Women's Tennis In OKC Friday

This Week In Oklahoma Women's Tennis
Oklahoma (6-3) vs. Rice (6-3)
-Friday, Feb. 25
-10:30 a.m.
-Oklahoma City, Okla
-Woodlake Racquet Club

Sooners Playing In OKC
After playing its last five duals on the road, the OU women's tennis team will host Rice Friday, Feb. 25 in Oklahoma City at the Woodlake Racquet Club. It's the Sooners final non-conference dual before Big 12 play begins March 5-6. The Owls are coming off a tough 4-3 loss to Alabama and maintain a record of 6-3. The two teams have only met once in the last 30 years. That meeting came in 1985 when the Owls rolled over the Sooners, 7-2.

OU Plays Tough Road Stretch
The Sooners went 1-2 last week during a road stretch against Central Region foe Tulsa, New Mexico and Montana State. OU lost, 5-2, against Tulsa and then headed to Albuquerque, N.M. for battles against New Mexico and Montana State. The Sooners dropped the match against the Lobos, 6-1, but bounced back to beat Montana State, 5-2. For the first time, senior Heather Saluri and freshman Chelsea Orr teamed up in doubles and went 2-0 on the weekend at the No. 2 slot. Other highlights included freshman Christi Baxley improving her No. 6 singles record to 5-1 on the year.

Did You Know?
In the nine matches the Sooners have played this spring they have used 13 different doubles pairings. Five of those pairs are undefeated with three duos leading the way at 2-0. Those pairings include seniors Jessica Braver and Heather Saluri at No. 2 doubles, freshman Chelsea Orr and Saluri also at the No. 2 slot and sophomore Irina Lykina and freshman Christy Greenly at the No. 3 position.

Sophomore Gabby Baker Sidelined For Season
Sophomore standout Gabby Baker will miss the 2005 spring season due to tearing her ACL and MCL in her left knee while at home in Australia in January. Baker had surgery Feb. 4 to repair the ligaments. As a freshman, Baker was the Big 12 No. 3 singles and doubles position champion with a 10-3 singles record and an 8-3 record in doubles in conference play. During the 2004 fall campaign, she led all Sooners with a 5-2 singles record and was expected to compete at No. 1 singles this spring.

Oklahoma Completes Fall Campaign
During the 2004 fall season, OU competed in a short stint of individual competitive play where the Sooners produced a total individual record of 27-14 in singles and 14-10 in doubles. Leading the way for OU during the fall campaign was sophomore Gabby Baker with a 5-2 record in singles and 3-1 in doubles. The Sooners only tournaments included the Las Vegas Invitational and the ITA Regional Championships.

Sooner Rankings
The Sooner women dropped to No. 43 in the ITA rankings released Feb. 22, 2005. Previously, the Sooners were No. 24 but fell due to two losses last week. OU's opponent, Rice, moved up in the rankings and is currently ranked No. 36.

OU Newcomers
The addition of five freshmen to the Oklahoma roster strengthens OU's possible lineups. Topping that group are Christi Baxley (New Braunfels, Texas), Rachael Cox (Acworth, Ga.), Christy Greenly (Yukon, Okla.) and Chelsea Orr (Tulsa, Okla.), Oklahoma's high school tennis player of the year in 2003. The freshmen have been an immediate impact on the Sooners with an overall class record of 11-5 in singles and 8-3 in doubles during the spring.

Mark Johnson In 17th Year At Oklahoma
In his 17th year as head coach at OU, Mark Johnson carries a career record of 262-124 (.679), and has coached 33 conference champions, four NCAA singles qualifiers as well as five pairs of NCAA doubles qualifiers. In addition, the five-time coach of the year has also coached eight consecutive teams to ITA Academic All-America honors.

Looking Ahead
OU opens Big 12 conference play with a pair of matches the weekend of March 5-6. The Sooners will face Nebraska on March 5 at 10 a.m. in Lincoln before traveling to Des Moines, Iowa, to challenge Iowa State Sunday, March 6 at 10 a.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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