University of Oklahoma Athletics

Another Top-Five Showdown in Tulsa

Another Top-Five Showdown in Tulsa

March 11, 2016 | Men's Tennis

oklahoma No. 13 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Virginia 
March 12, 3 p.m. CT | Michael D. Case Tennis Center
Tulsa, Okla.

NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR WEEK EIGHT

THE MATCHUP

The 13th-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team travels to Tulsa, Okla., this weekend to take on No. 4 Virginia on Saturday, March 12 at 3 p.m. CT at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, the host site of the 2016 NCAA Championships. The match will be played outdoors weather permitting. Forecasts call for a high in the lower 70s, cloudy skies with a 40 percent chance of rain and winds out of the south at 10 mph. Live video and scoring for the match are available here

LAST TIME VS. VIRGINIA

The Sooners produced quite a series with the Cavaliers a year ago. The most recent meeting between the two national powers took place in Waco, Texas in the final of the NCAA Championship. Virginia won the match 4-1 to claim the national title and give OU its second runner-up finish in as many years. 
 
The two teams also met during the regular season, with Oklahoma getting the better end off that matchup. Playing at home, the Sooners entered the match ranked No. 1 in the nation, but dropped the doubles point to the then-No. 7 ranked Cavs. Oklahoma would rally, taking singles wins at the top three positions. With just one match left, the dual was tied at 3-all. Florin Bragusi would deliver the clinching point at No. 6 singles, winning 6-4 in the third set of his match with against J.C. Aragone to give the Sooners a 4-3 win. 

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS

Virginia enters the match at 11-2 and ranked No. 4 in the country after beginning the season ranked No. 1. The Cavaliers have wins over No. 4 TCU, No. 9 Wake Forest with losses against No. 8 Illinois and in the final of the ITA Indoor Championship against No. 1 North Carolina.
 
SINGLES
No. 3 - Thai-Son Kwiatkowksi
No. 13 - Ryan Shane
No. 47 - Collin Altamirano
No. 80 - Alexander Ritschard
No. 116 - J.C. Aragone
No. 117 - Luca Corinteli
DOUBLES
No. 6 - Corinteli/Shane
No. 7 - Styslinger/Kwiatkowski
No. 38 - Weirsholm/J.C. Aragone

CHASING HISTORY

Alvarez made history in the Sooners' leap day win over No. 28 Memphis. The senior picked up wins in singles and doubles to join 2015 graduate Dane Webb as just the second Sooner in program history to reach the 200-win mark for his career. Alvarez now boasts 202 total wins (91 doubles, 111 singles).The Sooners' top man is nearing a pair of OU records, needing just three wins in singles to tie Oliver Lorin's record for career singles wins (115) and just 10 total wins to tie Webb's record for career wins (212).

PLAYING IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Oklahoma will continue to lead collegiate tennis in televised matches this season. Three of the Sooners' home matches will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and OU could see even more televised action if it makes a deep run in the postseason. In addition to its early-season match with Wake Forest, Oklahoma also played on live TV against No. 4 Ohio State and will do so again against No. 5 Baylor on April 15 at 6 p.m. CT. The Sooners played a total of seven televised matches in 2015.

BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Alvarez was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 24. The Asturias, Spain, native picked up a dominant, straight-sets win over No. 97 Carlos Bautista of No. 22 Tulsa to help propel the Sooners to a 4-1, road win a week ago. The honor was the first player of the week award this season for OU.

A RUGGED ROAD

After racking up 22 wins over teams ranked in the ITA top 30 a year ago, the Sooners are navigating another loaded schedule in 2016. With road matches against No. 1 UNC and No. 26 Tulsa, home matches against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 28 Memphis and a pair of matches against No. 9 Wake Forest under its belt, Oklahoma also travels to national contenders TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas and hosts Baylor and Texas Tech. OU will also play neutral site matches against defending NCAA national champion Virginia and perennial power USC.

BIG 12 DYNASTY

The Sooners are seeking an unprecedented fifth consecutive conference title in 2016. Oklahoma earned a share of the regular season title in 2015 and then claimed its third Big 12 Tournament title in the last four years last four years (2012, 2013, 2015) 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 on the year. In the final, the Sooners outlasted the Bears to win 4-3 and claim the Big 12 Championships title.

2015 AWARDS

OU pulled in an impressive haul of awards following the 2015 season. Axel Alvarez became the first Sooner ever to be named the ITA National College Player of the year, and just 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. Alvarez also became just the second Sooner to ever earn All-America honors in both singles and doubles in a single season. He was also named All-Big 12 in both singles and doubles.
 
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, Harris was named ITA National Player to Watch. Harris earned the central region Rookie of the Year award in 2014 as a freshman. Harris also took home All-America honors in singles and All-Big 12 honors in both singles and doubles. Alex Ghilea rounded out Oklahoma's presence on the all-conference team by earning a place on the doubles team.

DYNAMIC DUO

Against No. 7 North Carolina, junior Andrew Harris, who had missed time due to injury, made his season debut in pairing with fellow junior Alex Ghilea in doubles. Perhaps OU's best duo, Harris and Ghilea faced the nation's then-top-ranked doubles team of Robert Kelly and Brett Clark at number one doubles. The Sooner pair rode a pair of breaks to a 6-4 victory that helped propel OU to the doubles point win. In 2015, Harris and Ghilea were both named All-Big 12 in doubles and were the only duo to go unbeaten in league play. Oklahoma's top duo currently ranks 46th nationally.
Saturday, March 30
Thursday, March 28
Saturday, March 23
Thursday, March 21