Women's Tennis Heads To Utah

This Week In OU Women's Tennis
After sweeping Oklahoma Baptist and East Central in the spring opener, the 4-0 Sooners will head to Utah for a pair of duals against Utah State and Brigham Young. OU's first dual is slated for 3 p.m. (CST) against Utah State in Logan, Utah. The Aggies are 1-1 during the spring campaign with their only loss of the season against No. 10 Washington.

In Saturday's action, OU will go head-to-head with No. 25 BYU in Provo, Utah at 1 p.m. (CST). At 4-1 the Cougars only loss of the season also came against the Washington Huskies. A key match up will be in doubles action against BYU's 44th-ranked pair of Lauren Jones and Dolly Chang.

Sooners Sweep OBU, ECU In Spring Season Opener
The Oklahoma women's tennis team opened its 2005 indoor spring season with four straight victories Friday, Jan. 28, including three over Oklahoma Baptist and one over East Central. The Sooners swept past OBU 6-0, 6-0,7-0, in three consecutive matches and took a 7-0 victory against East Central at Woodlake Racquet Club in Oklahoma City. The Sooners didn't drop a set in all four duals, improving their overall record to 4-0.

Sophomore Gabby Baker Sidelined For Season
Sophomore standout Gabby Baker and probable No. 1 singles player for the Sooners will miss the entire spring season after tearing her ACL and MCL in her left knee while at home in Australia for the winter break. Baker had surgery Friday, Feb. 4 to repair the ligaments. As a freshman, Baker was the Big 12 No. 3 singles and doubles position champion last year with a 10-3 singles record and an 8-3 record in doubles in conference play. During the 2004 fall campaign, the sophomore led all Sooners with a 5-2 singles record.

Oklahoma Completes Fall Campaign
OU returns to action after a short fall 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
OU maintained its No. 26 ranking in the ITA poll this week after opening the season with four wins. Only two Big 12 teams are ahead of Oklahoma - Texas at No. 11 and Texas A&M at No. 16.

What To Expect In 2005
Oklahoma is coming off its best season in 10 years after finishing the 2003-04 campaign with an impressive record of 22-5 and placing third in the Big 12 while earning a second straight berth to the 2004 NCAA Team Championships. While the Sooners return seven letterwinners from last year's squad, they also graduated a key player. OU will begin its quest to replace former Sooner standout Anda Perainu, the best women's tennis player to ever grace the courts at Oklahoma.

The Sooners return three seniors and sophomores Gabby Baker and Irina Lykina who played high in the lineup for the Sooners as true freshmen last year. OU retains three conference position champions in senior Bethany Griffin and Baker. The duo was the Big 12 No. 3 doubles position champions while Baker was also named the Big 12 No. 3 singles position champion.

“We've got high goals again this year,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “With that many returnees and so many players who have done well, we should have a good season. If everyone stays healthy, we should have a good chance of competing for the Big 12 Championship and hopefully, going to the NCAA Tournament again.”

OU Newcomers
OU added five freshmen to the roster in the fall who will be expected to step in and compete for a lineup spot. Topping that group are Christi Baxley (New Braunfels, Texas), Rachael Cox (Acworth, Ga.), Christy Greenly (Yukon, Okla.) and Chelsea Orr (Tulsa, Okla.).

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
The Sooners will head back to Oklahoma for an in-state match up against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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