Women's Tennis Hosts No. 20 TCU Wednesday

NORMAN, Okla - After dropping its last three matches, the Oklahoma women's tennis team looks to get back into the win column when it hosts No. 20 TCU Wednesday, March 30 at 4 p.m. as part of a four-match non-conference home stretch at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. OU opens the match with an overall record of 9-7 while TCU arrives with a 13-2 overall mark.

The Horned Frogs bring momentum into the dual after winning seven of their last eight matches with a narrow loss to No. 5 USC, 4-3. OU will face a tough challenge against No. 25 Story Tweedie-Yates in singles who currently holds a 14-2 overall record and recently scored an upset over USC's 11th-ranked Nicole Leimbach. In doubles TCU claims the No. 34 ranked pair of Ana Cetnik and Tweedie-Yates who arrive with a 13-1 overall mark.

Neither team has an advantage in the all-time series with it tied at 11-11. In the last meeting in 2004 in Fort Worth, Texas, the Sooners squeaked out a close 4-3 win over the Horned Frogs to even up the series.

Admission to all home matches at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center is free and live scoring of the match will be available at SoonerSports.com.

Sooners Lose, 5-2, To No. 9 Texas
In its first match against a top-10 opponent this season, OU suffered a 5-2 defeat to No. 9 Texas in Austin last Saturday. Irina Lykina and Christi Baxley provided OU's only wins of the match. Lykina, a sophomore, earned her first Big 12 win of the season with a three-set victory over UT's Kendra Strohm at the No. 2 position, 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (10-5). Baxley, a freshman, continued her hot streak after winning a three-set match against UT's Courtney Zauft, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (13-11). Baxley's win marked her fifth victory in the past six matches she's played and she also leads all Sooners with an overall record of 12-2 this spring.

Texas A&M Defeats OU, 6-1
Senior Beth Griffin provided the lone point in the Sooners' dual against No. 38 Texas A&M last Thursday where OU suffered a 6-1 defeat in College Station, Texas. The Amarillo, Texas native posted a win over the A&M's No. 70 Anna Lubinsky at the No. 3 slot. Griffin dropped the first set, 1-6, but bounced back to win the next two sets, 7-5, 6-4, and earn her fourth Big 12 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 12-2, 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 3-1 record at No. 5 and a perfect 1-0 at No. 3 singles.

Sooner Rankings
In the latest ITA computer rankings (March 29), the Sooners dropped five spots to No. 60 while TCU remained at No. 20 for the week. Currently two Big 12 teams remain in the top-25 with the Texas Longhorns at the No. 8 slot and Baylor holding the No. 12 ranking. The ITA ranks the top 75 teams and the Big 12 placed eight teams in the rankings this week.

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 20-8 in singles and 16-10 in doubles this spring. As a combined group, the freshmen have accounted for 67 percent of the team's doubles wins and 34 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 remain at home to complete the last three of the four-match home stand at the OU Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla. In consecutive days, OU will host Oral Roberts Tuesday, April 5 at 2 p.m and Wichita State Wednesday, April 6 at 5 p.m. The Sooners will take a two-day break before challenging Boston College April 9 in Norman. After the home stretch, the Sooners will head to Stillwater for Bedlam against Oklahoma State on April 13.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Women's Tennis Hosts No. 20 TCU Wednesday

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