Sooners Host Fourth ITA Top 50 Opponent

NORMAN, Okla. – The 24^th-ranked Oklahoma women's tennis team will continue its five-match home stand against the 31^st-ranked New Mexico Lobos Sunday, March 8, at noon at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The Sooners returned to the Top 25 after a five-week hiatus while the Lobos jumped six spots to OU's previous ranking.

Sunday's match marks the 18^th all-time meeting between the programs. Oklahoma leads the series with New Mexico 9-8.

“A win would definitely help our tournament resume,” said OU head coach David Mullins. “They compete really hard, they get the most out of themselves, and they are going to make it extremely tough for us. I'm glad we're playing them at home this year.”

The Sooners enter the weekend with a 10-2 record, tallying seven wins in a row before a 4-0 loss to Oklahoma State, who is currently ranked eighth. This weekend's match will be the third consecutive home match out of five. OU is 4-1 at home this season and has won 20 of their last 24 home matches.

Freshman Lily Miyazaki continues to carry the torch with a 9-2 record at No. 1 singles. Overall, the four freshmen that have seen singles action this spring have combined for a 23-8 record.

“They love tennis and they have a passion for tennis,” said Mullins. “They came to OU because they believed this would help prepare them for their goals after college, which is to play professional tennis.”

New Mexico enters the weekend with a 9-3 overall record. The Lobos have matched up with a couple of mutual opponents thus far this season, earning victories against both North Texas and Kansas. Last season, the Sooners left Albuquerque, N.M. with a difficult 5-2 win over the Lobos.

The Lobos have been led by Rochana Bhat, who has accumulated a 9-2 record at the No. 5 singles position. Combined with fall tournament play, she has a 20-6 overall record. Overall, the Lobos come in with a 40-29 singles record in dual play, and a 14-14 doubles record.

“They play at an altitude and because of that altitude, they play a little bigger, they go after their shots, and they don't hold back at all,” said Mullins. “We're expecting another really tough challenge.”

A likely matchup for Bhat could be junior Zita Engbroks. Engbroks has a 9-2 overall record in singles play including a 6-0 record at No. 5 singles.

Post-Match Tennis Clinic

After Sunday's match, the Sooners with host a tennis clinic for kids. Free pizza will be provided during the match at 1 p.m. and there will be a raffle to win a new tennis racket. After the clinic, there will an autograph session and a picture with the team.

Looking Ahead

The Sooners conclude their five match home stand against the No. 52 Texas Longhorns Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. and the No. 4 Baylor Lady Bears Sunday, March 15 at noon at the Headington Family Tennis Center. Both matches will be aired live on SoonerSports.tv and re-aired on various Fox Sports channels at later dates.

Live Scoring

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