No. 20 OU Hosts Tulsa in Norman Regional

May 11, 2011

No. 20 Oklahoma (16-7, 5-4 Big 12) at the Norman Regional
Finals Info	Friday, May 13, 2011 at 2 p.m.
Opponent	No. 36 Tulsa (19-7, 6-0 C-USA)
Location	Norman, Okla. \| Headington Family Tennis Center
Internet	Live Scoring \| Norman Regional Headquarters

NORMAN, Okla. -- The 20th-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team squares off against No. 36 Tulsa on Friday, May 13 at 2 p.m., in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Championships at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman.

The Sooners (16-7, 5-4 Big 12) are the No. 2 seed in the Norman Regional, while Tulsa (19-7) enters the dual as the No. 3 seed.

Earlier this season, OU edged then-No. 31 Tulsa, 4-3, in Norman. The Sooners hold a 31-18 overall record against the Hurricane and head coach John Roddick is 3-0 all-time.

In last year's regional, which Oklahoma hosted, the Sooners defeated the Golden Hurricane in the opening round, 4-0. OU advanced to the Round of 16 following a 4-2 victory over Texas Tech. Roddick's squad advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history after the Sooners upset then-No. 3 Texas, 4-2.

Ticket Info and Schedule of Events

Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for youth (ages 3-HS). Fans can purchase online or call the OU Ticket Office at (405) 325-2424 or toll-free (800) 456-GoOU.

Friday, May 13
11 a.m. - Texas vs. UMKC
2 p.m. - Oklahoma vs. Tulsa

Saturday, May 14
2 p.m. - Regional Final

RANKINGS RUNDOWN

The Sooners are led by senior Ionut Beleleu, the ITA Central Region champion, and reigning All-American Costin Paval. Beleleu, a native of Romania, is ranked No. 24 nationally. Fellow Romanian Paval checks in at No. 41.

Beleleu and Tsvetan Mihov are ranked No. 68 in doubles play, while Paval and Peerakit Siributwong are ranked No. 74.

Tulsa combats with four ranked singles players and are led by No. 27 Marcelo Arevalo. Japie De Klerk (No. 62), Ashley Watling (No. 88) and Clifford Marsland (No. 99) are all ranked in the top 100. In doubles, Marsland and Watling comprise the 24th-ranked tandem.

Dual Match Records

Singles	1	2	3	4	5	6	Overall
1. Ionut Beleleu (Sr.)	10-7	3-1					13-8
2. Costin Paval (So.)	3-1	13-5					16-6
3. Laurentiu Gavrila (Fr.)			9-6	4-2			13-8
4. Peerakit Siributwong (Fr.)			4-3	7-6			11-9
5. Tsvetan Mihov (Fr.)				2-0	6-5	4-4	13-8
6. Lawrence Formentera (So.)					7-5	7-2	14-7
7. John Warden (Fr.)					1-0	0-3	1-3

Doubles	1	2	3	Overall
1. Ionut Beleleu /Costin Paval	2-3			2-3
2. John Warden/Lawrence Formentera		2-3		2-3
3. Tsvetan Mihov/Peerakit Siributwong			2-0	2-0
4. Tsvetan Mihov/Laurentiu Gavrila			0-1	0-1
5. Laurentiu Gavrila/Peerakit Siributwong			1-0	1-0
6. Ionut Beleleu/Tsvetan Mihov	4-13	1-0	0-0	5-13
7. Costin Paval/Peerakit Siributwong	0-1	11-4	0-0	11-5
8. Lawrence Formentera/Laurentiu Gavrila	0-0	0-0	11-6	11-6
9. Costin Paval/John Warden	0-1		0-0	0-1

SOONER TENNIS NOTES

FOLLOW THE SENIOR
Ionut Beleleu, OU's lone senior, has led the Sooners at the No. 1 position for the majority of the year. Beleleu, the 2010 ITA Central Region Champion, has a career record of 94-43 in singles and 59-56 in doubles. The Zalua, Romania native was named to the first team All-Big 12 and Academic All-Big 12 teams in 2010 and again in 2011. This past fall Beleleu was one of 32 participants to make the cut to compete in the prestigious USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.

PAVAL THE LEADER
Last year's Big 12 Freshman of the Year started off the year winning nine in a row before falling to Virginia's second-ranked Alex Domijan on March 18. The Sooner is now 16-5 and is ranked No. 41.

NEWCOMER ALERT
Roddick's squad has seen four newcomers compete in the singles lineup this year. Laurentiu Gavrila has been steady at the No. 3 position, while Peerakit Siributwong is 7-6 at the No. 4 spot and 4-3 at No. 3. Tsvetan Mihov (13-8) has been instrumental for the Sooners, while Harry Warden has filled in at the No. 5 and 6 spots.

DOUBLES LINEUPS
Oklahoma tried nine different doubles tandems throughout the season before settling in. Throughout the season OU has won a total of 12 doubles points.

GAVRILA THE GREAT
Laurentiu Gavrila, a Romanian native, comes to Norman with a multitude of accolades to his name, including a career-high ATP, Associated of Tennis Professionals, singles ranking of 888. In doubles Gavrila was ranked as high as 721 in the world. Gavrila has been key for OU at the No. 3 spot where he boasts a 9-6 record (13-8 overall).

LAST TIME OUT
Oklahoma advanced to the Big 12 finals for the first time in program history, but fell to No. 9 Texas A&M, 4-0. In route to the championship match, OU swept No. 22 Texas Tech in the quarterfinals, 4-0, and then upset top-seed and fifth-ranked Baylor, 4-3.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

No. 20 OU Hosts Tulsa in Norman Regional

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