Harris Earns ITA Player to Watch Award

WACO, Texas – Oklahoma men's tennis sophomore Andrew Harris was named the 2015 ITA Division I National Player to Watch, collegiate tennis's governing body announced on Wednesday.

The award is given annually to a player who is ranked nationally, is expected to be one of the top returning players in the nation and could possibly win a national tournament in the coming year.

Harris, last year's ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year and Big 12 Freshman of the Year, went 25-8 this season while splitting time at number one and number two singles. Harris is currently ranked No. 7 in the ITA National Singles Rankings and drew the No. 4 overall seed for the NCAA Singles Championships. Harris withdrew from the competition due to injury.

In addition to his success in singles, Harris went 23-13 in doubles this season. Harris partnered with fellow sophomore Alex Ghilea and went unbeaten in conference play with a league-leading five wins. Harris and Ghilea picked up wins over the No. 1, No. 12 and No. 30 nationally ranked doubles teams during this year's NCAA Team Championships.

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Oklahoma also had two players in action at the NCAA Individual Championships on Wednesday.

Despite being the top seed in the 64-player draw, top-ranked Axel Alvarez drew a tough match with No. 18 Nik Scholtz of Ole Miss in the first round. The junior dropped the first set by a break and quickly trailed by two in the second set before rallying. Alvarez defended match points in the second to force a decisive third set. In the third, Alvarez took over, winning the final frame 6-1. Alvarez will face No. 35 Tony Lupieri of Baylor in the second round on Thursday.

Senior Dane Webb, an at large selection for the singles tournament, was also in action Wednesday. Webb, who has been under the weather this week, fell to Yannick Hanfmann of USC in straight sets.

Webb and Alvarez will also pair together for the 32-team doubles tournament. The 11^th-ranked Sooner duo is scheduled to play Tomislav Gregurivic and Tin Ostojic of Wichita State on Thursday. The Sooner duo last saw the Shocker pair in the final of the USTA/ITA Central Regional Championships in the fall.

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