Championship Run Yields No. 1 Ranking

NORMAN – The Oklahoma men's tennis team is enjoying the fruits of its win at the 2015 ITA National Indoor Championships. The Sooners now sit atop the collegiate tennis world as the No. 1 ranked team in the country in the latest ITA poll released Tuesday.

“We're excited to start the outdoor season having accomplished our first big goal of the season in winning the national indoor title,” head coach John Roddick said. “Our No. 1 ranking is a reflection of that.”

The Sooners (10-0) are fresh off an historic weekend at the National Indoors. The Sooners won four matches over top-15 teams in as many days, including a win over previous No. 1 and defending NCAA national champion USC in the finals. The win gave Oklahoma its first ever National Indoor Championship.

We know there is still a long way to go in accomplishing the rest of our goals this year. We can't take anything for granted.
Head Coach John Roddick

Roddick and his team are just getting started, however. Over the next three weeks, four of the Sooners' five matches will be against teams currently ranked in the top-15. That difficult road begins this weekend with a road trip to College Station, Texas to take on the 13^th-ranked Aggies of Texas A&M Friday at 6 p.m. The Sooners will be back at home Sunday when they play host to No. 8 North Carolina at noon.

“We know that there is still a long way to go in accomplishing the rest of our goals this year,” Roddick said. “It starts with a really tough weekend playing at Texas A&M, and home against North Carolina. Both of those are top-10 caliber programs. It will be a tremendous challenge. I know our guys are excited about winning this past weekend, but they also realize that we need to work hard and look towards April and May. We can't take anything for granted.”

Tuesday's poll marked just the second time in program history that the Sooners have occupied the top spot. OU was last ranked No. 1 the week of March 18, 2014 after the Sooners knocked off No. 1 Ohio State.

In addition to the No. 1 ranking, Oklahoma also boasts a roster loaded with players ranked in the ITA's singles and doubles polls. Junior Axel Alvarez is the highest ranked Sooner at No. 11, sophomore Andrew Harris sits at No. 26, senior Dane Webb comes in at No. 31 and sophomore Alex Ghilea rounds things out at No. 63. The doubles team of Alvarez and Webb is currently unbeaten and ranked No. 5. The duo helped Oklahoma secure the doubles point against USC with a win over the current No. 1 pair of Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz.

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