Completed Event: Men's Tennis versus ITA All-American Championships on September 19, 2026 ,
Final
Men's Tennis
vs ITA All-American Championships
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sunday, January 18
Atlanta, Ga.
8:00 AM
University of Oklahoma
vs
Georgia
Sooners Take Three Ranked Wins From Georgia
January 18, 2015 | Men's Tennis
ATLANTA, Ga. – Junior Axel Alvarez and sophomore Alex Ghilea both picked up wins over ranked opponents as the second ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team faced off with eighth ranked Georgia on the second day of play at the MLK Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. on Sunday.
Playing in hidden dual format, the No. 2 ranked Sooners picked up four wins in singles competition and added another in doubles. While all play will count towards players' individual records and rankings, the results will not count towards the teams' records.
Alvarez, the highest ranked Sooner at No. 14, made quick work of his second day opponent. The Asturias, Spain native took down 11th ranked Austin Smith in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 and was the first match to finish. Alvarez is now 2-0 in singles for the tournament.
In perhaps the most exciting match of the day, Ghilea grabbed another ranked victory for the Sooners. Ghilea (No. 50) took the first set from Nick Wood (No. 101) 6-4 before dropping the second frame in a tiebreak 6-7. In the third set, Ghilea trailed 3-4, but then won four of the next five games to take the set 7-5 and claim the match. The win also moves Ghilea to 2-0 for the tournament.
The Sooners also snagged a big ranked win in doubles. The 38th ranked pair of Alvarez and senior Dane Webb upset the 16th ranked duo of Ben Wagland and Paul Oosterbaan 6-3 in the Sooners lone doubles win. Alvarez and Webb are now a perfect 2-0 in doubles for the weekend.
Axel was great and really found his rythm. Jose and Alex did a great job of closing out some tough matches.
Head Coach John Roddick
Austin Siegel joined Ghilea and Alvarez at 2-0 with another win on Sunday. The junior dropped the first set in his match with Eric Diaz 3-6, but recovered to take the last two sets in convincing fashion 6-0, 6-4 and win the match.
Jose Salazar picked up his first win as a Sooner on Sunday. The sophomore toppled Oosterbaan 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
“We played very well today overall,” head coach John Roddick said. “Axel was great and really found his rhythm. Jose and Alex did a great job of closing out some tough matches, and it was nice to see Austin play well after being out most of the fall with an injury. “
Webb and sophomore Florin Bragusi were also in action in singles. Webb fell to 15th ranked Nathan Pasha 6-7(9-7), 4-6 after a heartbreaking loss in a first-set tiebreak. Bragusi faced Wagland and pushed him in every set before ultimately falling 6-7, 5-7. Both Webb and Bragusi won their singles matches on Saturday.
Oklahoma also had two more teams in competition in doubles on Sunday. The duo of Ghilea and Bragusi fell to the 34th ranked pair of Diaz and Smith 4-6. Salazar and Siegel also dropped their Sunday match, falling to Pasha and Wood 4-6.
The Sooners are back on the court Monday morning at 8 a.m. CT to face No. 16 Columbia on the last day of tournament play. The Lions' squad features two ranked singles players, including No. 22 Winston Lin, and two doubles teams ranked in the top-25.
MLK Invitational Day 2 Results
DOUBLES
No. 38 Axel Alvarez Llamas/Dane Webb def. No. 16 Ben Wagland/Paul Oosterbaan 6-3
No. 34 Eric Diaz/Austin Smith (Georgia) def. Florin Bragusi/Alex Ghilea 6-4
Nathan Pasha/Nick Wood (Georgia) def. Jose Antonio Salazar/Austin Siegel 6-4
SINGLES
No. 15 Nathan Pasha (Georgia) def. No. 33 Dane Webb 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
No. 14 Axel Alvarez Llamas def. No. 11 Austin Smith (Georgia) 6-3, 6-4
No. 50 Alex Ghilea def. No. 101 Nick Wood (Georgia) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
Jose Antonio Salazar def. Paul Oosterbaan (Georgia) 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
Ben Wagland (Georgia) def. Florin Bragusi 7-6, 7-5
Austin Siegel def. Eric Diaz (Georgia) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
The MLK Invitational is a three-day tournament featuring host school Georgia Tech, Georgia, Columbia and Oklahoma. Each match is played in hidden dual format, meaning individual matches count towards a player's record, but no team result will be given. At the conclusion of the tournament an individual champion will be crowned in both singles and doubles.
Live scoring is available here.
For more information on Oklahoma Men's Tennis, follow the team on Twitter @OU_MTennis.
Players Mentioned
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