Singles Sweep Secures Wild Win

You could feel the momentum when he was down and then won that set. It was a big lift.
Head Coach John Roddick

NORMAN – For the third consecutive year, the Oklahoma men's tennis team has earned a berth in the ITA National Indoor Championships. The Sooners beat Northwestern 4-1 on Sunday inside the Gregg Wadley Indoor Pavilion at the Headington Family Tennis Center to claim the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Championship and a spot in this year's national field.

The second-ranked Sooners (3-0) started fast on Sunday, going up a break on all three courts in doubles, but the Wildcats came roaring back.

“There isn't one person leaving here who thinks Northwestern didn't compete great and play at a high level,” head coach John Roddick said. “We didn't handle momentum very well. When we did get leads we gave them back, and you just can't keep doing that. It is something we can learn from and get better. Those are the best lessons when you can still get the win and get better.”

In the No. 1 spot, 38^th-ranked Axel Alvarez and Dane Webb topped Alex Pasareanu and Mihir Kumar 6-3 to give the Sooners the first win of the match. Alvarez and Webb remain undefeated for the spring and ran their record to 5-0.

Northwestern overcame deficits at both No 2. and No. 3 doubles to claim those matches and the doubles point. In the No. 2 spot, Andrew Harris and Spencer Papa fell to Fedor Baev and Strong Kirchheimer 3-6. At No. 3, Alex Ghilea and Florin Bragusi dropped their match with Alp Horoz and Sam Shropshire by the same score.

“We had the doubles the way we wanted it,” Roddick said. “We had momentum and then got broken on two courts. That puts you in a tough position.”

Trailing 1-0 heading to singles, Oklahoma needed to win four of the six matches to claim the win.

Alvarez, the highest ranked Sooner at No. 14 in the country, started things off right for OU with a win in the No. 2 spot. The junior bested Logan Staggs 6-2, 6-2 to even the match at 1-1. Alvarez moves to 5-1 for the spring and 3-0 in the two spot in dual matches.

The Sooners' next point came from sophomore Jose Salazar at No. 6. Salazar dropped the first set of his match with Horoz 2-6. At the change over Roddick and Salazar made an adjustment and moved the young Spaniard up on first serves. Salazar dropped just two games the rest of the match and gave OU a 2-1 lead with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win.

“He made a great adjustment,” Roddick said. “He moved up, which is something he is not comfortable doing, and I think the guy only held one more time after that. It is a testament to him being a great competitor.”

Webb, ranked No. 33, provided the Sooners with a huge win at No. 3. The senior trailed 2-5 in the first set, but won the next five games to take the set. Set two played out in almost identical fashion. Webb trailed 1-4 before winning six of the last seven games to take the match 7-5, 7-5.

Webb's comeback and vocal leadership sparked momentum that the Sooners would ride to victory.

“You could feel it when he was down and then won that set,” Roddick said. “He even got down in the second and got back in it. You could feel the momentum. The team has a lot of belief in Dane. They don't think he is losing a set until he actually loses. He has done it for going on four years now. It was a big lift.”

In the No. 1 position, Harris overcame a loss in the first set to Shropshire 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The sophomore is now 2-1 for the spring in the leadoff spot. Harris's win gave the Sooners the 4-1 win over the Wildcats and a berth in the 16-team field at the 2015 ITA National Indoor Championships played in Chicago, Feb. 13-16.

Playing in “clinch-clinch” format, all other matches were halted when Oklahoma secured the fourth point.

At that point in the match, Papa had just claimed the first game in the third set of his match with Kumar at No. 4 singles. It was the first singles action of the freshman's career. Papa won the first set 6-2 and dropped the second set in the tiebreaker 6-7.

Also in action was 50^th-ranked Alex Ghilea. Playing in the No. 5 spot, the sophomore led Baev 5-4 in the third set. Ghilea won set one 7-5 and dropped set two 2-6.

This marks the third consecutive year the Sooners will take part in the National Indoors. Last year, Oklahoma topped No. 22 Illinois in the first round of play before falling to No. 2 UCLA in the second round.

Next up for Oklahoma is a trip to Winston-Salem, N.C. for a matchup with the 18th–ranked Demon Deacons Jan. 30 at 6 p.m.

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

RESULTS

DOUBLES

No. 38 Alvarez/Webb def. Pasareanu/Kumar 6-3
Baev/Kirchheimer def. Harris/Papa 3-6
Zanotti/Staggs def. Ghilea/Bragusi 3-6

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

SINGLES

No. 20 Andrew Harris def. Sam Shropshire 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 14 Axel Alvarez def. Logan Staggs 6-2, 6-2
No. 33 Dane Webb def Strong Kirchheimer 7-5, 7-5
Spencer Papa vs. Mihir Kumar 6-2, 6-7, 1-0 DNF
No. 50 Alex Ghilea vs. Fedor Baev 7-5, 2-6, 5-4 DNF
Jose Salazar def. Alp Horoz 2-6, 6-2, 6-0