Completed Event: Men's Tennis versus Arkansas Futures on September 15, 2025
Final
Men's Tennis
vs Arkansas Futures
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Saturday, January 25
Starkville, Miss.
10 A.M.
University of Oklahoma
vs
South Carolina
Photo by: Ty Russell
Men's Tennis in Starkville for ITA Kickoff
January 24, 2020 | Men's Tennis
22Oklahoma
15South Carolina
19Georgia
Mississippi State
Saturday, Jan. 25 - Sunday, Jan. 26 / Raleigh, N.C.
NORMAN – The No. 22 Oklahoma men's tennis team heads to Starkville, Miss., for ITA Kickoff Weekend in the Sooners' ninth consecutive appearance at the event.
OU will face No. 15 South Carolina at 10 a.m. CT in Saturday's first round while Mississippi State and No. 19 Georgia square off at 1 p.m. The winners of the two matches will play in the championship round Sunday at 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship to be held Feb. 14-15 in Madison, Wis. The losers of Saturday's matches will play a consolation contest Sunday at 10 a.m.
"We know we have a really tough regional down there in Starkville," said head coach Nick Crowell. "We are just really looking forward to the competition."
OU will face No. 15 South Carolina at 10 a.m. CT in Saturday's first round while Mississippi State and No. 19 Georgia square off at 1 p.m. The winners of the two matches will play in the championship round Sunday at 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship to be held Feb. 14-15 in Madison, Wis. The losers of Saturday's matches will play a consolation contest Sunday at 10 a.m.
"We know we have a really tough regional down there in Starkville," said head coach Nick Crowell. "We are just really looking forward to the competition."
The Sooners
OU heads to Starkville at 3-1 on the season. As a team, the Sooners held at No. 22 nationally in this week's ITA rankings.
Two Sooners are ranked in the ITA singles release in No. 50 Beiler, who is 2-0 at the No. 2 spot this season, and No. 116 Bertsch who has a 3-1 record between courts two, three and four.
The OU freshman duo of Mandlik and Schlageter lead OU in wins with unblemished, 3-0 marks.
OU is 15-5 all-time in the ITA Kickoff Weekend event, which began in 2009.
Two Sooners are ranked in the ITA singles release in No. 50 Beiler, who is 2-0 at the No. 2 spot this season, and No. 116 Bertsch who has a 3-1 record between courts two, three and four.
The OU freshman duo of Mandlik and Schlageter lead OU in wins with unblemished, 3-0 marks.
OU is 15-5 all-time in the ITA Kickoff Weekend event, which began in 2009.
Last Time Out
OU earned back-to-back shutouts Monday as the Sooners took down Bryant 7-0 and Oral Roberts 4-0 at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
Against Bryant, OU powered through doubles and gave up just one game across the three matches, then used singles wins from Justin Schlageter, Jochen Bertsch, Alex Martinez, Jake Van Emburgh, Max Stewart and Mark Mandlik to shut out the Bulldogs.
OU claimed the doubles point handily against Oral Roberts before Schlageter, Bertsch and Stewart tallied singles victories to end the match.
Against Bryant, OU powered through doubles and gave up just one game across the three matches, then used singles wins from Justin Schlageter, Jochen Bertsch, Alex Martinez, Jake Van Emburgh, Max Stewart and Mark Mandlik to shut out the Bulldogs.
OU claimed the doubles point handily against Oral Roberts before Schlageter, Bertsch and Stewart tallied singles victories to end the match.
The Tournament Field
OU is part of arguably the toughest regional of the event. The Starkville pod includes four teams that combined to win 73 matches last season with three of those ranked in the ITA top 25 to start the year.
No. 15 South Carolina
The No. 15 Gamecocks are 3-0 on the season and have dropped just one singles match in that stretch, topping the Citadel 7-0 in back-to-back matches and defeating Charlotte 6-1.
The South Carolina lineup features three players ranked in the ITA singles release and two doubles teams. No. 21 Daniel Rodrigues is 2-0 on the year on courts one and two. No. 39 Raphael Lambling is 2-1 and No. 106 Connor Thomson is 3-0.
The Gamecocks' Paul Jubb was the 2019 NCAA singles national champion, amassing a 38-4 record en route to the title.
In doubles, Lambling and Rodrigues check in at No. 39 nationally and are 2-0 on the year. Beau Pelleier and Thomas Brown are ranked No. 56 and own a 1-0 mark.
OU has met South Carolina just once in program history in the 2005 NCAA first round. South Carolina prevailed in that meeting 4-3.
The South Carolina lineup features three players ranked in the ITA singles release and two doubles teams. No. 21 Daniel Rodrigues is 2-0 on the year on courts one and two. No. 39 Raphael Lambling is 2-1 and No. 106 Connor Thomson is 3-0.
The Gamecocks' Paul Jubb was the 2019 NCAA singles national champion, amassing a 38-4 record en route to the title.
In doubles, Lambling and Rodrigues check in at No. 39 nationally and are 2-0 on the year. Beau Pelleier and Thomas Brown are ranked No. 56 and own a 1-0 mark.
OU has met South Carolina just once in program history in the 2005 NCAA first round. South Carolina prevailed in that meeting 4-3.
No. 19 Georgia
Georgia is 1-0 on the season after an 8-1 win over Kennesaw State Monday to open the year. The Bulldogs are coming off a 14-11 campaign in 2019.
No. 12 Philip Henning leads the squad with a 13-5 record dating back to the fall. No. 57 Trent Bryde is 6-4 and captured a win at the No. 1 line against Kennesaw State. No. 88 Blake Croyder is 9-7 overall and 1-0 in dual match play.
In doubles, Croyder and Henning are No. 17 nationally and own a 10-6 mark going back to fall tournaments.
The Sooners and Bulldogs have met six times in program history with Georgia owning the all-time record 4-2. Four of those six meetings have been in the postseason, most recently in 2016 when OU won a 4-3 thriller to advance to the NCAA Final.
No. 12 Philip Henning leads the squad with a 13-5 record dating back to the fall. No. 57 Trent Bryde is 6-4 and captured a win at the No. 1 line against Kennesaw State. No. 88 Blake Croyder is 9-7 overall and 1-0 in dual match play.
In doubles, Croyder and Henning are No. 17 nationally and own a 10-6 mark going back to fall tournaments.
The Sooners and Bulldogs have met six times in program history with Georgia owning the all-time record 4-2. Four of those six meetings have been in the postseason, most recently in 2016 when OU won a 4-3 thriller to advance to the NCAA Final.
Mississippi State
Host Mississippi State enters the weekend at 4-1. In their last competition, the Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season in a 5-2 decision at Florida State.
Two Mississippi State players are ranked in the latest ITA release. No. 15 Giovanni Oradini leads the squad at 3-1 at the top spot. No. 101 Davide Tortora is 2-2 on the season with wins on courts two and four.
OU last met Mississippi State last season at the USTA National Campus, where the Bulldogs prevailed 4-2.
Two Mississippi State players are ranked in the latest ITA release. No. 15 Giovanni Oradini leads the squad at 3-1 at the top spot. No. 101 Davide Tortora is 2-2 on the season with wins on courts two and four.
OU last met Mississippi State last season at the USTA National Campus, where the Bulldogs prevailed 4-2.
Match Info
First serve against No. 15 South Carolina is set for 10 a.m. CT on Saturday. The Sooners will play at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Sunday depending on Saturday's result.
Live stats and video will be available for the tournament.
For updates, follow @OU_MTennis on Twitter or like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook.
Live stats and video will be available for the tournament.
For updates, follow @OU_MTennis on Twitter or like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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