WICHITA, Kan. -- The Wichita State men's tennis teams opens the 2019 season with a trip to Norman to take on No. 13 Oklahoma, Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Headington Family Tennis Center.
 
The Shockers
 
The Shockers returns six core players from last season's 14-10 team. Seniors Haru Inoue, Eddie Stoica, Andrea Caligiana, and Austin Williams join juniors Marius Frosa and Murkel Dellien on a veteran-heavy squad. The Shockers welcome newcomers Orel Ovil (Peta Tikvah, Israel), who joined the team in August and Stefan Latinovic (Belgrade, Serbia), a January signee. Ovil collected his first collegiate victory in a three-set thriller at the ITA Central Regional.
 
"The spring season is upon us! Our boys have been hard to work and are looking forward to competing as a team. With the addition of three talented newcomers and six returning players we should be in store for a great season," said head coach Danny Bryan, in his third year at the helm.
 
2018 In Review
 
In their first season in the American Athletic Conference, the Shockers finished the season 14-10. For the second-straight season, WSU captured the Pacific Tournament Title in Albuquerque, N.M. with wins over No. 46 New Mexico, San Francisco and Grand Canyon. The Shockers took home the trophy at the Rice Invitational, knocking off Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, Rice and VCU. With the win, WSU ended Rice's streak of 10-straight victories and became the first team other than Rice to win the title since Oklahoma in 2007. WSU cruised past SMU, 4-3, marking the first time the Shockers have beaten SMU in school history. The two had met nine times previously, dating back to 1981.
  
Scouting Oklahoma
 
Led by seniors Ferran Calvo, Alex Bakshi and Spencer Papa, the Sooners begin the 2019 season with a No. 13 national ranking, according to the latest ITA/Oracle Team Rankings. The Sooners are 1-0 to start the season, knocking off Abilene Christian last Sunday in their home opener, 7-0.
 
2017-18 Record – 20-6 (NCAA Team Championships, Second Round)
Series vs. Oklahoma – OU leads 29-13
Last meeting – March 8, 2018
Last WSU win – March 26, 2003 (6-1)
Last OU win – March 8, 2018 (4-1)
Danny Bryan vs. OU – 0-2