Sooners Earn Third Consecutive NCAA Berth

NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma women's tennis team earned its third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth Tuesday and its fifth berth under head coach David Mullins. The Sooners open play against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Nashville, Tenn., regional, hosted by the No. 4 overall seed Vanderbilt. The regional will take place from May 8-9 or 9-10.

“I am really happy for the girls,” said Mullins, who earned his 100^th career win on April 18 at West Virginia. “They have worked really hard this year and managed some adversity extremely well for such a young group.”

Oklahoma enters the tournament with a 14-9 overall record and a 3-6 record in Big 12. Five of its losses in conference play came against NCAA Tournament teams, with four coming against teams ranked 17^th or higher. OU's schedule featured nine teams in this year's NCAA Tournament field.

The Sooners have used four freshmen in their last 11 lineups and the NCAA Tournament berth will give them their most valuable experience yet. Combined, the group sports a 37-23 record in singles play this spring and a 22-16 record in doubles play. The group is led by the consistent play of Lily Miyazaki, who boasts a 15-4 record at No. 1 singles and a 9-5 record at No. 2 doubles.

“It will be very beneficial for them to get postseason experience and I have no doubt it will serve us well in future years,” said Mullins.

A win over a higher-seeded Ohio State team would give the Sooners their fourth second round appearance in school history and their third appearance under Mullins. The programs have met twice previously, splitting the two meetings in 2008 (Ohio State, 6-1) and 2011 (Oklahoma, 4-0).

“We look forward to playing a new opponent in Ohio State and figuring out ways to pull off the upset,” said Mullins.

Regional Opponents

Ohio State

ITA Ranking: 18^th

Tournament Seed: 17-32 (At-Large Bid)

Record: 20-6 (11-1, Big Ten Conference)

Big Ten Finish: Finals (L, Michigan, 4-0)

Singles Rankings: N/A

Doubles Rankings: Gabriella De Santis/Sandy Niehaus (No. 48)

Murray State

ITA Ranking: N/A

Tournament Seed: 49-64 (Automatic Bid)

Record: 17-3 (9-1, Ohio Valley Conference)

Ohio Valley Finish: Champions (W, Eastern Kentucky, 4-2)

Singles Rankings: N/A

Doubles Rankings: N/A

Vanderbilt

ITA Ranking: 4^th

Tournament Seed: No. 4 (Automatic Bid)

Record: 19-6 (11-2, Southeastern Conference)

SEC Finish: Champions (W, Georgia, 4-3)

Singles Rankings: Sidney Campbell (No. 8), Astra Sharma (No. 35), Courtney Colton (No. 70), Frances Altick (No. 104), Marie Caseres (No. 113)

Doubles Rankings: Asleigh Antal/Astra Sharma (No. 14), Courtney Colton/Sidney Campbell (No. 21), Ashleigh Antal/Marie Caseres (No. 76), Frances Altick/Astra Sharma (No. 86)

NCAA: http://on.ncaa.com/1DIZ1Wo