Men's Tennis Opens Spring With Trio of Matches

24 Oklahoma

Incarnate Word

Bryant

Purdue

Jan. 15, 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. / Jan. 17, 12 p.m. / Norman

Live Stats / W atch / Clear Bag Policy

NORMAN – The No. 24 Oklahoma men's tennis team is set to open the 2022 tennis season with a double-header against Incarnate Word and Bryant on Saturday at the Headington Family Tennis Center. The match vs. UIW starts at 1 p.m. and the Sooners retake the court at 5 p.m. vs. Bryant. The squad will then face Purdue on Monday at the Headington Family Tennis Center in a match slated for noon CT.

MATCHDAY BASICS

The Sooners' 2022 matches at the Headington Family Tennis Center will be open to the public and free of charge. Due to the elimination of concessions at the Headington Family Tennis Center, fans are encouraged to bring in their own food and drinks. Free pizza will be provided to the first 50 fans at all three of OU's home matches this weekend. OU follows a clear bag policy.

Fans can keep up with the live stats for the matches or watch on Playsight.

THE 2022 SOONERS

Oklahoma returns seniors Mason Beiler and Matt Rodriguez; juniors Mark Mandlik, Alex Martinez and Justin Schlageter; and sophomores Nathan Han and Welsh Hotard.

The team adds newcomer Baptiste Anselmo, a junior transfer from Georgia, and freshman Jordan Hasson who arrives in Norman from Haifa, Israel. The pair made their OU debuts during Oklahoma's fall slate. Hasson became OU's first ITA Central Region champion since Alex Ghilea in 2015.

Head coach Nick Crowell enters his sixth season at the helm of the program, holding a 76-46 record. During the preseason, Crowell added associate head coach Luke Shields and volunteer assistant Max Koller to his staff. Shields joins the Sooners after a six-year head coaching job at Fresno State.

2021 IN REVIEW

The Sooners made their 11^th consecutive NCAA appearance after facing one of the nation's toughest schedules. OU met ranked opponents in 15 matches during the regular season — more than half of the 2021 slate. The Sooners faced 13 opponents inside the ITA top 25.

OU kicked off the season with a 4-0 upset of then-No. 12 Wake Forest, marking the first time any team had swept the Demon Deacons since 2016 when the Sooners did so in the NCAA tournament. The team's signature win came as a 4-1 rout of No. 15 Arizona, who would go on to finish third in a strong Pac-12 conference.

Then-junior Mason Beiler and then-sophomore Alex Martinez capped the year with All-Big 12 singles second-team honors. Martinez also garnered doubles second-team honors alongside then-freshman Nathan Han, in addition to claiming the No. 3 position title by virtue of completing the rigorous Big 12 slate 5-0.

A program record-tying six Sooners earned Academic All-Big 12 honors, with Mason Beiler, Mark Mandlik, Matt Rodriguez, Justin Schlageter, Max Stewart and Jake Van Emburgh all securing first-team accolades. Additionally, Han was named the ITA Central Region Rookie of the Year.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will continue their five-match homestand to open the spring, hosting Abilene Christian Saturday, Jan. 22 at noon CT.