Mens Tennis Wraps Up Regular Season on the Road

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma men's tennis team (14-9, 1-5) will conclude its regular
season on the road this week. The Sooners will face off against Tulsa on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Tulsa and Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Stillwater.

In the squad's last time out on Wednesday, the Sooners fell to Arkansas, 5-2, to wrap up their home slate. The loss put OU at 9-3 in home matches this season.

Oklahoma goes into the match against Tulsa with a 29-10-2 record against the Golden Hurricane. The Cowboys, however, have a commanding lead over Oklahoma. If Oklahoma wins the match against Oklahoma State, it will mark a major upset in the Bedlam series. The Cowboys command a 39-28 all-time series record against the Sooners and have won the past 12 duels. The last time OU defeated OSU was on April 12, 1995,
when OU won, 6-1.

The matches against Tulsa and Oklahoma State will be the last matches before OU heads into the Big 12 Championships, which will be held in Waco, Texas, on April 27-30.

Last Outing
The Sooners closed out their home slate on Wednesday against Arkansas in Norman. Oklahoma dropped a 5-2 decision to the Razorbacks.

The Sooners once again opened with a strong doubles performance by winning at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. However, Oklahoma could not hold back Arkansas and lost five of the six singles matches.

Postmatch Notes
Four seniors, Tommy Garrison, Lee Gregg, Alexei Ivanov and Matt Long, competed in their last match as a Sooner in Norman on Wednesday.
Freshman Cale Planck was the lone Sooner to win his singles match against Arkansas. Planck played at the No. 5 position.
Of the 19 matches this season in which OU has played doubles, the Sooners have won the doubles point in 15 match-ups.
Garrison and sophomore Federico Chavarria remain undefeated in regional doubles competition. The duo sits at 5-0 at the No. 2 position.

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 19 matches this season in which OU has played doubles, the Sooners have won the doubles point in 15 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 three had a different lineup.

Regional Success
Senior Tommy Garrison and sophomore Federico Chavarria have a spotless 5-0 record in regional doubles competition. The Sooner duo has defeated opponents from Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri State and Oral Roberts.

Scouting Tulsa
The No. 40 Golden Hurricane have lost four straight matches with their most recent loss to SMU. The loss puts Tulsa at 13-10 overall.

The team will look to sophomore Arnau Brugues to lead the way at the No. 1 spot. Brugues, who is ranked 10th in the country in singles, has a near perfect 14-1 record and recorded his only loss in the match against SMU. Brugues is also 6-0 against ranked opponents.

Sophomore Will Gray and junior Federico Soriano will likely play No. 1 doubles for the Golden Hurricane.

Scouting Oklahoma State
The 19th-ranked Cowboys come into the match against the Sooners at 13-4 overall and 3-3 in conference duels. Oklahoma State has its last two matches against Wichita State and SMU.

Junior Daniel Byrnes, who comes in at No. 19 in the singles poll, is set to play No. 1 singles for OSU. Byrnes has won four consecutive matches at that position. He will likely pair with brother Nathan Byrnes at No. 1 doubles.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Mens Tennis Wraps Up Regular Season on the Road

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