Women's Tennis Set for 2017 Opener

Oklahoma vs. UTEP

Jan. 28 || 5 p.m. CT || norman, okla.

NORMAN, Okla. – The Oklahoma women's tennis team opens the 2017 spring season on Saturday against UTEP at 5 p.m. CT at the Headington Tennis Center.

Saturday's matchup marks the beginning of a new era for the Sooners under head coach Audra Cohen, who joined the program in June. Cohen spent the previous five seasons as head coach at North Florida, where she led the Ospreys to four NCAA Tournament appearances while winning four Atlantic Sun tournament titles.

“I'm looking forward to our UTEP match and opening the season with a lot of energy and positivity," Cohen said. "We have to believe in the hard work we have put in both on and off the court and enjoy our first opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd.”

Oklahoma returns seven players from last year's squad, including junior Lily Miyazaki, who enters the spring season ranked No. 10 by the ITA in singles. Miyazaki, the first OU player to win the singles title at the ITA Central Regional Championship since 2009, also qualified for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in the fall and advanced to the second round.

The Sooners have added three freshmen in Julie Byrne, Serena Nash and Ann Selim to their roster this season. Byrne, along with Miyazaki, compiled a 7-3 doubles record during the fall season, which included a 4-1 finish at the 2016 ITA Central Regional Championship. Nash led OU's freshman with eight singles victories during the fall.

OU also returns redshirt senior Mimi Fotopoulos along with the junior trio of Christiana Brigante, Simran Sethi and Malene Stripp.

UTEP (0-2) comes into Saturday's match after back-to-back losses to TCU and Abilene Christian on Jan. 21. Saturday marks the first ever meeting between the the Sooners and UTEP.

The Miners are led by junior Vivienne Kulicke, who boasts an 11-4 record dating back to the fall season, and comes into Saturday's match on a five-match winning streak. Kulicke also owns a 12-4 record in doubles play with partner Milou Pieters, winning seven of their last 10 as a pair.

Live stats for Saturday's match are available here.

Saturday's home opener marks the first of 10 matches for the Sooners at the Headington Family Tennis Center through March 10.

Admission is free to all home matches at the Headington Family Tennis Center. For updates, follow @OU_WTennis on social media.

Players Mentioned

Christiana Brigante

Julie Byrne

Mimi Fotopoulos

Mimi Fotopoulos

Lily Miyazaki

Serena Nash

Serena Nash

Ann Selim

Ann Selim

Malene Stripp

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics