Follow OC at nationals
Audio interview with OC head coach Lisa Johnson

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (May 8, 2008) – For the fifth time in school history, Oklahoma Christian University will send its men’s tennis team to the NAIA National Championships.

The Eagles (12-5) will play Shorter College (Ga.) in round one with hopes of advancing to the Sweet 16 against third-seeded Fresno Pacific (Calif.).

Match time is set for 1 p.m. on Monday at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala.

“I think we ended 5-12 last year, and we’re 12-5 this year, so we have an exciting group of guys,” OC head coach Lisa Johnson said. “We’re going to be tested at nationals, but we’re certainly looking forward to the challenge.”

The Eagles won the Sooner Athletic Conference/NAIA Region VI championship on April 18 by routing Oklahoma Baptist and John Brown (Ark.) by identical 9-0 counts.

The regional championship was OC’s first since 2003, while the SAC crown was the program’s second in three years.

“As small as our region is, we knew who our competition would be and we stepped it up a notch. It was pretty excited to win the region and conference championships like that,” Johnson said.

The Eagles were ranked No. 21 in the final NAIA poll, while Shorter finished No. 14 in the nation.

OC last played Shorter in 2006, falling 5-1. The Eagles are 1-3 all-time against the Hawks, with a 6-1 win in the OC’s 2003 national championship season.

“All we really know about Shorter is their ranking in comparison with other people. They are two spots behind Graceland, who we know we can play with. So we kind of know what to expect, but we’re excited about it. It will be a level playing field with umpires on every court,” Johnson said.

Shorter posted a 15-6 record in 2008 playing out of the Southern States Athletic Conference and NAIA Region XIII. The Hawks fell 5-0 to the NAIA’s No. 1 team, Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), in the Region XIII championship.

-OC-