Roddick's Squad On a Hot Streak

April 6, 2012

By Andrew Gilman | SoonerSports.com

NORMAN, Okla. -- Seven road matches in a row. Six wins, including milestone wins against Texas and Texas A&M.

A good run for the men's tennis team?

Yeah, you could say that. You could also say it's the best in school history.

The Sooners moved to 13th in the country and now have moved from a team improving to a team that's sitting at the top of the Big 12 Conference.

“We've gotten through the hard part,” coach John Roddick said. “But now is not the time to relax. We have a lot of work left to do with Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma state.”

The hard part was a rough stretch of matches which started with a loss to fifth-ranked Virginia. From there, the Sooners topped Maryland, Florida State, TCU, Tulsa, Texas and then topped Texas A&M for the first time under Roddick.

No. 13 Oklahoma at No. 39 Rice | Sunday, April 8 | 11 a.m.
Coaches | Match Preview | Roster

And now, Roddick in his third season as coach of the Sooners says his team is more confident, more consistent and more likely to perform on a regular basis.

“We're doing a much better job of having more guys put together a good match,” he said. “There's more of an expectation to win. It's not a surprise anymore. This year has been a lot more consistent. Day in and day out I know what to expect.”

The Sooners are 12-3 this season after beating A&M 5-2.

“Our first goal is to win the conference,” Roddick said. “If we do that, we adjust the goal. The guys are excited. I am too. The process is way more important than the wins we've had.”

The Sooners haven't ever won a Big 12 title, but now the team is in position.

“If you do things right, you're going to be able to win college tennis matches,” Roddick said. “If we do that, we can play with about anyone. It's nice to know that we can go in and expect to win. Now when we win, it's not an upset.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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