Sooners Masterful in Shutout of Longhorns

No. 17 Texas

No. 9 Oklahoma

2016 Stats

AUSTIN, Texas – The ninth-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team shutout No. 17 Texas 4-0 on Sunday in Austin, Texas, grabbing its first conference win of the season.

The Sooners (12-8, 1-1) won the doubles point and then took the first three singles matches completed to secure their seventh 4-0 win of the year and their third straight win against the Longhorns.

"We played a very solid match today against Texas," head coach John Roddick said. "Our doubles was solid and we did a great job competing in singles."

Oklahoma won the doubles point with wins at the top two positions. Senior Axel Alvarez and junior Andrew Harris, ranked No. 40, teamed to knock off Texas's top duo of Adrian Ortiz and Michael Riechmann, 7-5 at the top spot. The match was close for the duration, until Alvarez and Harris grabbed a late break to secure the win.

On court two, junior Alex Ghilea and sophomore Spencer Papa bested No. 86 George Goldhoff and Julian Zlobinsky, 6-4. OU's pair controlled the match from the beginning, ultimately winning by a break and two games.

Harris scored the Sooners' second point of the day. The Melbourne, Australia, native picked up his first singles win of the year, topping Harrison Scott 6-2, 6-2 at the number two position. Harris made his singles debut two days ago against TCU after sitting out singles for almost 11 months to rehab a knee injury.

Freshman Max Mora was the next Sooner to get in on the action. The Narbonne, France, native won in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 over John Mee at the number six spot. Mora, who did not play against TCU on Friday, improved to 11-5 on the year. With the win at number six singles, OU led 3-0 and needed just one more win to secure the victory.

The clinching point came on court three where Spencer Papa had dropped the first set of his match with Ortiz, 6-2. Papa went on to win the second set 6-0 and then took the third 6-3. The Edmond, Okla., native, who was named the Big 12 Player of the Week last week, has now won his last five completed matches.

"It was great to see Andrew get us on the board quickly in singles and then Spencer did a great job of turning his match around after the first set," Roddick said. "Max was really solid in closing out his match at number six."

The Sooner are back in action this weekend as they host a pair of Big 12 opponents. OU will face Baylor on Friday, April 15 at 6 p.m. at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The Sooners went 4-0 against the Bears in 2015, including a win in the Big 12 Championship final on Baylor's home court to claim the conference crown. Oklahoma will also face No. 11 Texas Tech on Sunday, April 17 at 1 p.m. The Red Raiders handed OU it's only regular season conference loss a year ago.

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

RESULTS

DOUBLES

1. ^#40Alvarez/Harris def. ^#68Adrian Ortiz/Michael Riechmann - 7-5
2.^#85Papa/Ghilea def. ^#86George Goldhoff/Julian Zlobinsky - 6-4
3. John Mee def. Biro/Mora - 6-3

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

SINGLES

1. ^#32Axel Alvarez vs. ^#87George Goldhoff - 6-7, 4-1 DNF

2. Andrew Harris def. Harrison Scott - 6-2, 6-2

3. ^#59Spencer Papa def. Adrian Ortiz - 2-6, 6-0, 6-3

4. ^#51Alex Ghilea vs. Rodrigo Banzer - 7-6(6), 2-1 DNF

5. Florin Bragusi vs. Michael Riechmann - 6-7, 5-4 DNF

6. Max Mora def. John Mee - 6-3, 6-3

Order of finish: 2, 6, 3