No. 11 Duke Drops Close Decision To No. 14 Oklahoma State In National Team Indoor Consolations

Sunday, February 18

Chicago, Ill.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

Oklahoma State

Four Singles Players, Two Doubles Teams Ranked Regionally

No. 11 Duke Drops Close Decision To No. 14 Oklahoma State In National Team Indoor Consolations

2/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis

By: Duke Sports Information

CHICAGO, Ill. - The No. 11 Duke men's tennis team lost a tight match to 14th-ranked Oklahoma State in National Team Indoor consolation action at the Midtown Tennis Club on Sunday night, as the Cowboys defeated the Blue Devils, 4-2.

Duke won the doubles point to head into singles competition with a 1-0 advantage. The fourth-ranked duo of senior Joey Atas and junior David Goulet finished first with an 8-3 decision over Daniel Byrnes and Oleksandr Nedovyesov at No. 1, but at No. 3, Oklahoma State's Ivan Puchkarov and Dmytro Petrov got past the junior tandem of Ned Samuelson and Alex Stone (8-3), as it would come down to the No. 2 slot.

Senior Peter Rodrigues and freshman Dylan Arnould then combined for an 8-6 victory over Artsem Burmistrau and Nathan Byrnes to give Duke the doubles point.

Singles action saw the Cowboys tie the score at one apiece, as freshman Aaron Carpenter fell to Burmistrau, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 6 position. Oklahoma State got another win from Nedovyesov at the top spot to pull ahead 2-1, as 100th-ranked Atas was defeated in straight sets (6-4, 6-3).

The Blue Devils bounced back, as they got a win from 84th-ranked Arnould at No. 5. Arnould defeated Nathan Byrnes, 6-3, 6-2, to pull Duke even with Oklahoma State at two apiece.

Sophomore 54th-ranked Kiril Dimitrov then lost to Daniel Byrnes, 7-5, 6-3, as the Cowboys went back ahead, 3-2, before 80th-ranked Rodrigues fell to third-ranked Punchkarov at No. 2 in a hard-fought three-set battle (4-6, 6-1, 6-4), as Oklahoma State came away with a 4-2 victory.

The Blue Devils (4-4, 0-0 ACC) will next take on in-state foe Elon on March 7 at 2 p.m at Duke's Ambler Stadium.

Complete Results: #14 Oklahoma State 4, #11 Duke 2

Singles competition
1. Oleksandr Nedovyesov (OKST) def. #100 Joey Atas (DUKE) 6-4, 6-3
2. #3 Ivan Puchkarov (OKST) def. #80 Peter Rodrigues (DUKE) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
3. Daniel Byrnes (OKST) def. Kiril Dimitrov (DUKE) 7-5, 6-3
4. David Goulet (DUKE) vs. Dmytro Petrov (OKST) 6-4, 4-6, 5-6, unfinished
5. #84 Dylan Arnould (DUKE) def. Nathan Byrnes (OKST) 6-3, 6-2
6. Artsem Burmistrau (OKST) def. Aaron Carpenter (DUKE) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #4 Joey Atas/David Goulet (DUKE) def. Daniel Byrnes/Oleksandr Nedovyesov (OKST) 8-3
2. Peter Rodrigues/Dylan Arnould (DUKE) def. Artsem Burmistrau/Nathan Byrnes (OKST) 8-6
3. Ivan Puchkarov/Dmytro Petrov (OKST) def. Alex Stone/Ned Samuelson (DUKE) 8-3

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

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