Women's Tennis Goes 1-1 at Big 12 Championships

April 29, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - The Oklahoma women's tennis team went 1-1 last week in the 2002 Big 12 Championships in College Station, Texas. The Sooners defeated Nebraska, 4-1 in the opening round on Thursday, April 25, and fell to Texas A&M, 4-2, in the second round on Friday, April 26.

The Sooners finished the season 16-8 overall and 5-6 in conference play. Oklahoma is ranked No. 45 in the Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings going into the NCAA Tournament. The Sooners won their last four matches in the Big 12 after starting the season 1-6 in league play.

Oklahoma now awaits the NCAA Tournament selections, which will be announced on Thursday, May 2, at 5:30 p.m. Sixty-four teams will be selected to participate in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.

Leading the Sooners

Sophomore newcomer Anda Perianu was recently named to the All-Big 12 women's tennis team. She compiled a team high 22 singles wins over the course of the year, while losing only six matches at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Perianu, who hails from Romania, has won seven consecutive matches, with her last loss coming against Baylor's Katja Kova on April 4.

Freshmen Heather Saluri and Bethany Griffin hold overall records of 15-9 and 19-9, respectively, in singles play. Saluri and Griffin also hold the team lead in doubles victories with 16 while dropping 13 matches. The duo of Perianu and junior newcomer Elena Jirnova are 10-2 in doubles action while junior Annette Bryntesson and freshman Jessica Braver have also compiled an impressive record, finishing the season with a 15-10 doubles mark.

Mark Johnson Winds Down 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. Since, the Sooners have defeated then-No. 59 New Mexico (4-3), then-No. 22 TCU (4-3), then-No. 68 Colorado (6-1) , then-No. 40 Oklahoma State (4-3), then-No. 65 Missouri and then-No. 69 Nebraska.

Johnson carries a 223-111 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 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

Women's Tennis Goes 1-1 at Big 12 Championships

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