Tennis Competes in Pre-Qualifying

Sept. 29, 2007

TULSA, Okla. - Andrei Daescu, Rob McKenzie and Ryan Thomas competed in the pre-qualifying tournament at the 2007 Polo Ralph Lauren ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., Saturday at the Case Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Tulsa.

No. 9 Rob McKenzie drew a first round bye and then defeated Jeffrey Morys of Northern Arizona, 6-3, 6-4. With the victory, McKenzie will face Daniel Gliner of Southern California, Sunday at 9 a.m.

"This is a very good start for Rob with the very strong field he is competing in," head coach Paul Lockwood said.

Avdeyev and Thomas also earned first round byes, but were defeated by Austen Childs of Louisville (6-3, 6-4) and Chris Parkes of New Mexico (6-4, 6-1), respectively.

With the losses, Avdeyev and Thomas were eliminated from the tournament.

"I am very confident Rob will be prepared to play tomorrow and that he will continue to play well, as he did today," added Lockwood. "Rob has been improving tremendously everyday and this tournament will only help him to continue improving his play."

The Sooners continue play at the ITA Championships through Oct. 7.

Clcik here for complete brackets and results.