Oklahoma Prepares For Baylor and Nebraska

April 1, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma women's tennis team is set to take on Baylor and Nebraska this week. The Sooners will face Baylor at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. OU returns home Sunday, April 7, to take on Nebraska at 10 a.m. at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center. Oklahoma is 11-5 on the season and ranked No. 47 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings. Baylor is 12-5 on the year and ranked No. 36, while Nebraska is No. 58 and also 12-5 on the season.

Sooners Go 1-2 Against Texas Schools

No. 47 Oklahoma went 1-2 last week in matches with Texas Tech, No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 14 Texas. The Sooners defeated Texas Tech (4-3) on Tuesday, taking four singles and one doubles match. OU fell to Texas A&M (5-2) on Friday, winning two singles and one doubles match. Oklahoma was defeated by Texas (6-1) on Saturday, coming away with only one singles and one doubles win. Oklahoma drops to 11-5 on the season.

Leading the Sooners

Sophomore newcomer Anda Perianu sports a 15-5 record at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, while freshmen Heather Saluri and Bethany Griffin hold an overall record of 13-4 and 15-6, respectively, in singles play. The duo of Perianu and junior newcomer Elena Jirnova are 10-2 in doubles action on the season. Junior Annette Bryntesson and freshman Jessica Braver have compiled a 11-6 record in doubles play this year. In her first match since Feb. 5, junior Melissa Mendieta returned from injury to win at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles (with Perianu) over Texas A&M on Friday, March 29.

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 then-No. 59 New Mexico (4-3) and then No. 22 TCU (4-3). Johnson carries a 218-108 record (.668) 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 women played in the newly constructed OU Headington Family Tennis Center for the first time on March 29 against Texas A&M. After several years of playing on unfamiliar courts and not having a place to call home, the Sooners are competing 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

Oklahoma Prepares For Baylor and Nebraska

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors