Sweep of Seminoles Caps Winning Weekend in Florida

No. 22 Florida State

No. 18 Oklahoma

Highlights

Results

2016 Stats

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 18^th-ranked Oklahoma men's tennis team capped off a winning weekend in the Sunshine State with a 4-0 sweep of No. 22 Florida State Sunday afternoon in Tallahassee, Fla., in a match broadcast live on ESPN3.

The Sooners, who topped No. 17 South Florida 4-1 on Friday, won the doubles point and then took the first three matches in singles to claim their sixth 4-0 win of the year.

“We are starting to compete the way we need to. I can look back on it and say that that was probably our most complete match.”
- Head Coach John Roddick

“It was looking not good in four or five matches to begin singles, but we didn't panic and we dug ourselves out of it,” head coach John Roddick said. “We are starting to compete the way we need to. I can look back on it and say that that was probably our most complete match.”

Oklahoma upped its level in doubles to take the opening point. OU dropped the doubles point to USF on Friday, but won two matches in convincing fashion against the Seminoles.

“We are definitely competing better,” Roddick said. “We didn't play a good doubles point on Friday, but we played much better today. That's a sign that we are correcting errors.”

At the top spot, sophomore Andrew Harris and senior Axel Alvarez paired to take down the nation's 11^th-ranked doubles team in Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez. The Sooners' No. 1 duo controlled the match from the beginning and won 6-2.

The clinching win came on court two where junior Alex Ghilea and sophomore Spencer Papa grabbed a ranked win of their own. The Sooner pairing clipped No. 59 Aziz Dougaz and Michael Rinaldi by the same margin, winning 6-2.

Oklahoma carried a 1-0 lead into singles, but Florida State would make noise early, winning first sets on courts two, four and five.

“Our level was high and Florida State started out great in singles,” Roddick said. “It took us an hour or so to dig out of the hole. Even when we were down I didn't think we were playing poorly. You just have to stick with it and make them maintain that level, which in tennis is not easy to do.”

OU dug out of that hole with a straight-sets win from freshman Andre Biro at the No. 6 position. Biro took down Terrance Whitehurst 6-4, 6-3. OU's talented freshman has now won his last five completed matches and seven of his last eight. He also leads the Sooners in wins with 12.

Papa continued his hot streak on Sunday, taking another ranked win at the No. 2 position. The Edmond, Okla., native bested No. 60 Nunez 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 to give OU a 3-0 lead and push his own win streak to four.

Ghilea played the role of clincher for OU on Sunday. Ranked No. 47, Ghilea took a 7-5, 6-4, straight-sets win from Rinaldi at the No. 3 singles position to secure the 4-0 win for OU.

“We are definitely in a better place than we were two or three weeks ago,” Roddick said. “Three weeks ago we were worried about being .500 with our schedule as tough as it is and being banged up. Now we are going into conference with the goal of winning it, and we have a chance to do that because we are playing our best tennis.”

Heading into Big 12 play this weekend, the Sooners have won four matches in a row, with three of those coming against top-25 teams. OU is back in action on Friday, April 8 at 5:30 p.m. CT as they take on No. 2 TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.

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

RESULTS

DOUBLES

1. Alvarez/Harris def. ^#11Lock/Nunez - 6-2
2. Papa/Ghilea def. ^#59Dougaz/Rinaldi - 6-2
3. Biro/Mora def. Gracia/Whitehurst- 3-4 DNF

Order of finish: 1, 2

SINGLES

1. ^#32Axel Alvarez vs. ^#12Benjamin Lock - 7-6(7), 4-4 DNF
2. ^#91Spencer Papa def. ^#60Marco Nunez - 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

3. ^#47Alex Ghilea def. Michael Rinaldi - 7-5, 6-4

4. Florin Bragusi vs. Aziz Dougaz - 2-6, 6-4, 3-4 DNF

5. Max Mora def. Jose Gracia - 4-6, 6-4, 4-2 DNF

6. Andre Biro def. Terrance Whitehurst - 6-4, 6-3

Order of finish: 6, 2, 3