On To the Last One

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Virginia

May 19, 1:00 p.m. | Hurd Tennis Center

Waco, Texas

Twitter

2015 Stats

Notes

NORMAN – The top-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team will take on No. 3 Virginia in the final at the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Team Championships on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. The Sooners are seeking their first ever national title.

SCOUTING REPORT: NO. 3 VIRGINIA
The Cavaliers are 25-3 this season and went unbeaten in conference play with 12 wins. The ACC champs advanced to the final with wins over Columbia, Texas A&M and Baylor. The Cavs are playing in the final for the fourth time in the last five years. Virginia won the national title in 2013.

Oklahoma faced the Cavaliers during the regular season back in March. The Sooners survived a close one, winning four singles matches to overcome a doubles loss. With the match at 3-all sophomore Florin Bragusi delivered a clinching 3-set win to give OU a 4-3 win. Results below.

DOUBLES
#19 Corinteli/Shane def. #6 Webb/Alvarez 8-7
Kwiatkowski/Aragone def. #52 Harris/Ghilea 8-6
Frank/Altamirano vs. Papa/Bragusi 5-7 DNF

SINGLES
#19 Andrew Harris def. #27 Mitchell Frank 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
#7 Axel Alvarez def. #3 Ryan Shane 6-4, 7-5
#26 Dane Webb def. #6 Thai-Son Swiatkowski 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
#70 Collin Altamirano def. Spencer Papa 6-4, 6-4
Alexander Ritschard def. #56 Alex Ghilea 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Florin Bragusi def. J.C. Aragone 6-7(9-11), 6-2, 6-3

Ranked Cavaliers:
No. 8 Ryan Shane - 18-6
No. 19 Tyson Kwiatkowski - 20-3
No. 20 Mitchell Frank - 16-3
No. 77 Collin Altamirano - 17-3

No. 2 Corinteli/Shane - 18-2
No. 42 Styslinger/Kwiatkowski - 14-1

BATTLE TESTED
Despite playing perhaps the most difficult schedule in the nation, the Sooners have racked up a school record 29 wins this season. Oklahoma has 22 wins over teams ranked in the ITA top 30 and 11 wins over teams ranked in the top 10, including four wins over No. 2 Baylor and a win over No. 3 Virginia. The Sooners have played only three matches against unranked opponents all season.

Oklahoma faced all but two of the NCAA Championship's sweet 16 teams during the regular season. The Sooners went 14-1 against those teams. Oklahoma also faced each of the NCAA Championship's elite 8 teams during the regular season. The Sooners went 9-1 against those teams.

Oklahoma is a combined 7-0 against Baylor, Virginia and TCU.

BACK ON TOP
For the second time this season, junior Axel Alvarez is ranked No. 1 in singles by the ITA. Alvarez became the first Sooner ever ranked No. 1 in singles three weeks ago and is back atop the poll after picking up two top-five wins during the Big 12 Championships. Alvarez continued his dominant play at regionals, winning both his matches while giving up just three total games.

GOING DEEP
The Sooners' depth has been instrumental in their success this season. Four Sooners are currently ranked in singles play while three doubles teams appear in the listing. In singles, sophomore Andrew Harris joins Alvarez in the top ten, sitting at No. 7 in the most recent poll. No other team has more than one player ranked in the top 15.

Oklahoma has been nearly untouchable in the top two singles spots so far this season. Alvarez and Harris have combined to go 42-6 in dual play at the top spots , including a 21-1 mark at No. 2 singles. Both players went unbeaten in Big 12 action with Harris at a league-leading five wins and Alvarez with three.

