Sooner Tennis Set to Open New Facility

Feb. 25, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - Sooner Tennis Set to Open New Facility

This weekend the Oklahoma tennis programs will celebrate the opening of their new facility, the OU Headington Family Tennis Center. The women will host ORU on Friday, March 1, at 1:30 p.m. and Central Florida on Saturday, March 2, at 11:30 a.m. The facility was completed in October of 2001 and is located at the corner of Chatauqua and Imhoff. The Sooners are ranked No. 61 and are 6-0 on the season, their best start in five years. Oral Roberts is 0-5 on the season coming into weekend play. Central Florida is 5-2 on the year, with wins over Jacksonville, Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic, South Florida, and University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Oklahoma Knocks Off No. 22 TCU, 4-3

Oklahoma upset No. 22 TCU, 4-3, on Thursday, Feb. 21, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Ft. Worth, Texas. Sophomore Anda Perianu picked up her fifth singles win of the season with a three set victory, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, over TCU's top player No. 98 Paty Aburto. Oklahoma's Annette Bryntesson and Bethany Griffin picked up singles wins at No. 4 (6-3, 6-3), and No. 5 singles (6-3, 6-4), respectively. The Lady Frogs, led by the No. 46 doubles duo of Rosa Perez and Aburto, won the No. 1 doubles match, 8-3, over OU's Griffin and Heather Saluri. However, the Sooners rallied behind the combination of Jessica Braver and Bryntesson and Anda Perianu and Elena Jirnova at No. 2 (8-5) and No. 3 (8-4) doubles for the victory.

Leading the Sooners

Sophomore newcomer Anda Perianu sports a perfect 5-0 record at No. 2 singles, while freshman Heather Saluri sports an overall 8-1 record at No. 2, 4 and 5 singles. The duo of Perianu and junior newcomer Elena Jirnova are 5-0 in No. 2 and 3 doubles action on the season.

Mark Johnson in 14th Year of Coaching

In his 14th year as head coach at OU, Mark Johnson began the 2002 season with two 7-0 wins over Oklahoma Baptist with his five newcomers winning all five singles matches. The Sooners have defeated No. 59 New Mexico (4-3), Minnesota (5-2), St. Louis (6-1) and No. 22 TCU (4-3). Johnson carries a 212-103 record (.673) and led his 1999 team to the championship match at the Big 12 Tournament, earning Big 12 Tri-Coach of the Year honors. Johnson has also coached five consecutive teams to ITA Academic All-America team honors dating back to the 1997 season. Johnson was named Big Eight Coach of the Year in 1991, 1994 and 1995 after leading his teams to a combined 60-16 record in those three years. He has coached three NCAA doubles qualifiers in Nicole Kenneally and Jenny Del Valle (1994), Monique Malan and Karla Golfin (1996) and Angela Stroup and Viviana Mracnova (2000), and two singles qualifiers in Nicole Kenneally (1994) and current OU assistant coach Raluca Gheorghe (1998).

The University of Oklahoma Headington Family Tennis Center

The Sooner men's and women's tennis teams will play in the newly constructed OU Headington Family Tennis Center for the first time on March 1. After several years of playing on unfamiliar courts and not having a place to call home, the Sooners will compete on some of the finest courts in the state of Oklahoma. The new tennis center is equipped with 12 NCAA championship courts and NCAA championship lighting. There is permanent seating for up to 800 spectators. The center is located at the corner of Chatauqua and Imhoff, directly south of the OU Soccer Complex.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner Tennis Set to Open New Facility

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