Two Sooners Into Quarterfinals in Athens

ATHENS, Ga. - The Oklahoma men's tennis team had another solid day on the courts Saturday at the Southern Intercollegiate Championship in Athens, Ga. OU garnered three wins on the day and has a pair of Sooners advancing to the quarterfinals round in singles play.

It was a busy day for the Sooners at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. In singles, senior Alex Ghilea defeated No. 60 Cameron Klinger of Vanderbilt in three sets. The 7^th-seeded Ghilea fell 6-7 in set one but bounced back and won the final two sets, 6-2, 6-2 to garner a spot in the quarterfinals.

"The fact that we are so well prepared physically right now helped me get through the day because it was so hot and humid."
— Senior Alex Ghilea

“I lost a tough first set where I had two set points," Ghilea said. "It was really hot out so I knew I had to relax and conserve my energy. The fact that we are so well prepared physically right now helped me get through the day because it was so hot and humid. I'm just happy to be playing another match tomorrow.”

Ghilea has a showdown with the tournament's No. 1 seed, Michael Redlicki of Arkansas, coming Sunday at 10:30 a.m. CT for a spot in the semifinals. Redlicki earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team last year and garnered All-ACC honors at Duke as a sophomore. The senior is the 11^th-ranked singles player in the nation.

Junior Spencer Papa also earned himself a trip to the quarterfinals. It wasn't easy, but Papa defeated 3^rd-seeded Daniel Valent of Vanderbilt, 7-6, 7-6. Valent, ranked No. 21 in the nation, had a 57-17 career record heading into the year and is coming off a 26-11 year in singles play where he earned First Team All-SEC honors.

“I'm feeling good right now,” Papa said. “I'm progressing well and finding my feet again. The last few weeks we have really been getting after it and that is helping me on the court right now.”

Papa's next opponent is 7^th-seeded Jose Salazar of Arkansas at 10:30 a.m. CT. Salazar is a familiar name for the Sooners, as the Tenerife, Spain, native transferred to Arkansas from Oklahoma in the fall of 2015. Salazar, along with former Sooner Axel Alvarez, went 4-1 in doubles play at the 2015 NCAA Championships and clinched the doubles point in both of Oklahoma's quarterfinals and semifinals match at the NCAA Championships in 2015.

In his first year in Fayetteville, Salazar went 15-7 in singles dual play and completed the year No. 72 in the Oracle/ITA Rankings.

Elsewhere on the bracket, senior Florin Bragusi fell to 5^th-seeded Piotr Lomacki of Miami 6-1, 3-6, 3-6 in the round of 16. Lomacki competed in the NCAA Singles Championships last year and was a member of the All-ACC Second Team as well, going 14-9 in singles dual play.

Ghilea and Papa also advanced to the round of 16 in doubles play, defeating Texas Tech's Johan Cailleau and Ronit Bisht 6-4 in the round of 32. It's a strong start to the season for the two, who went 9-5 as a doubles pair last year. The duo will square off against David Biosca/Miguel Este of East Tennessee State Sunday at 8 a.m. CT.

“We had a slow start, but we got it together and were able to beat those two guys who are really good,” Ghilea said. “Texas Tech is a team we have struggled with in the past so I was really happy to get a win over them.”

It was a strong day on the courts for the Sooners, who also had to battle with the heat – the temperature hit 93 degrees in Athens on Saturday. Head coach Nick Crowell and his staff had the Sooners well prepared for the weather.

“We have been putting a major emphasis on condition this fall,” Crowell said. “Brett Frantz, our strength coach, has done a great job putting together a program with a lot of structure for these guys and they have really bought in. It was really hot here and today we were the better-conditioned team.”