The OU men’s tennis team will travel to Waco, Texas, to battle in the Big 12 tournament Saturday, April 25, and Sunday, April 26.
The Sooners shared the regular season title with Baylor despite defeating them three times, once already in Waco, but they long to prove that they are the best team in the conference.
“We were not thrilled with sharing (the Big 12 regular season championship),” said John Roddick, head coach. “Maybe since we beat (Baylor) they were happy that they got to share it, but no one at the beginning of the year wants to share a title. So there is something on the line, but we are focused on the bigger goals after.”
Junior Axel Alvarez is ready to get some revenge on the team that beat them in the Big 12 Championship last season.
“We beat them my freshman year here in the Big 12 tournament, but yeah, we can’t wait to play them again,” he said.
Some of the bigger news is the change in doubles play. The Sooners have struggled mightily in the doubles points, losing 12 of the 24 doubles points.
“We moved our two team to one, and we have new teams at two and three,” Roddick said.
In other words, the No. 2 doubles team of Andrew Harris and Alex Ghilea will play in the No. 1 spot, while the No. 1 team of Axel Alvarez and Dane Webb are splitting up and joining the split team of Spencer Papa and Florin Bragusi. Coach Roddick has not decided the teams yet or who will play at No. 2 and No. 3 singles.
“The guys are really ready to play,” Roddick said. “Our regular season has been long, and it has been a tough schedule, so we have been trying to keep everything lighter and keep them loose.”
Alvarez believes beating Baylor for a fourth time overall and a second time in Waco will get them prepared for the national championships, which are also in Waco.
“It’s really good for us to get that experience of playing there before the NCAA championships,” he said. “It’s going to be tough, but we want that experience.”
When asked if his team relishes being No. 1 in the country or if they run from it, Roddick said the team embraces it.
“Being No. 1 is great for the team, and we haven’t lost any matches because we were No. 1,” he said. “It’s all about our preparation.”
“I love it,” Alvarez said. “We will have to know how to handle that pressure, and that could help us win the national championship.”
Although his team has proven how good they are the whole season, Roddick believes the postseason is another test for this team to be wary of.
“We won (the ITA Indoor National Championship), so the team has proven themselves a lot but the team that wins early is not always the one that wins late,” he said.
Alvarez believes it means a lot to this team to win both the regular season and tournament championships.
“It would be a perfect season if we won both,” he said. “Anything can happen, but we have achieved some of our goals, and we still have more; this is one of them. If we play with intensity and work hard, we can do it.”
The Sooners will look to win the Big 12 Championship after losing in the finals last year.
Oklahoma has a first round bye, so they will not compete until Saturday, April 25, against the winner of Texas Tech, one of their two losses this season, and Texas.
