Women's Tennis Set to Host Kansas

NORMAN - Okla. - After winning its first home match of the season last Saturday, OU is ready to return to the courts to host the Kansas Jayhawks at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center this Friday, March 18 at 11 a.m. in Norman. The Sooners will look to improve on their overall record of 9-4 and 2-1 in conference play. OU is carrying momentum into the match after claiming its second Big 12 win with a dominating 6-1 victory over Kansas State this past weekend.

Kansas is coming off a tough 6-1 loss to Nebraska, an opponent the Sooners lost to earlier this year. The Jayhawks arrive in Norman with an overall record of 2-9 and 1-2 in Big 12 play. The Sooners and Jayhawks also show common match ups in the teams they have already faced. Both teams suffered a loss to Brigham Young earlier this season while both schools also earned their first Big 12 win against Iowa State earlier this month.

KU has a slight advantage on the Sooners in the all-time series with the Jayhawks leading 16-13. The last meeting between the two teams finished in the Sooners' favor with a 6-1 win in Lawrence, Kan., in 2004.

Admission to all home matches at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center is free.

OU Defeats Kansas State, 6-1
OU claimed its second Big 12 win of the season Saturday, March 12 with a 6-1 win over the Kansas State Wildcats in the Sooners' first home match of the season at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. Oklahoma claimed the doubles point for the second straight match and took five of six matches in singles. Senior Bethany Griffin's victory at No. 3 singles clinched the match for the Sooners. Also adding a highlight was freshman Christi Baxley who claimed her 10th singles victory of the season at the No. 5 slot. Earning additional points for the Sooners were seniors Heather Saluri and Jessica Braver at the No. 1 and 4 slot, respectively, while freshman Christy Greenly picked up her seventh win of the season.

Freshman Phenom
Christi Baxley has been on fire since the start of the spring season for the Sooners. The freshman from New Braunfels, Texas, has had an immediate impact on the Sooners. Baxley has participated in all but one match for the Sooners and currently holds a spring singles record of 10-1, the best of any Sooner on the team. Baxley's victories have come from all different positions with an 8-1 record at the No. 6 slot, a 1-0 record at No. 5 and a perfect 1-0 at No. 3 singles.

Did You Know?
In the 13 matches the Sooners have played this spring they have used 16 different doubles pairings. Six of those pairs are undefeated with seniors Jessica Braver and Heather Saluri leading the way with a 3-0 record at No. 2 doubles Other undefeated pairings include sophomore Irina Lykina and Christy Greenly with a 2-0 record at the No. 3 slot while Saluri and freshman Chelsea Orr also claim a perfect record of 2-0 at the No. 2 spot. Other duos with a 1-0 record include freshman Christy Baxley and sophomore Amanda Pratzel; junior Joi-Lee Beachler and sophomore Anne Carter and freshman Mandi Collier and sophomore Melissa Mercer.

Sooner Rankings
Despite its win against Kansas State Saturday, OU dropped to No. 48 in the ITA polls released Tuesday, March 15. Previously, OU held the No. 40 spot. Overall, seven Big 12 teams complete the top 75 in the ITA poll with the Texas Longhorns leading the way at No. 13.

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 made an immediate impact on the Sooners with an overall class record of 18-6 in singles and 13-9 in doubles this spring. As a combined group, the freshmen have accounted for 65 percent of the team's doubles wins and 33 percent of the singles victories this 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
The Sooners will hit the road for a two-match stretch against Big 12 foes Texas A&M and Texas. OU heads to College Station, Texas, for a dual against the Aggies Thursday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Next, the Sooners will challenge Big 12 leader Texas Saturday, March 26 at 10 a.m. in Austin, Texas. After the tough road stretch, OU will head back to Norman to play 4 non-conference home matches in 10 days.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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