Oklahoma Ready For Final Regular Season Big 12 Matches

April 15, 2002

NORMAN,Okla. - The Oklahoma women's tennis team is set to take on Oklahoma State and Missouri this week. The Sooners will face Oklahoma State on Wednesday, April 17, at 2 p.m., and Missouri at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. The Sooners will host the Cowboys in their final match of the season at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center. Saturday's match against the Tigers will be played at the MU Outdoor Tennis Complex in Columbia.

Oklahoma is 13-7 on the season and ranked No. 49 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings. The Sooners are 3-6 in the Big 12 Conference, and have won the last two league matches after dropping four in a row. Oklahoma State is 11-9 on the year, 5-4 in league play, and ranked No. 40, while No. 65 Missouri is 10-10 on the season, 2-8 in league play.

Sooners Pick Up League Wins Against Colorado and Iowa St.

Oklahoma went 2-0 last week, picking up victories over then-No. 68 Colorado and Iowa State. The Sooners defeated Colorado, 6-1, on Saturday, April 13, at the Oaktree Country Club in Edmond, Okla.. The match with the Buffaloes was originally scheduled to be played at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, but was moved indoors because of rain. OU swept Iowa St., 7-0, on Sunday, April 14, at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. Oklahoma's two Big 12 wins last weekend were their first league wins since beating Texas Tech, 4-3, on March 26.

Leading the Sooners

Sophomore newcomer Anda Perianu sports a 18-6 record at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, while freshmen Heather Saluri and Bethany Griffin hold overall records of 15-6 and 18-7, 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 13-8 record in doubles play, while Griffin and Saluri are 16-9 on the year.

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), then No. 22 TCU (4-3) and then-No. 68 Colorado (6-1). Johnson carries a 220-110 record (.667) 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 center was officially dedicated on Saturday, April 13 prior to OU's matches with Colorado.

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 Ready For Final Regular Season Big 12 Matches

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