Women's Tennis to Host Two Weekend Matches

NORMAN - The No. 20 Oklahoma women's tennis team is slated to host two conference matches at the Headington Family Tennis Center this weekend, beginning with Cincinnati on Friday before returning to host West Virginia on Sunday.

MATCHDAY BASICS

First serve against the Bearcats is set for 2 p.m. CT on Friday. Fans can keep up with the action through live stats here. Free beverages courtesy of HTeaO will be provided to fans entering the Headington Family Tennis Center until supplies last.

Sunday's match against the Mountaineers is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. The contest can be followed through live stats here . Free pizza will be provided to fans entering the Headington Family Tennis Center until supplies last.

Live video will only be provided if weather permits either match to be moved to the indoor courts at the Headington Family Tennis Center. A stream can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT

The No. 15 Oklahoma women's tennis team fell to No. 6 Texas, 4-3, on Sunday, March 3 at the Texas Tennis Center in their Big 12 opener.

The Sooners earned their doubles point over the Longhorns. OU's No. 52 doubles pairing of Julia Garcia Ruiz and Zdena Safarova got the match started, defeating Malaika Rapolu amd Tanya Sasnouskaya 6-2. To secure the opening point for the Sooners, Dana Guzman and Roisin Gilheany battled past UT's No. 11 Sabina Zeynalova and Taisiya Pachkaleva 6-2 at the top court.

When play was halted, OU's Chloe Noel and Ava Catanzarite held a 5-4 lead over Charlotte Chavatipon and Vivian Ovrootsky on court No. 3.

The conference rivals went back-and-forth, trading singles victories until the final court. No. 36 Rapolu was first to finish and defeated OU's No. 98 Catanzarite on court three, 6-2, 6-2. No. 93 Garcia Ruiz met No. 33 Sasnouskaya on the second court and secured her third-straight ranked win, claiming a 6-1, 6-3 victory. Court five was next to wrap up, with Gilheany falling 2-6, 3-6 to Pachkaleva.

Earning her first ranked singles win of the season on court six, Emma Staker knocked off No. 103 Ovrootsky 6-4, 6-3 to give the Sooners a 3-2 advantage. UT quickly responded on court four, as No. 125 Chavatipon topped Chloe Noel 6-1, 4-6, 6-1.

In a final singles matchup on the top court to determine a winner, the Longhorns pulled away in a hard fought battle to open conference play. No. 22 Zeynalova delivered a 7-5, 6-1 win over OU's No. 38 Guzman to claim the match for the home team.

IN THE RANKINGS

The Sooners (5-4) currently have four players in the ITA singles rankings. Leading the pack is No. 33 Julia Garcia Ruiz, followed by No. 42 Dana Guzman, No. 43 Florencia Urrutia and No. 72 Alina Shcherbinina.

In doubles, OU is represented by No. 3 Guzman and Shcherbinina, followed by No. 22 Guzman and Roisin Gilheany, and rounded out by No. 63 Garcia Ruiz and Zdena Safarova.

UP NEXT

The Sooners will hit the road again for a pair of conference clashes, beginning with a rematch against UCF on Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m. CT, followed by a matchup with Houston on Sunday, March 17 at 1 p.m. CT.