Tennis: Next up for OU – Tulsa.

The No. 47 Oklahoma Sooners men’s tennis team returns to the court Thursday, Feb. 28 following a 10-day layoff. The Sooners travel up Interstate-44 to face in-state rival Tulsa (9-2) on Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

“Tulsa is an extremely talented team and this match will be the most challenging match that we have played this year,” head coach Paul Lockwood said.

The Sooners come into the match with two singles players ranked, Andrei Daescu (5-1) at No. 34 and Sergey Avdeyev (2-3) at No. 96.

In addition the duo of Federico Chavarria and Daescu are ranked No. 40 in doubles play. The rankings are administered by the ITA.

“I am very excited to see where we are as a team against Tulsa because of their talent. I believe we are ready to compete at a very high level and tomorrow will show us where we are as a team,” Lockwood continued.

Last season, the Golden Hurricane downed the Sooners 5-2 in Norman on April 3.

Next, the Sooners host Oral Roberts and East Central on Sunday, March 2, for the first home matches of the 2008 season at the Headington Family Tennis Center.