Sooners Doubles Advance in Tulsa

NORMAN, Okla. -- Senior Marek Velicka and junior Federico Chavarria began qualifying doubles play in the 2006 Polo Ralph Lauren All American Tennis Championships Tuesday in Tulsa, Okla. Velicka and Chavarria are one of 64 pairs competing for a spot in the main draw of the tournament.

The Sooner duo was scheduled to face Jakub Cech and Rudolf Siwy of Fresno State, but due to a redraw of the doubles qualifier, they were seeded second and received a bye in the round of 64, advancing them to the round of 32.

In the second round qualifier, Velicka and Chavarria defeated SMU's Federico Murgier and Alex Skrypko. The pair was behind 5-3, but battled back to win five straight games to take the match, 8-5.

“I am proud of the way they fought back from a 5-3 deficit; it showed a lot of poise,” said OU head coach Paul Lockwood. “Their play kept getting better as the games went on. They really played well.”

Velicka and Chavarria will play Chris Klingeman and Devin Mullings of Ohio State Wednesday at 1 p.m. to for a place in the main draw.

Velicka will also be playing in the singles competition of the main draw. He is scheduled to face Arnaud Lecloerec of VCU.

Both singles and doubles play in the main draw will begin Thursday Oct. 5. Live scoring is available at www.tulsahurricane.com.

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