

  • Senior Isaac Becroft started 13-0 in singles, the best start to a season since Lucas Gerch in 2014
  • He is second on the team in singles wins with 14
  • He tallied six victories on court two and eight wins on court three
  • The New Zealand native dropped two ranked opponents, including Illinois' No. 30 Karlis Ozolins
  • Becroft and Alessio Basile hold a team-high 11 wins in doubles, all on court two

E. Schiesty

  • Freshman Erik Schiessl has double-digit singles wins with 11
  • He started the season 8-0
  • He is 8-5 on court four and 3-0 on court five
  • Nine out of his 11 wins have come in straight-set fashion
  • He has two ranked victories over Texas' No. 82 Cleeve Harper and Illinois' No. 55 Kenta Miyoshi