The Florida Four

Before their arrival at OU, it was just a matter of miles that stood between OU's American tennis players. All four hail from Florida: Mason Beiler is from New Port Richey; Matt Rodriguez joined the Sooners from Boca Raton; Mark Mandlik grew up in Delray Beach; and Jake Van Emburgh came to OU from Belleair Beach.

Van Emburgh and Beiler's homes in the Sunshine State are just 30 miles from each other in the Tampa Bay area, while Rodriguez and Mandlik grew up less than 10 minutes from each other near Miami. A four hour drive was all that separated Van Emburgh and Beiler on the gulf coast from Rodriguez and Mandlik on the Atlantic side of the peninsula.

But this group was closer in more than just proximity prior to coming to Norman.

**Jake Van Emburgh and Mark Mandlik have teamed up at No. 1 doubles in each of OU's last three matches.**

Beiler and Rodriguez played junior tennis together from the time they were 12 years old and squared off often in their age group.

Practically neighbors off the court, Rodriguez and Mandlik also trained in the same academy. "We played at the same place. I used to see him like every day," said Rodriguez of Mandlik.

**Rodriguez (center) hypes up the Sooners before a match.**

Mandlik and Beiler played each once when they were much younger, a match Beiler doesn't recall much of (other than that he won).

"I think you won 6-1, 6-4," Mandlik told Beiler. "You still had a two-handed backhand back then."

And although he was a little bit older, Van Emburgh knew of his three now-teammates back home. "The tennis world is small – you're going to know the name at least," Van Emburgh said of the Florida tennis community.

"You'd be surprised how small the [tennis] world is … but for us to leave Florida and go somewhere else and have four players [from Florida] is really unique."

"I felt at home ... Having a brotherhood here helped."
-- Matt Rodriguez

So how did four guys who grew up playing under palm trees come to the plains? Their recruiting processes were different, but all four loved the same thing about Oklahoma.

"The people," Van Emburgh said without hesitation.

"I felt at home," remarked Rodriguez, who arrived in 2018 with Beiler. "Having a brotherhood here helped, too."

Oklahoma v Abilene ChristianJanuary 11, 2020 — **L-R: Beiler, Mandlik and Van Emburgh on the sidelines during OU's season-opening win over Abilene Christian.**

And that peninsula-to-prairie brotherhood in turn landed Mandlik.

"When I came on a visit here, I felt like I was at home," Mandlik said. "I felt comfortable here and I liked the team a lot. I could see those three other Florida guys with me and I really liked it."

On Friday, OU's Florida four will have a homecoming as the Sooners head to Orlando to face Florida State. All of their families and several friends will be in attendance at the match, which will be played, fittingly, at the USTA National Campus, known as "the home of American tennis."

"Everybody's coming up so we'll have a good crowd," said Van Emburgh. "It's really the only chance for some of our families to see us play during the year so they take advantage of it."

From the peninsula to the prairie, Mason Beiler, Mark Mandlik, Matt Rodriguez and Jake Van Emburgh have continued a bond that transcends tennis.

The Florida four and the Sooners take on the Seminoles at 5 p.m. CT on Friday. Live stats and video will be available for the contest.