Cowboy Tennis Using Doubleheaders to Their Advantage
Having to play multiple times in one day is a difficult feat, but one Oklahoma State pulled off.
With a 7-0 win against Oral Roberts in Stillwater on Saturday, OSU’s men’s team completed its long day of tennis. OSU’s day began late after the women’s team, which played the first of three matches at the Greenwood Tennis Center, took nearly three and a half hours to beat Pepperdine.
Finally, the Cowboys (6-2 overall) began their first match two hours after it was scheduled. After they won the first match, there was a quick turnaround.
Only about 40 minutes separated the end of the Saint Louis match from the beginning of the match against ORU (0-3). Although more time between matches may be ideal, players like OSU’s Isaac Becroft enjoy the short window.
“I think today, we might have had 40 minutes, and for me, you get a quick snack and you go again,” Becroft said. “I think that’s best, but everyone’s different. But I really liked the quick turnaround today, and I think that really showed in doubles and singles.”
After struggling in doubles recently, OSU won the point in both matches. Against ORU, the sets were closer, which may be because of the long day.
“You know it’s gonna be a long day, especially with the girls playing before us,” Becroft said. “You just gotta take care of what you can with food and make sure you’re eating enough throughout the day, and DT, our coach, likes to play all the matches out.”
It was OSU’s second doubleheader this season. OSU coach Dustin Taylor’s team opened its 2024 schedule with two matches on Jan. 13.
The Cowboys won both matches that day 6-1, beating UTRGV and Omaha. That is something Taylor wants his team to experience and use as potential preparation for the postseason.
“You want to do a doubleheader because you’ll find yourself in postseason play getting rained out one day, and then the next day having to play a quarterfinal and a semifinal in the Big 12 Tournament, for instance,” Taylor said. “So, that’s why you want to have one or two doubleheaders throughout the season. It’s just to sort of have your routines, your ritual, your schedule down in the case that you do face that in postseason play.”
OSU player Tyler Zink won his singles match against Gustavo Pinho 6-1, 6-1 and talked about what goes into a doubleheader. Above all, rest and preparation are vital for Zink going into two matches in one day.
“So, just kind of taking care of the body so that everyone’s healthy to go today,” Zink said. “Because it’s four or five, six hours on court."
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.