Ranked Sooners:

No. 1 Axel Alvarez – 25-1
No. 7 Andrew Harris – 18-5
No. 44 Dane Webb – 15-9
No. 103 Alex Ghilea – 20-5

No. 11 Alvarez/Webb – 15-7
No. 57 Harris/Ghilea – 14-7
No. 62 Harris/Papa – 6-5

NATIONAL INDOOR CHAMPIONS
The Sooners claimed the ITA National Indoor Championship title in 2015, achieving the feat for the first time in program history. Oklahoma entered the championship as the number two seed and topped Ole Miss and North Carolina on their way to the program's first-ever appearance in the semifinals round. In the semis, Oklahoma overcame a doubles loss to top Baylor 4-2 and earned a place in the finals to face defending NCAA Champion USC. The Sooners avenged their 2014 NCAA Championship final loss and topped then-No. 1 USC to take the title. Sophomore Alex Ghilea, who clinched OU's wins over Baylor and USC, was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

HISTORIC STREAK SNAPPED
In March, Oklahoma traveled to Columbus, Ohio to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State and logged a historic feat. The Buckeyes entered the match riding an NCAA all-sport record 200-match home winning streak that spanned 12 years. Despite dropping the doubles point, OU rallied to win four singles matches and take the win.

WINNING OUT WEST
OU added more hardware when it headed to Indian Wells, Calif. to compete in the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge presented by Oracle (when?). The Sooners topped Purdue and Columbia en route to a rematch with Baylor for the final. The Sooners handed Baylor its first doubles loss of the season and went on to win the match 4-1 and take the title.

REGULAR SEASON SPLIT
The Sooner navigated the nation's toughest conference in 2015, going 4-1 in Big 12 play and earning a share of the regular season title with Baylor. By virtue of a 3-0 record against the Bears at regular season's end, the Sooners earned the No. 1 overall seed at the Big 12 Championships.

BIG 12 CHAMPS… AGAIN
The Sooners claimed their third Big 12 Championship in the last four years this season with a pair of wins at the Big 12 Championships in Waco, Texas. After receiving a first-round bye, Oklahoma topped Texas 4-3 in the semifinal round to advance to the final where it would face Baylor for the fourth time this year. In the final, the Sooners outlasted the Bears to win 4-3 and claim the Big 12 conference title.

ANOTHER FIRST
For the first time in school history, the Sooners drew the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championship field and was selected to host a regional for the sixth consecutive year. As heavy rain forced play indoors, the top-seeded Sooners picked up wins over New Mexico State and Northwestern to advance to the round of 16 for the third time in head coach John Roddick's tenure.

AWARDS PILE UP
OU pulled in an impressive haul of awards this postseason. Axel Alvarez became the second Sooner in history to be named the Big 12 Player of the Year, joining Costin Paval who won the award in both 2012 and 2013.

For the fourth straight season, head coach John Roddick was named Big 12 Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with TCU's David Roditi. Sophomore Florin Bragusi added another honor for the Sooners as he was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Oklahoma has taken home the award in back-to- back years as Andrew Harris won it in 2014.

In addition to Big 12 awards, Webb was named the central region 2015 ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership Award winner while Andrew Harris was named central region ITA Player to Watch. Harris earned the central region Rookie of the Year award in 2014 as a freshman.

QUICK HITS
- Oklahoma won both the Big 12 regular season and championship titles for the second time in program history (2012, 2015).
- In 2015, OU won its third Big 12 Championship title in the last four years.
- Axel Alvarez is the program's third Big 12 Player of the Year all-time and third in the last four years.
- Head coach John Roddick has been named Big 12 Coach of the Year four years running.
- Florin Bragusi was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, joining Guillermo Alcorta (2012) as the only Sooners to win the award.
- Bragusi is 4-0 when playing in a potential clinch situation with the match tied at 3-all.
- The Sooners are 17-5 in NCAA play under Roddick in six season.
- Under head coach John Roddick, the Sooners have advanced to the round of 16 four times, the Elite Eight three times, the Final Four twice and the finals twice.
- OU's 29 wins this season are the most in program history.
- Oklahoma posted a perfect 13-0 record at home this year.
- OU boasts 22 wins over current top-30 teams and 11 over top-10 teams.
- Oklahoma is 11-2 this season when losing the doubles point and undefeated when winning it.
- Axel Alvarez and Andrew Harris both finished undefeated in Big 12 play in singles.
- The doubles pair of Alex Ghilea and Andrew Harris finished Big 12 play 5-0 in doubles.