Sooners Set For Busy Week Ahead

TULSA, Okla. – The Oklahoma men's tennis team is preparing for a long stretch of tennis, as the Sooners begin play at the 2016 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships on Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

Redshirt sophomore John Milstead will be the first to hit the court for the Sooners. He will begin play Saturday at 8 a.m. CT in a pre-qualifying match against Carsten Fisher of Dayton.

Three other Oklahoma tennis players will be in action in the coming ten days at the University of Tulsa as senior Alex Ghilea, senior Florin Bragusi and junior Spencer Papa prepare to compete at the prestigious fall tournament.

Bragusi and Papa will begin singles play on Monday in qualifying action.

Ghilea will begin his tournament on Thursday in the main draw of singles. Ghilea reached the round of 32 in singles at the All-American Championships last year. Papa is also an alternate for the main draw of singles.

Additionally, the Sooners will feature two doubles pairs at the All-American Championships. Ghilea and Papa are one of 23 main draw doubles tandems and are slated to begin on Thursday.

The duo reached the quarterfinal round of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships last week in Athens, Ga., in Oklahoma's first fall tournament. Together, Ghilea and Papa posted a 9-5 mark in doubles play last year.

Bragusi and Milstead are placed in the qualifying doubles draw, scheduled to start on Thursday. The duo went 1-1 in doubles play at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships to kick off their fall season.

Eight of the nation's top 10-ranked singles players, based on the Oracle/ITA preseason rankings, are in this year's field. Singles players who reach the quarterfinal round, doubles finalists and consolation champions will receive an automatic bid to the 2016 USTA/ITA National Collegiate Indoor Championships, held from Nov. 3-6, in Flushing Meadows, New York.

The 10-day tournament can be followed on the ITA Men's All-American event page. Fans can watch up to four courts of action at a time by visiting www.flotennis.com.