Run At Nationals Comes To An End

FLUSHING, N.Y. – Oklahoma men's tennis players Axel Alvarez and Dane Webb ended their run at the 2014 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y. on Friday.

Alvarez, a junior, won his morning, round of 16 match against Jacob Tahir of Duke in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(1) to advance to the quarterfinals round.

In the quarterfinals round, Alvarez, the No. 6 seed, fell to Ryan Shane of Virginia 6-2, 6-7, 6-7. Alvarez cruised in set one but dropped tiebreaks in the second and third sets to drop the match.

“Axel came out firing in both matches today, winning his first three sets easily,” volunteer assistant coach Jon Reeves said. “Axel played incredibly well and was almost perfect in his service games. In the five sets today he only lost serve once. In his final match of the tournament he never lost serve. You can't ask anymore than that from a player. The difference in the match was literally a couple key points that just did not go in Axel's favor.”

Alvarez qualified for the National Indoor by winning the singles title at the 2014 USTA/ITA Central Region Championship, hosted by Oklahoma at the Headington Family Tennis Center. He won six straight matches to claim the title. Alvarez, No. 3 in the ITA preseason rankings, finishes the fall slate with an 11-3 record in singles.

Webb also played in the round of 16 Friday morning. Webb fell to Dominik Koepfer of Tulane 3-6, 7-6, 4-6.

“Dane lost a close hard fought match,” Reeves said. “I am proud of the way he competed considering set victories were not coming easily for him. He had to fight for everything the past two days.”

It was the third consecutive three-set match for the senior from Richardson, Texas. Webb, No. 14 in the ITA preseason rankings, advanced to the quarterfinals round at the Regional Championship and finishes the fall with a 6-4 record in singles.

Sooners Alex Ghilea and Andrew Harris were also in action on Friday.

The pair, both sophomores, competed at the Bulldog Scramble, a round robin event hosted by the University of Georgia.

In the morning session, Ghilea defeated Jerry Lopez of Kentucky 7-5, 1-6, 6-4. Harris, No. 40 in the ITA preseason rankings, toppled Beck Pennington of Kentucky, ranked No. 118, 6-1, 6-2. The duo then paired to defeat Eric Diaz and Wayne Montgomery of host school Georgia in doubles by a score of 8-7(3).

In the afternoon session, Harris continued his strong play, beating Kyle Koch of South Carolina 6-2, 6-2. Ghilea won another three set match, beating Andrew Shafer of South Carolina 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

Ghilea and Harris will both be back in action again on Saturday for doubles and singles.

For more information on OU Men's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter at @OU_MTennis.