Sooners Back In Action For Saturday Doubleheader

#18 Oklahoma, Arizona (10 a.m.) | Abilene Christian (6 p.m.)

Jan. 20 | Headington Family Tennis Center

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NORMAN – The No. 18 Oklahoma men's tennis team returns to the courts Saturday at the Headington Family Tennis Center for two matches against Arizona and Abilene Christian. The Sooners will face Arizona in the first match of the day at 10 a.m. CT before returning to action in the evening with a match versus Abilene Christian set for 6 p.m. CT.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA

The No. 18 Sooners started the 2018 season strong with wins against Bryant, Creighton, and Arkansas during their opening weekend. OU defeated Bryant in its first match of the season, 5-0, before sweeping Creighton, 4-0, in its second match of the day last Saturday. Oklahoma improved to 3-0 on the year with a 5-2 victory over Arkansas in its dual match last Sunday.

In doubles play, the Sooners have yet to give up a set, besting their opponents by a combined record of 6-0 with the other three matches going unfinished. The sophomore duo of Jochen Bertsch and Adrian Oetzbach, ranked No. 43 nationally by Oracle/ITA, played two matches during the opening weekend, winning one and were locked in a tight battle in the second before play was suspended.

Oetzbach had an exceptional start to his sophomore campaign, clinching all three of the Sooners' matches on opening weekend in singles. He bested his opponents in straight sets in two of his three matches from the No. 2 and 3 lines.

Fellow sophomore Jochen Bertsch also began his second season with the Sooners in dominant fashion, winning all three singles matches last weekend in straight sets.

Six newcomers made their first spring appearances for the Sooners on opening weekend, posting a combined record of 5-2 in singles play.

SCOUTING ABILENE CHRISTIAN

Abilene Christian is guided by head coach Hutton Jones, in his 21st season at the helm of the men's and women's tennis teams. The Wildcats are coming off a 13-12 season and have played four matches already this spring, picking up their first win over Dallas Baptist on Wednesday. ACU took the doubles point against Big 12 foe Texas Tech in their second match of the season and will look to compete for the Southland Conference Championship again in 2018 after winning a share of the title in 2017.

The Wildcats graduated eight seniors from their 2017 roster but return five starters from a season ago. Brothers Joshua and Jonathan Sheehy have played at No. 1 and 2 in singles competition in each match to begin the season.

SCOUTING ARIZONA

Arizona is lead by head coach Clancy Shields in his second season in Tuscon. Shields and the Wildcats have started the 2018 spring season strong with victories over Arizona Christian (7-0) and Ottawa University (7-0).

Arizona has one ranked singles player in Alejandro Reguant, who is No. 103 nationally in the latest Oracle/ITA rankings. The Wildcats look to lean on numerous underclassmen as they have started the year with freshmen Igor Karpovets at the No. 1 singles position and Aaro Pollanen at the No. 2 spot.

PROMOTIONS

Free pizza will be available to fans in attendance at Oklahoma's matches this weekend. All matches throughout the weekend will be played indoors with free admission.

For more information on OU men's tennis, follow the team on Twitter @OU_MTennis.