No. 9 Sooners Take On No. 8 Arizona in NCAA Sweet Sixteen Matchup

NORMAN -- The No. 9 Oklahoma men's tennis team (20-6, 10-4) is set to take on No. 8 Arizona (23-4, 8-0) in the NCAA Tucson Super Regional for a chance to advance to the final site of the NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga. OU's match against the Wildcats is slated for 3 p.m. CT Saturday at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center in Tucson, Ariz.

The Sooners paved their way to the Sweet Sixteen matchup against Arizona with sweeps over Utah State and No. 21 USC in the Norman Regional last weekend. The Wildcats swept Northern Arizona and defeated Clemson 4-2 last weekend in the Tucson Regional.

Oklahoma is one of six schools nationally to have both men's and women's programs competing in the Super Regional round. OU is also one of six schools with both men's and women's teams ranked inside the top-10.

The winner of Saturday's match between the Sooners and Wildcats will advance to the national quarterfinals. The final three rounds of the men's NCAA tournament will be held May 14-17 in Athens, Ga.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

Fans will be able to follow the match through a live stream and live stats. Further information about following the match will be shared soon. Those interested in attending the match in person can find ticket information here.

NCAA HISTORY

Oklahoma is making its 16th straight NCAA tournament appearance this season, and hosted a regional for the second time in the last three seasons. OU's appearance in the Super Regional round of the NCAA DI Men's Tennis Championships marks its third in the round of 16 under head coach Nick Crowell.

The Sooners finished as national runners-up in three straight seasons (2014, '15 and '16), and since then have advanced to at least the second round the NCAA Tournament in each season. Until this season, OU last reached the round of 16 in 2019.

IN THE RANKINGS

OU remains in the top-10 for the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Tournament, sitting at the No. 9 spot.

Four Sooners are currently ranked in singles with senior Luis Alvarez leading the pack at a career-high No. 25. Orel Kimhi follows at No. 68, Oscar Lacides is No. 76 and Johan Rodriguez is No. 100.

On the doubles side, Alvarez and teammate Bruno Nhavene are No. 5 while Alejandro Melero and Hank Trondson are No. 70.

Arizona is currently the No. 8 team in the country and has four student-athletes ranked in singles. Jay Friend remains a top competitor at the No. 4 spot while Filip Gustafsson is No. 74, Sasha Rozin is No. 98 and Zoran Ludoski is No. 105.

In doubles, Gustafsson and Glib Sekachov are No. 20, Friend and Rozin are No. 43 and Cole Stelse and Alejandro Arcila are No. 57.

REMATCH WITH THE WILDCATS

The Sooners kicked off the 2026 spring season with a 4-2 upset victory over the then-No. 11 Wildcats at the Headington Family Tennis Center. OU was ranked No. 21 at the time and the win sparked an impressive record of 13 victories over ranked programs throughout the season.

Oklahoma began the early match in a deficit after dropping the doubles portion of the match. The squad bounced back in singles where freshman Johan Rodriguez picked up the first ranked win of his career to tie the match at 1-all. Arizona jumped back ahead with a singles win on court six but the Sooners won on court two, three and five in straight sets to close out the upset victory.

Since the Sooners and Wildcats last faced off, OU went 20-6 overall and claimed 10 conference victories, including an eight-match win streak to cap the regular season. OU has tallied seven wins over top-15 teams, three of which were ranked in the top 10. Arizona went undefeated in conference play and has eight wins over nationally ranked teams this season.

FOLLOW THE SOONERS

For updates, follow @OU_MTennis on Instagram and X or like Oklahoma Men's Tennis on Facebook.