Mens Tennis Concludes Home Slate Wednesday

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma men's tennis team (14-8, 1-5) will host its final match of the season on Wednesday as the Sooners take on Arkansas at 5 p.m. at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman. Four seniors, Tommy Garrison, Lee Gregg, Alexei Ivanov and Matt Long, will be competing in the final home matches of their careers.

Oklahoma competed in two closely fought matches against Baylor and Texas Tech last week. The Sooners fell to the Bears, 4-2, on Saturday and followed with a 4-3 loss to the Red Raiders on Sunday.

The Sooners come into the match ranked No. 55 in the country, while the Razorbacks sit at No. 25 in the rankings. Last season when the two squads faced off, Oklahoma pulled a 6-1 upset over Arkansas. At the time, they were ranked No. 50 and No. 20, respectively. The teams faced off earlier this season in the finals of the ITA Central Region Indoor Championships, with Arkansas winning the match, 4-0.

The women's tennis team is also scheduled to play host to Arkansas at 5 p.m. Admission is free to both matches.

Last Outing
The Sooner squad dropped a 4-2 decision in one of the most grueling matches of the season on Friday evening against the No. 5 Baylor Bears.

Due to inclement weather, the match was moved to the Willow Creek Indoor Facility in Oklahoma City. Because of the OU women's tennis match earlier in the evening, which lasted six hours, the men's squad did not hit the courts until 11:30 p.m. and did not finish until 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

The Sooners dropped another close match on Sunday to Texas Tech, 4-3, at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman. The loss puts the Sooners at 14-8 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12.

Postmatch Notes
Junior Marek Velicka upset Baylor's Matija Zgaga, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4. Velicka is ranked No. 95, while Zgaga is at No. 45. Velicka also upset Texas Tech's Adrian Prpic, who is ranked 86th in the nation.
Freshman Sergey Avdeyev pulled another upset for OU against No. 105 Vladimir Portnov and was the only other Sooner to win his singles match against Baylor.
Velicka and senior Tommy Garrison picked up Oklahoma's two singles wins against Texas Tech.
The Sooners won the doubles point against Texas Tech, with senior Alexei Ivanov and Velicka and Garrison and sophomore Federico Chavarria winning their matches.

Senior Salute
The following is a review of the careers of the team's four seniors:

Tommy Garrison, Enid, Okla.
Listed at No. 125 in the 2005 preseason Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings ... named to the 2005 All-Big 12 doubles team with Ondrej Fukala ... ties the OU record for most consecutive wins (19) ... went undefeated in Big 12 singles play at 7-0 and was undefeated at the No. 4 spot, 11-0 ... received OU's Outstanding Male Scholar Athlete of the Year Award in 2005 ... named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team in 2004 and 2005 ... advanced to the 2003 NCAA Doubles Championships with parter Chris Mitchell.

Lee Gregg, Altus, Okla.
Won 12 consecutive matches earlier this season ... produced a team-best 26-11 singles mark in 2004 ... has produced 20 or more singles wins in the last two years ... named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team in 2004 ... clinched OU's first Big 12 Conference title at No. 3 doubles with Marek Velicka ... was undefeated in league doubles action (5-0) and regional competition (3-0) with Velicka at No. 3 ... named a 2003 NAIA All-American while playing at Oklahoma Christian during his freshman year.

Alexei Ivanov, Izhevsk, Russia
Appeared in the 2005 preseason Fila Collegiate Tennis Rankings at No. 71 ... won the ITA Central Region Doubles Championships this season with teammate Marek Velicka ... competed with Velicka in the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships and advanced to the quarterfinals ... named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team in 2004 and 2005 ... qualified for the main singles draw at the Polo Ralph Lauren Men's All-American Tennis Championships earlier this season.

Matt Long, Ft. Worth, Texas
Won six consecutive doubles matches with Ryan Thomas earlier this year ... went 5-2 at No. 6 singles as a junior ... teamed with Alexei Ivanov as a sophomore for a 12-2 record at No. 2 ... pair was the second-best in the Big 12 at that position ... honored as an Academic All-Big 12 First Team member in 2004 and Second Team member in 2003.

Dominating Duos
Of the 18 matches this season in which OU has played doubles, the Sooners have won the doubles point in 14 match-ups. The lineup has remained consistent, with senior Alexei Ivanov and junior Marek Velicka at No. 1, senior Tommy Garrison and sophomore Federico Chavarria at No. 2 and senior Matt Long and sophomore Ryan Thomas at No. 3. In those 14 matches, only two had a different lineup.

Regional Success
Senior Tommy Garrison and junior Marek Velicka have yet to lose a singles match against regional opponents. Garrison is perfect at 4-0 in singles and has faced players from Nebraska, Missouri State and Oral Roberts. He also has a spotless 4-0 record in regional doubles competition with sophomore Federico Chavarria.

Velicka is 5-0 in regional play with wins over Illinois State, Nebraska, Missouri State and Oral Roberts.

Scouting Arkansas
The match-up against Arkansas is one of the biggest rivalries for the Sooner squad. Oklahoma upset Arkansas 6-1 last season in Fayetteville when Arkansas was ranked 20th and the Sooners were 50th. However the Razorbacks knocked off the Sooners earlier this season in the finals of the ITA Central Region Indoor Championships. The loss puts OU at 10-9 in all-time matches against Arkansas.

The Razorbacks, who are also 14-8 overall and 5-5 in the SEC, are led by senior Matt Roberts in singles. Ranked 57th in the country, Roberts has tallied a team-high 24 victories and a 15-5 mark in dual matches. Freshman Blake Strode, who also appears in the rankings at No. 124, boasts a 22-5 overall record.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Mens Tennis Concludes Home Slate Wednesday

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