Sooner Women's Tennis Begins Season With A Win

Feb. 4, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma women's tennis team started its 2002 season off on the right foot with a 7-0 sweep of Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Woodlake Country Club in Oklahoma City. The Sooners did not allow more than one point scored in singles played and won their two doubles matches 8-0.

Junior Elena Jirnova defeated Cassie Morse in No. 1 singles (6-0, 6-1), sophomore Anda Perianu defeated Kristen Haynes in No. 2 singles (6-0, 6-0), freshman Bethany Griffin defeated Brooke Bohannon in No. 3 singles (6-0, 6-0), freshman Heather Saluri defeated Becca Sheif in No. 4 singles (6-1, 6-0) and freshman Jessica Braver Defeated Jill Westbury in No. 5 singles (6-0, 6-0). Junior Annette Bryntesson and Braver defeated Morse and Bohannon in No. 1 doubles (8-0) and juniors Joni Helleland and Melissa Mendieta defeated Haynes and Sheif in No. 2 doubles (8-0) for the sweep.

Oklahoma Readies for New Mexico and Minnesota
The Sooners go on their first road trip to Albuquerque, N.M. to take on New Mexico at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5. The Lobos are 2-2 on the season with wins over Northern Arizona and San Diego and losses to Kansas State and Arizona. Tsaja Suvak and Courtney Choate have already earned Mountain West Player of the Week honors after four matches.

Oklahoma comes back home for a noon match against Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Sante Fe Country Club (6300 N. Sante Fe, Oklahoma City). The Gophers are 2-3 on the season with victories over Marquette and Iowa State, while dropping matches to Kentucky, Drake and then-No. 73 Wisconsin.

Three Returners and Five Newcomers Comprise 2002 Squad
Oklahoma has a young squad in 2002 with only three returning juniors, Annette Bryntesson, Joni Helleland and Melissa Mendieta. Johnson added five newcomers to his roster, including Romania natives junior Elena Jirnova and sophomore Anda Perianu, and freshmen Jessica Braver, Bethany Griffin and Heather Saluri, who are coming off impressive prep careers in Oklahoma, Texas and Iowa, respectively.

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 this spring. 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.

Mark Johnson In 14th Year of Coaching
In his 14th year as head coach at OU, Mark Johnson began the 2002 season with a 7-0 win over Oklahoma Baptist with his five newcomers winning all five singles matches. He carries a 208-103 record (.669) 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).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner Women's Tennis Begins Season With A Win

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors