Top-25 Sooners to Compete in 15th Consecutive NCAA Tournament

FORT WORTH, Texas – The top-25 Oklahoma men's tennis team is prepped to compete in their 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament beginning on Friday, May 2, against Illinois.

MATCH DAY BASICS

First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT at TCU's Bartzen Varsity Courts. Fans attending the match can purchase tickets online at GoFrogs.com or in person at the gate.

Fans following the match online can track through live stream or live stats.

All matches are scheduled to be played outdoors. In the event of inclement weather, matches will be moved indoor to the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.

SOONERS AT THE SEC TOURNEY

The Sooners saw two wins at their inaugural SEC Tournament appearance. Oklahoma topped LSU, 4-1, in the first round of play before claiming a second win over Georgia, 4-3. The Sooners fell short against the second-seeded Mississippi State, 1-4. Senior Jordan Hasson claimed the lone point for Oklahoma after coming back from a first-set loss to win, 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, in three sets.

IN THE RANKINGS

Oklahoma heads into NCAA competition as the No. 24 ranked team in the country. Freshman Oscar Lacides has been ranked in every ITA singles ranking of the season and sits at the No. 108 spot this week. He is joined by junior Luis Alvarez at the No. 125 spot

Lacides is also ranked in doubles with teammate Bruno Nhavene. The duo remain inside the top 15 at the No. 13 place.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Alvarez and teammate Kholo Montsi have been a force to be reckoned with on the doubles side of matches this season. The pair lead the team with a 17-2 record on the season and have been dominant in conference play, posting a 10-2 record against SEC teams. The consistent wins from the duo at the two line put the Sooners in position to claim 22 out of 26 doubles points on the season.

Alvarez has been just as consistent in singles play, going 15-6 on the season and topping nine SEC opponents. Eight of the nine conference victories came consecutively, setting the junior up for an SEC Player of the Week honor (April 2).

Montsi's sophomore season has seen 10 wins with six victories over conference opponents. The South Africa native plays primarily at the two singles position and has seen seven victories in the position. Montsi competed on court one in Oklahoma's final home match of the season against LSU and picked up a straight-set victory, 7-5, 6-3.

SCOUTING THE ILLINI

Illinois is currently ranked as the No. 33 team in the country and has a 15-11 record on the season. The Illini have picked up two recent wins over Oregon and Washington but fell to Ohio State in the most recent conference match.

Two Fighting Illini are ranked in singles, with Kenta Miyoshi at the No. 12 spot and William Mroz ranked No. 80. Illinois does not have any ranked doubles teams.

UP NEXT

If the Sooners see victory against Illinois, they will face the winner of TCU and Abilene Christian on Saturday, May 3, at 4 p.m. CT.

FOLLOW THE SOONERS

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