Women's Tennis Begins Big 12 Tournament On Thursday

April 25, 2001

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Sooners To Meet Wildcats In Big 12 Tournament Opener
The Oklahoma women's tennis team is set to participate in its fifth Big 12 Conference Championship this week. This year's tournament will be hosted by Baylor University with matches being played at the Baylor Tennis Center and the Streich Tennis Courts located on BU's campus from Thursday, April 26 to Sunday, April 29.

OU enters the tournament as the 12th seed, its lowest ever, and will face fifth seed Kansas State in the opening match on Thursday at 12 p.m. The Sooners sport an overall record of 6-12 and 1-10 in conference matches while KSU owns an 11-9 overall mark and 7-4 record in Big 12 play. The Wildcats also are currently ranked 42nd in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association Poll.

Sooners-Wildcats All-Time Series
Thursday will be the 23rd meeting between the two women's tennis programs. OU holds an impressive 16-6 edge over the Wildcats but has lost the last two matches, a 6-1 decision this season and a 5-4 verdict last year. OU senior Viviana Mracnova scored the Sooners' only point by dominating KSU's Alena Jecminkova, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 1 singles on April 16, 2001. Under Oklahoma Head Coach Mark Johnson, the Sooners own an 8-5 advantage over K-State.

If the Sooners beat the Wildcats, OU will face fourth seed Texas A&M (19-4, 9-2 Big 12) on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Streich Tennis Courts.

Big 12 Tournament Notes
The Big 12 Conference Tennis Championship is being hosted by Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The tournament will be hosted in the brand-new Baylor Tennis Center, which includes six varsity courts and three stadium courts. Some matches in the early rounds will be played at the Streich Tennis Courts.

The top four seeds, Texas, Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas A&M, all have first-round byes.

Tickets are $10 for an all-tournament pass, $5 general admission for adults, $5 and $3 for students.

LAST TIME OUT
Oklahoma Captures Win Over No. 63 Colorado
Oklahoma upset 63rd-ranked Colorado, 4-3, in its final match of the regular season last Saturday at the Kittredge Tennis Complex in Boulder, Colo. The victory marked the Sooners' first conference win of the year.

Led by senior standout Viviana Mracnova, the Sooners scored all four of their points in singles action. Mracnova picked up the straight-set win, 6-3, 6-3, over CU's Dominique Lemperle at the No. 1 slot, improving her record to 13-4 overall and 9-2 in conference action and extending her winning streak to six. Sophomore Annette Bryntesson cruised to a 6-0, 6-3, win at No. 3 singles and Melissa Mendieta defeated Suzanne Bjorkman, 6-4, 6-4, at the fourth spot. Sophomore Joni Helleland rounded out the scoring at No. 6 singles, easily dropping Tracy Moore, 6-1, 6-2.

Oklahoma, ahead 4-2, called the match early because of the weather, giving CU the doubles point. The Sooners were leading 4-2 at the No. 1 position and the Buffs were in command, 6-2, at the second spot and, 7-2, at the third, before the matches were retired.

Colorado, who's coached by former Oklahoma assistant and player Nicole Kenneally, fell to 8-13 on the season and 3-8 in league action. The Sooners have defeated Colorado in their final regular season match two-straight seasons.

Playing the Best
The Oklahoma women's tennis team has been up against some pretty stiff competition during the 2001 season. Ten of OU's 18 opponents, including eight Big 12 schools, have been ranked in the National ITA poll at the time of the match. OU's highest ranked opponent was No. 10 Texas A&M.

Streaking Senior
Viviana Mracnova is in the midst of a six-match winning streak, the longest by any Sooner this season. Her most recent victory came on Saturday, April 21, over Colorado's Dominique Lemperle, 6-3, 6-3.

One of her most impressive wins was on April 16, a three-set thriller (2-6, 6-4, 7-6) over Baylor's 29th-ranked Jahvani Parekh.

OU Head Coach Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson, Oklahoma Head Women's Tennis Coach, is embarking on the end of his 13 years with the OU program. Johnson sports an overall Sooner record of 207-102 including coaching 29 conference champions and seven NCAA qualifiers. The Oklahoma native graduated from Oklahoma State in 1982 with a degree in business administration. Johnson served a one year stint with the OSU Cowboys before joining the Oklahoma family in 1989. He was been awarded conference coach of the year four times (1991, 1994, 1995, 1999) for his coaching efforts while at OU.

Five Sooners Named Academic All-Big 12
The Big 12 Conference named five Oklahoma women's tennis players to its 2001 Academic All-Big 12 team. Earning first team honors for the first time were sophomores Joni Helleland and Melissa Mendieta plus redshirt-freshman Tiffany Streeter.

Sophomore Annette Bryntesson was named to the second team while senior Viviana Mracnova earned her fourth Academic All-Big 12 honor.

Seniors Compete in Final Regular Season Dual
Seniors Stephanie Sajbert and Viviana Mracnova competed in their final regular season matches at Colorado on April 21. Sajbert has been a member of four ITA Academic All-America teams while at OU (1996-2000). The Australian has battled through several injuries during her career, including a wrist injury that forced her to obtain a medical redshirt last year.

Mracnova, one of the most decorated women's tennis players in school history, is a three-time ITA Academic All-America team member and All-Big 12 doubles selection. Mranova also earned All-Big 12 singles honors at No. 2 singles as a junior. This season, she's was named the Big 12 Women's Tennis Player of the Week for the week of April 2-8 and was voted a preseason All-Big 12 singles and doubles selection. The Zvolen, Slovakia, native has played only No. 1 or No. 2 singles while at OU.

Mracnova Tabbed Big 12 Player of the Week
Viviana Mracnova was awarded Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honors for the week of April 2-8. The honor capped a perfect week where Mracnova won every match she played. The senior captured wins in both of her No. 1 singles matches at Iowa State and Nebraska. She teamed with sophomore Melissa Mendieta for a pair of No. 1 doubles wins as well.

Preseason All-Big 12 Honors
Two Sooner women were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 tennis team. Senior Viviana Mracnova was one of 12 players to earn singles honors. Mracnova and sophomore Melissa Mendieta also earned one of six spots in the doubles category.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Women's Tennis Begins Big 12 Tournament On Thursday

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