Back in Action

ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of Oklahoma men's tennis team begins its 2015 season with a trip to Atlanta, Ga. to take part in the MLK Invitational hosted by Georgia Tech University, Jan. 17-19.

THE FIELD

Oklahoma is one of four team in this year's MLK Invitational field. The Sooners are joined by host school Georgia Tech, the 8^th ranked Georgia Bulldogs and the 16^th ranked Columbia Lions. OU is the highest ranked team in the field at No. 2 in the country.

THE FORMAT

The tournament is structured in dual match format. The teams will play 3-4 doubles matches followed by 6-8 singles matches, depending on the number of players for each school. While these matches will count towards the players' individual records and rankings, the results will not count as official team matches. Doubles matches will be sets to six with a tiebreak at 6-all, singles matches will be two out of three sets with tiebreaks at 6-all. No-ad scoring is in place for both singles and doubles matches.

The Sooners schedule for the weekend is as follows:

Saturday Jan. 17, 1 p.m. CT
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. Georgia Tech
Sunday Jan. 18, 8 a.m. CT
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 Georgia
Monday Jan. 19, 8 a.m. CT
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 16 Columbia

SOONERS RANKED

The Sooners debuted at No. 2 in the ITA's initial team rankings. This marks the team's highest preseason ranking in program history. In addition to the team rankings, the Sooners are all over the individual rankings. Four Sooners find themselves ranked inside the top-50. Junior Axel Alvarez is the highest ranked Sooner at No. 14, sophomore Andrew Harris comes in at No. 20, senior Dane Webb makes the list at No. 33 and sophomore Alex Ghilea sits at No. 50. The doubles duo of Alvarez and Webb also made the ITA doubles rankings at No. 38.

The already loaded Sooners will also be joined by the nation's No. 1 recruit, Spencer Papa. The Edmond, Okla. native has been ranked as high No. 15 in the world in the ITF junior ranks and is largely considered the top American junior player.

ALL-AMERICANS RETURN

The Sooners return two All-Americans from last season's squad. Junior Axel Alvarez and senior Dane Webb both earned All-America honors in singles in 2014. It was the second such honor for Webb who also earned All-America honors in doubles with his partner Costin Paval in 2012. The Sooners graduated Guillermo Alcorta who also earned All-America honors in 2014.

QUOTABLE

Head coach John Roddick

“You know, we had a long fall. I think guys are ready to start competing. I think practice starts getting a little boring. You can only mix it up so much. Getting on the road this weekend will be a good refresher to start the season.”

“We are working a lot on development and getting better, but at the same time we don't want to lose. We want our guys to be competitive and find ways to win. We don't preach a lot about winning and losing, but if we compete well and do what we are supposed to do it usually works out for the best.”

Senior Dane Webb

“I think everyone has been ready for the season to start for the last couple of months, since the end of the fall. It is kind of boring so I think everyone is ready to get going. It is really exciting this semester, and we are definitely ready. For me, I just want to win every match that I can and give the team the best chance possible to win. I am pretty sure it is the same for everyone. We know what it is like to have success on the national scale so I think everyone is working hard and we have a good chance to win every match.”

“Last year we started playing our best later in the season. We reached the No. 1 ranking when we beat Ohio State around spring break time. Even after that we started playing our best tennis. This weekend will help us, and maybe we can start playing our best tennis earlier in the season and then get even better from there.”

Junior Axel Alvarez

“I am so ready. We have been waiting the whole fall and now it is time to start playing the real matches. It is the first match of the season and we have four or five guys who haven't played any matches yet. The two guys who were redshirting last year and then Spencer Papa who just came so let's see how they do. I am also excited to see where my level is right now. It is a good opportunity for everyone to play their best tennis.”

FOLLOW LIVE

Live scoring will be available at: http://www.ramblinwreck.com/livestats/m-tennis/xlive.htm

LOOKING AHEAD

Next up for the Oklahoma is its home opener against Wichita State, Tuesday Jan. 20 at 5 p.m. at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The Sooners have matched up with the Shockers for their last four home openers and swept each of those matches 7-0. Oklahoma has won its last six home openers dating back to 2009.