Papa Advances to Championship Match

ATHENS, Ga. -- The Oklahoma men's tennis team is still going strong after day three at the Southern Intercollegiate Championship in Athens, Georgia. Junior Spencer Papa won back-to-back singles matches Sunday to advance to Monday's championship match.

Papa, an Edmond, Okla., native, defeated Oklahoma transfer Jose Salazar of Arkansas Sunday morning 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the semifinals round. Salazar had dropped just five games in his previous four sets at the tournament.

Papa's semifinal match against Georgia's Wayne Montgomery was a back-and-forth affair. Papa took the opening set 6-2, but fell to Montgomery – the tournament's No. 2 seed – 4-6 in set two. Papa recovered with a strong third set against the nation's No. 16 player, winning 7-5 to earn himself a position in the championship match Monday morning.

“It was probably one of the better matches I have played in my college career,” Papa said. “I played doubles and singles before my match with Wayne (Montgomery) and it really tested my mental and physical strength. I'm going into tomorrow with a lot of confidence and I'm just really happy.”

Oklahoma head coach Nick Crowell knows this tournament's field is a talented one. The Southern Intercollegiate Championships featured 11 singles players in the Oracle/ITA preseason top 50 rankings, including Papa.

“The Southern Intercollegiate Championship is a premier collegiate event for the fall. It is probably the second or third strongest tournament during our fall season. For Spencer to be in the finals is a testament to the hard work he has put in this fall and the work ethic he has shown coming into this tournament.”

Papa took down the tournament's No. 2 seed (Montgomery), No. 3 seed (Daniel Valent of Vanderbilt) and No. 9 seed (Salazar) on the way to his way to the championship match.

“Spencer showed a lot poise today out on the court,” Crowell added. “His physicality really showed through in both matches and he really dominated play with his serve and with his forehand. He also did well in controlling his emotions and playing clutch in the big moments.”

The championship match will come Monday at 9 a.m. CT. against the No. 1 seed Michael Redlicki of Arkansas. Redlicki is ranked as the No. 11 singles player in the nation in the Oracle/ITA preseason rankings after a redshirt junior season where he posted a 15-6 singles record in dual play, landing himself a spot on the All-SEC First Team.

Redlicki has yet to lose a set through his five-match trek to the finals. Oklahoma senior Alex Ghilea fell to Redlicki in the quarterfinals Sunday morning 7-5, 6-2.

Ghilea finished his opening tournament of the year 3-1 in singles play, which included a 6-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over 14^th-seeded Cameron Klinger of Vanderbilt on Saturday in the round of 16. On Friday, he beat Alex Dominguez of Kentucky 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in the opening round followed by a win over Georgia State's Zach Kennedy 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 32.

Ghilea and Papa also paired up in doubles play on Sunday. They began the day with a 6-3 win over David Biosca/Miguel Este of East Tennessee State in the round of 16 before falling in the quarterfinals to Georgia's duo of Jan Zielinski/Walker Duncan, 6-4.

Players Mentioned

Alex Ghilea

Spencer Papa

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics