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Jan. 28, 2011

URBANA, Ill. -- The 17th-ranked Oklahoma men’s tennis team dropped its first match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend to No. 36 Notre Dame, 4-1, at the Atkins Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Illinois.

“Notre Dame played a very good match tonight,” John Roddick said. “They played aggressive and deserved to win. We need to do a better job of playing the big points with aggression. We had plenty of opportunities but we did not take advantage of very many.”

The Sooners (1-1) fell behind 1-0 after dropping a highly-contested doubles point. Notre Dame’s Niall Fitzgerald and Spencer Talmadge defeated OU’s 48th-ranked duo comprised of Lawrence Formentera and John Warden, 9-8 (5). The Irish were awarded the doubles point after Casey Watt and Greg Andrews narrowly defeated the Sooners Tsvetan Mihov and Peerakit Siributwong by a 9-7 decision.

In singles the Sooners fell behind 3-0 after a pair of Oklahoma freshman, Laurentiu Gavrila and Warden, stumbled at the No. 3 and No. 6 positions, respectively. Gavrila dropped a 6-3, 6-4 match to ND’s Daniel Stahl, while Warden fell in identical sets, 6-2, to the Irish’s Tyler Davis, ranked 122nd in singles. 

Tsvetan Mihov, a newcomer from Sofia, Bulgaria, got the Sooners on the board after he posted a 6-1, 7-6 victory over Notre Dames Samuel Keeton at the No. 5 spot.

That proved to be all the points for OU as Notre Dame clinched the match after Watt, ranked No. 104, upset the Sooners 26th-ranked Ionut Beleleu at the No. 1 position.

Oklahoma will either face No. 16 Illinois or No. 39 Denver, depending on the outcome, for its second match of the event Saturday. OU’s match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. 

No. 36 Notre Dame 4, No. 17 Oklahoma 1

Singles
1. #104 Casey Watt (ND) def. #26 Ionut Beleleu (OU) 7-6 (7-3), 3-6, 6-3
2. #57 Costin Paval (OU) vs. #71 Stephen Havens (ND) 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 2-2, DNF
3. Daniel Stahl (ND) def. Laurentiu Gavrila (OU) 6-3, 6-4
4. #70 Peerakit Siributwong (OU) vs. Greg Andrews (ND) 6-4, 6-6 (4-6), DNF
5. Tsvetan Mihov (OU) def. Samuel Keeton (ND) 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)
6. #122 Tyler Davis (ND) def. John Warden (OU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles
1. #47 Tyler Davis/Stephen Havens (ND) def. #24 Ionut Beleleu/Costin Paval (OU) 8-6
2. Niall Fitzgerald/Spencer Talmadge (ND) def. #48 Lawrence Formentera/John Warden (OU) 9-8 (7-5)
3. Casey Watt/Greg Andrews (ND) def. Tsvetan Mihov/Peerakit Siributwong (OU) 8-7 DNF