Sooners on the Road for Three Matches

NORMAN, Okla. -- Riding a nine match winning streak, the University of Oklahoma men's tennis team (12-3) will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, for three matches this week. The Sooners will face Hawaii on March 14, Hawaii-Pacific on March 15 and Bowdoin on March 17.

In their last time out, the No. 39 Sooners blanked Texas-San Antonio and Oklahoma Baptist, 7-0, in a doubleheader on Saturday. It marked the Sooners' fourth consecutive shutout and ninth of the spring season.

If Oklahoma defeats Hawaii and Hawaii-Pacific, it will match the longest winning streak under head coach Paul Lockwood. The longest stretch under Lockwood's tenure came at the beginning of the 2005 spring season when OU opened with 11 wins.

The Sooners own a 3-1 all-time series record against the Rainbow Warriors after having defeated them 6-1 on Feb. 19, 2005. This will mark the first time that OU has played Hawaii-Pacific and Bowdoin.

After returning from Hawaii, the Sooners will open Big 12 competition on March 26 against Nebraska at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman.

Last Outing
The Sooner men's tennis team defeated Texas-San Antonio and Oklahoma Baptist in a doubleheader on Friday at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman. With 7-0 victories over both squads, the Sooners improved to 12-3 overall and extended their winning streak to nine matches.

Postmatch Notes
OU won all matches in singles in straight sets.
Oklahoma needs two consecutive wins to tie the longest winning streak under head coach Paul Lockwood. OU opened the 2005 spring season with 11 consecutive victories.
The Sooners have shut out their past four opponents and have blanked nine this year.

Going Streaking
Sophomore Ryan Thomas leads the Sooners in most consecutive singles dual victories and is perfect in spring matches at 9-0. He is 10-1 overall this season. Other Sooners who are riding streaks of five or more wins include seniors Lee Gregg (9-0) and Alexei Ivanov (6-0) and freshman Cale Planck (7-0).

Thomas also has a spotless record in doubles with senior Matt Long. The duo has tallied a 6-0 mark in doubles. Junior Marek Velicka and Ivanov and sophomore Federico Chavarria and senior Tommy Garrison have also won their last six dual matches.

Scouting Hawaii
The Rainbow Warriors (3-3) have had over a month off to prepare for a stretch of four home matches this week in which they will face New Mexico, Oklahoma, Purdue and Arizona State. In their last two outings in February, Hawaii swept both matches against Hawaii-Hilo and Gustavas Adolphus.

In singles, senior Ryan Sceats has gone undefeated at the No. 3 position. He is 6-0 in spring matches and 14-4 overall this season. In doubles, the duo of senior Bryon Weinberg and freshman Jeff Fitch are 5-1 in the spring at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots.

Scouting Hawaii-Pacific
Hawaii-Pacific is 5-2 overall and is coming off of two wins over Chaminade University in Honolulu. Slated to play No. 1 singles is senior Gabor Boczonadi. Boczonadi will also likely start at No. 1 doubles with junior Thomas Troxler.

Scouting Bowdoin
Bowdoin (1-0) has played only one spring match, which was against Skidmore on March 10. The Polar Bears are led by sophomore Garret Gates (1-0) at No. 1 singles.

Sooners in the Rankings
Junior Marek Velicka fell to No. 74 in singles in the latest Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings released by the ITA. Velicka, who previously appeared in the polls at the No. 22 spot, has tallied an 11-4 mark in spring matches. Velicka also ranks in doubles with senior Alexei Ivanov. The tandem, which has posted a 9-4 overall record this year, fell eight spots to No. 28.

Oklahoma is at No. 39 with the release of the first computer rankings of the season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors