Sooners Kick Off Conference Play With Two Road Matches

NORMAN - The Oklahoma men's tennis team is set to kick off Big 12 conference play this week with two away matches. The team will head to Lubbock, Texas to face Texas Tech on Thursday, March 21 at 5 p.m. before making their way to Provo, Utah for a competition against BYU on Saturday, March 23 at 12 p.m. CT.

MATCHDAY BASICS

Matches for the 2024 men's tennis season are free of charge and open to the public. Due to the elimination of concessions, fans are encouraged to bring their own food and drinks. Free pizza and schedule posters will be provided along with a racquet giveaway for fans in attendance. The clear bag policy will be in place.

Fans can follow Thursday's match through livestream or live stats and Sunday's match can be live streamed or tracked through live stats.

LAST TIME OUT

The Sooners earned two wins last week to extend their win streak to five matches and improve their record to 12-2 on the season.

In a strong start to the week, the Sooners swept the Drake Bulldogs on Tuesday evening at the Headington Family Tennis Center. Fifth-year seniors Alex Martinez and Baptiste Anselmo picked up their first ranked win as a team against Drake's then-No. 61 duo of Oliver Johansson and Matija Matic, only dropping one game in the set. The freshman pair of Hank Trondson and Asahi Harazaki sealed the doubles point with a 6-1 win at the three position. Then-No. 54 Alex Martinez was first off the court in singles, picking up a straight-set win to extend the lead for the Sooners. Harazaki and freshman Kholo Montsi were soon to follow, also taking straight-set wins on their courts.

The Sooners improved their record on the road after topping Middle Tennessee State 4-1 on Friday evening in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Oklahoma won the doubles point with wins at the one line three positions yet again. Back-to-back wins from fifth-year senior Justin Schlageter and junior Jordan Hasson put the Sooners in position to win the match. Martinez clinched the match for the Sooners after earning his fourth consecutive ranked upset against then-No. 29 Leo Raquin.

SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS

Texas Tech fell outside the top-75 team rankings this week after being the No. 75 team last week. Olle Wallin is currently ranked No. 56 in the ITA singles rankings and teammate pair Sebastian Abboud and Piotr Pawlak are the No. 41 ranked doubles team. The Red Raiders are 8-8 on the season.

TRACKING THE COUGARS

BYU is not currently present in the ITA rankings. The team has an 11-3 record on the season.

UP NEXT

The Sooners return home for a ranked matchup against No. 2 TCU at the Headington Family Tennis Center on Thursday, March 28 at 6 p.m.