Sooners Prepare to Host SEC Tournament as No. 1 Seed

NORMAN – The No. 4 Oklahoma women's tennis team (23-4, 13-2 SEC) is set to host the SEC Women's Tennis Tournament this week at the Headington Family Tennis Center, marking the program's first time hosting an SEC postseason event since joining the conference.

After clinching a share of the SEC regular-season title, the Sooners earned the tournament's No. 1 seed and a double-bye into the quarterfinals. Oklahoma will open play Friday, April 17 at 3 p.m. CT against the winner of No. 8 Tennessee (13-8, 8-7 SEC) and No. 9 LSU (17-8, 8-7 SEC).

The Sooners enter the tournament riding a 13-match winning streak as they look to carry their momentum into postseason play.

MATCHDAY BASICS

Friday's match will feature a pre-match party in the parking lot of Headington Family Tennis Center beginning at 2:30 p.m., with free pizza and Monster Energy drinks available. Fans are encouraged to arrive early.

All SEC Tournament matches at the Headington Family Tennis Center are free and open to the public. The facility follows a clear bag policy. Fans can find complete tournament information, including schedules, draws and live links, by visiting Oklahoma's SEC Tournament Central page.

LAST TIME OUT

Oklahoma closed the regular season with a statement weekend at home, earning back-to-back top-10 victories over No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 6 Texas.

The Sooners opened with a 4-1 win over Texas A&M, highlighted by a strong doubles point and a match-clinching singles victory from Salakthip Ounmuang.

OU followed with a 4-2 win over Texas on Senior Day, securing a share of the SEC regular-season title. Oklahoma once again set the tone in doubles before key singles wins from Julia Garcia Ruiz, Gloriana Nahum and Edda Mamedova sealed the victory.

The pair of wins marked Oklahoma's fifth and sixth top-10 victories of the season.

SOONERS IN THE RANKINGS

Oklahoma jumped three spots to No. 4 in the latest ITA team rankings.

In singles, freshman Evialina Laskevich leads the Sooners at No. 7, followed by Mamedova at No. 40 and Garcia Ruiz at No. 59.

In doubles, Oklahoma continues to feature one of the nation's top lineups, with Roisin Gilheany and Nahum ranked No. 1 nationally. Laskevich and Mamedova check in at No. 17, while Garcia Ruiz and Oyinlomo Quadre are ranked No. 69.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Senior Julia Garcia Ruiz delivered another perfect weekend to help Oklahoma secure two top-10 wins and was named SEC Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.

The Morelia, Mexico native went 2-0 in singles, earning a 6-4, 6-2 win over Texas A&M's Lexington Reed before following with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over Texas' Christasha McNeil.

Garcia Ruiz was equally impressive in doubles, going 2-0 alongside Salakthip Ounmuang with wins over Texas A&M and Texas. The duo has now won 11 consecutive doubles matches, continuing to anchor Oklahoma's lineup during its 13-match winning streak.

For updates, follow @OU_Wtennis on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma Women's Tennis on Facebook.