Four Sooners to Play in NCAA Individual Championships

NORMAN – Four Sooners are headed to Orlando, Fla. to compete in the NCAA Individual Championships. Oscar Lacides and Luis Alvarez will compete in the singles draw with Orel Kimhi and Johan Rodriguez teaming up in doubles.

Each of the four student-athletes qualified through the ITA Central Regional Championship on the Sooners' home courts.

In the semifinals, Lacides faced Rodriguez and came out on top to advance to the championship match. On the other side of the draw, Alvarez topped Memphis' Moritz Kudernatsch, 6-3, 6-4, to meet Lacides in the championship round. The pair chose to forego the matchup and claim co-champion titles, as both finalists qualified for the NCAA Individual Championships.

In Rodriguez's first competition as a Sooner, he paired up with Kimhi and advanced through the doubles bracket to meet Arkansas' Jakub Vrba and Connor Smillie. The 6-3, 7-5 win over the Razorback duo marked each of the Sooners' first collegiate titles and first qualifying run for the NCAA tournament.

Lacides, a back-to-back NCAA qualifier, enters the singles draw again after competing in singles and doubles at last year's tournament. His freshman-year qualifications also came from the ITA Central Regional tournament. The France native has also claimed the ITF 25K Norman Open doubles title in back-to-back years.

Alvarez's appearance at the NCAA tournament will round out a successful fall campaign for the senior. Prior to his championship run at the ITA Central Regional tournament, the Mexico native claimed the ITF 25K Fayetteville singles title to start the fall season.

The tournament will take place at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. and a total of 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams have qualified for the competition. Brackets will be released on Saturday, November, 15, at 5 p.m. CT on the NCAA tournament page. Singles matches begin on Tuesday, November 18, with doubles starting on Wednesday, November 19. One round of play will take place each day of the tournament with the championship matches for both singles and doubles scheduled for Sunday, November 23.