No. 11 Oklahoma Tops No. 6 Mississippi State in Senior Day Bout

NORMAN – The No. 11 Oklahoma men's tennis team claimed its sixth straight conference win with a 4-3 result over No. 6 Mississippi State on Saturday afternoon at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

The upset marked OU's third straight win over a top-25 team and 10th triumph over a nationally ranked opponent.. The Sooners' upset sent seniors Luis Alvarez and Bruno Nhavene out on top in their final regular-season home match.

Sophomore and No. 62 Oscar Lacides clinched the match with a 6-4, 7-6(6) score, extending his singles streak to five

Oklahoma continued its dominance in doubles, winning the first point of the match with wins at the two and three lines. Freshman Johan Rodriguez and junior Asahi Harazaki took their fourth straight win with a 6-3 final on court three and were quickly followed by sophomores Lacides and Alejandro Melero as they picked up their third straight win, 6-3.

Harazaki earned his ninth singles victory of the season on court six, putting the first singles point on the board for Oklahoma with a swift 6-1, 6-0 score. Mississippi State added its first point with a singles win on court five.

With a 2-1 lead, three-time SEC Freshman of the Week and No. 119 Rodriguez put the Sooners within reach of the upset, winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 in a dominant third-set showing.

Mississippi State's second and third points came from wins at the one and four lines where No. 30 Alvarez fell short to No. 16 Benito Sanchez Martinez and No. 66 Orel Kimhi dropped a match to Raphael Vaksmann.

Lacides' clinching point sealed the Sooners' sixth top-20 victory and ninth triumph on their home courts.

UP NEXT

Oklahoma completes the regular season with two road matches against Arkansas on Friday, April 10, at 5:30 p.m. CT and Texas A&M on Sunday, April 12, at 1 p.m. CT.

RESULTS

#6 Mississippi State vs. #11 Oklahoma

At Norman, Okla. Headington Family Tennis Center

Match Score Oklahoma 4, Mississippi State 3

DOUBLES DRAWS

1. #6 Luis Alvarez and Bruno Nhavene (OU) vs Michael Novansky andBenito Sanchez Martinez (MSST) 4-5 match was unfinished

2. Alejandro Melero and Oscar Lacides (OU) def. Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano (MSST) 6-3

3. Asahi Harazaki and Johan Rodriguez (OU) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes and Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSST) 6-3

SINGLES DRAWS

1. #16 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSST) def. #30 Luis Alvarez (OU) 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1

2. #62 Oscar Lacides (OU) def. #67 Niccolo Baroni (MSST) 6-4, 7-6(6)

3. #119 Johan Rodriguez (OU) def. #63 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSST) 6-3, 1-6, 6-0

4. Raphael Vaksmann (MSST) def. #66 Orel Kimhi (OU) 7-5, 6-4

5. #121 Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSST) def. Alejandro Melero (OU) 6-3, 6-2

6. Asahi Harazaki (OU) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSST) 6-0, 6-1

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