MTEN Preview: OSU and OU
3/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - Riding a six-match winning streak, the No. 16 TCU men's tennis team is set to begin Big 12 action by traveling to the state of Oklahoma for two top-15 showdowns as they face Oklahoma State on March 31 and Oklahoma on April 2.
The Horned Frogs (11-4) will begin action in Stillwater on Friday against the Cowboys (17-3) at 5 p.m., before traveling to Norman to face the Sooners (12-6) at 2 p.m., on Sunday.
TCU Notables
After starting the season 2-2, TCU has won nine of its last 11 matches including a victory in the last six straight matches. Coming off a 4-0 showing in its California spring break road trip, the Frogs bested No. 25 Illinois 5-2 last Wednesday before picking up a 4-3 upset over No. 8 Texas A&M on Monday.
Cameron Norrie moved up to No. 3 in the latest Oracle/ITA singles poll to lead TCU and is 11-1 on the season and 9-1 against ranked opponents. Alex Rybakov checks in at No. 27 and is riding a team-best 13-match winning streak in singles action with six wins over ranked foes. Guillermo Nuñez and Jerry Lopez round out the singles rankings at No. 78 and No. 81, respectively.
In doubles action, TCU has won the doubles point in 12 matches this season and has three ranked doubles teams. Trevor Johnson and Reese Stalder lead the way at No. 17, while Nuñez and Rybakov check it at No. 21 with a team-best 10 wins this season. Stalder also sits in the doubles poll with Lopez at No. 38.
Scouting the Cowboys
Oklahoma State is riding a nine-match winning streak heading into Friday's match with TCU with five of those wins coming over Oracle/ITA ranked opponents. At the top of the Cowboys' doubles lineup is the returning All-American duo of Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe. Cash and Kadhe won 34 matches as a tandem last season and became the fourth team in OSU history to earn All-America honors. Oklahoma State returns seven upperclassmen from a season that saw the Cowboys host an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2007 and advance to the Round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in program history.
Scouting the Sooners
Oklahoma is hoping to break a two-match losing streak headed into the opening weekend of Big 12 action. At the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Challenge presented by Oracle, the Sooners posted a win over Tulsa before dropping matches to USC and Cal. Oklahoma have four ranked singles players and three ranked doubles teams with Spencer Papa leading the way at No. 28. Pape has seven wins this season in dual match play, while Alex Ghilea leads the team with 12 wins and a No. 49 ranking. Florin Braguis and Ghilea have a team-best six wins in doubles and leading the doubles rankings at No. 32.
All-Time Series Records
TCU and Oklahoma State will be facing off for the 21st time in program history with the series all tied up at 10-10. The Frogs have been successful in the last few meetings by winning four straight but the Cowboys hold the advantage in matches played in Stillwater with a 3-2 record.
Friday's match in Norman marks the 23rd in program history between TCU and Oklahoma with the series all even at 11-11. From 2009 to 2015, Oklahoma won nine straight matches, but the Frogs were able to win both matches played between the opponents last season. This will be the sixth match played in Norman with the Sooners holding a 4-1 advantage in the series record.
Live Video & Results
Live video of the match between TCU and Oklahoma State is available at OkState.com, with live scoring available at OkState.StatBroadcast.com. The match between TCU and Oklahoma will air live on FS Oklahoma and FCSA with live scoring available at Oklahoma.StatBroadcast.com. Final results and a recap will be available at GoFrogs.com following the completion of the competitions. In-match updates can also be found by following TCU men's tennis on twitter (@TCUMensTennis).
Players Mentioned
