NORMAN – The No. 9 Oklahoma women’s tennis team continues SEC play this week with a pair of road matches, traveling to face No. 49 Mississippi State on Thursday, March 19 in Starkville, Miss., before taking on No. 39 Alabama on Saturday, March 21 in Tuscaloosa.
MATCHDAY BASICS
Thursday’s match will be played at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre at 3 p.m., while Saturday’s contest will take place at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium at 1 p.m. CT.
Mississippi State enters the week with a 13-5 overall record and a 2-5 mark in SEC play, while Alabama sits at 11-4 overall and 3-4 in conference action.
LAST TIME OUT
The Sooners are coming off a dominant 2-0 weekend at home, earning 4-0 sweeps over No. 41 Ole Miss and No. 7 LSU at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
Oklahoma opened the weekend by shutting out the Rebels, securing the doubles point before cruising through singles play. Senior Julia Garcia Ruiz clinched the match at the No. 3 position with a 6-4, 6-1 victory, as the Sooners controlled momentum throughout to record their ninth sweep of the season.
OU followed with one of its most impressive performances of the year, blanking No. 7 LSU, 4-0, for its third top-10 victory of the season. The Sooners once again set the tone in doubles before Chloé Noël, Evialina Laskevich and Gloriana Nahum each recorded straight-set victories to secure the win.
The pair of victories pushed Oklahoma to 5-2 in SEC play and extended the team’s five game win-streak heading into another road weekend.
SOONERS IN THE RANKINGS
Oklahoma moved up to No. 9 in this week’s ITA team rankings.
In singles, senior Julia Garcia Ruiz leads the Sooners at No. 40, followed by freshman Evialina Laskevich at No. 41 and freshman Edda Mamedova at No. 72.
In doubles, Oklahoma continues to boast one of the nation’s top lineups. The duo of Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum holds the No. 1 ranking nationally, while Laskevich and Mamedova come in at No. 30. The pair of Garcia Ruiz and Oyinlomo Quadre is ranked No. 51.
PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior Julia Garcia Ruiz, a native of Morelia, Mexico, played a key role in Oklahoma’s pair of 4-0 sweeps over Ole Miss and No. 7 LSU.
Competing at the No. 3 singles position, Garcia Ruiz clinched the match against Ole Miss with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Brooklyn Olson. The senior is nearing a major milestone, currently sitting at 87 career singles wins and 90 doubles victories.
Garcia Ruiz also excelled in doubles play, going 2-0 alongside partner Salakthip Ounmuang with wins of 6-0 over Ole Miss and 6-2 against LSU. The duo improved to a team-best 12-2 record this spring, continuing to anchor Oklahoma’s doubles lineup.
UP NEXT
Following the road trip, Oklahoma returns home to host South Carolina on March 27 at 5 p.m. before facing Georgia on March 29 at noon at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
For updates, follow @OU_Wtennis on Twitter and Instagram, or like Oklahoma Women’s Tennis on Facebook.
