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bri
2/22/2010, 01:44 AM
Cheering For All OU Sports, So You Don't Have To.

It was another great week for the Sooner athletic department. Baseball and softball combined to go 10-0 on the week, and men's tennis came up with a couple of big upset wins over top 35 teams.

Monday:

11th ranked women's basketball falls to top ranked UConn, 76-60 - I don't think anyone was realistically expecting our depleted team to knock off the mighty Huskies, but we gave 'em the best game they've had in a while. I think our girls gained a lot of confidence from this game, and we opened a lot of eyes around the country.

Wednesday:

55th ranked women's tennis upsets 32nd ranked Tulsa, 4-3 - With the match deadlocked at 3,Marie-Pier Huet rallied from a one-set deficit to win the decisive match in Tulsa. The win runs OU's record to 6-0, the best start since '03.

13th ranked softball run-rules St. Gregory's in 5 innings, 9-1 - After giving up a run to the Cavs in the top of the first, OU went ahead 2-1 on Amber Flores' two-run homer in the home half and never looked back. The freshman battery of pitcher Michelle Gascoigne and catcher Jessica Shults led the way, with Gascoigne striking out five and Shults blasting a pair of homers out of Hynes Field.

Men's basketball loses at Colorado, 77-67 - The Sooners came out with a good effort in the first half, but couldn't sustain it as the Buffs pulled away late. Ugh.

Friday:

13th ranked softball beats Cal State Fullerton, 7-1 - The Sooners started play at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas with a solid performance from sophomore pitcher Kirsten Allen and homers from Amber Flores, Lindsey Vandever and Haley Nix.

13th ranked softball beats Northwestern, 3-0 - Freshman pitcher Keilani Ricketts went the distance, striking out 12 Wildcats. Amber Flores hit her third homer of the week (and season), and Chana'e Jones went yard as well to cap a 2-0 day for the Sooners in Vegas.

44th ranked men's tennis upsets 20th ranked Alabama, 5-2 - The Sooners dropped the doubles point to Bama, then stormed back in the singles matches, taking the first three points en route to one of the biggest wins in recent program history.

2nd ranked women's gymnastics beats 17th ranked Missouri, 197.050-195.500 - The Sooners passed the 197-point mark for the second straight meet, the first time they've done it since 2004. The win in Columbia gives the two-time defending Big 12 champions a season sweep over their conference opponents.

22nd ranked baseball beats San Diego State, 7-4 - OU opened their season by taking the first of a four-game series in San Diego. Garrett Buechele had two RBI, including a solo home run, and the bullpen came through to record the win and save. All told, six different Sooners drove in runs in the game.

Saturday:

13th ranked softball beats Boise State, 8-4 - The Sooners started their second day of play in Vegas by holding off a pesky Bronco team. BSU tied the game at 4 in the top of the fifth, but then Lindsey Vandever hit a solo shot to give the lead back to the good guys. Jessica Shults and Haley Nix also added homers to pace the Sooners.

2nd ranked men's gymnastics beats 3rd ranked Michigan, 354.450-354.000 - OU avenged their loss to Michigan in last year's NCAA finals to remain unbeaten on the year. 7-0 on the season now, OU has beaten four top 10 teams.

22nd ranked baseball rolls over San Diego State, 17-3 - The Sooners trailed the Aztecs 5-1 going into the top of the sixth, then went crazygonuts for nine runs in the inning on their way to taking the second game of the series in San Diego. Casey Johnson hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Tyler Ogle added a grand slam in the ninth.

13th ranked softball run-ruled 12th ranked California, 12-1 - OU scored half their runs in the top of the fifth to make short work of the Bears. Keilani Ricketts threw all five innings, striking out 5. Lindsey Vandever hit her first grand slam of the season, Amber Flores added her fourth homer of the year and Karolyne Long hit her first home run of the season.

Men's basketball loses to 7th ranked Kansas State, 83-68 - The nightmare season continued for OU as KSU shot 50% from three-point range, stretching a 2-point halftime lead into a convincing 15-point win at Lloyd Noble.

22nd ranked baseball beats San Diego State, 9-5 - The Sooners completed the doubleheader sweep of the Aztecs, running their record to 3-0 and insuring a win in their weekend series in San Diego. Freshman pitcher Ryan Gibson struck out nine in his first career start as the Sooners bolted out to an 8-0 lead before SDSU mounted a late rally to close the gap. Ryan Duke came in to close out the save, his second of the weekend.

Sunday:

13th ranked softball run-rules Long Beach State, 10-0 - The Sooners wrapped up a perfect 5-0 weekend in Vegas with their second straight run-rule win. Jessica Shults hit a grand slam and was a single away from hitting for the cycle in the five-inning affair. Keilani Ricketts pitched her third complete game of the weekend, striking out two en route to tossing a one-hitter. OU hit 12 home runs over the course of the weekend, outscoring their five opponents 40-6.

9th ranked wrestling loses to 3rd ranked aggy, 19-16 - Feh.

11th ranked women's basketball beats Kansas State, 64-58 - K-State's Pink-Out almost resulted in the huge upset that we were looking for on Monday, but the Sooners rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit behind Nyeshia Stevenson's 24 points. Amanda Thompson added a double-double, and Carlee Roethlisberger put the game away, scoring 5 of OU's last 8 points.

22nd ranked baseball beats San Diego State, 5-2 - The Sooners completed the season-opening sweep in San Diego behind a solid effort by starter Bobby Shore, who went seven innings, allowing just one run. Elliott Blair, Ricky Eisenberg and Drew Harrison all went yard for OU.

44th ranked men's tennis upsets 32nd ranked aggy, 4-3 - OU lost the doubles point to start the match in a 1-0 hole, but just as they did against Bama on Friday, they rallied in the singles matches to knock off aggy for the first time since 1995. Ionut Beleleu clinched the win for the second straight time, winning the #2 singles match in three sets.

Looking ahead...

A 16-4 week for the Sooner athletic department equals happy times in Norman. The men's tennis squad should look to rise in the rankings after knocking off numbers 20 and 32 this weekend, and both gymnastics teams made strong cases for rising to the top spot in their respective polls.

However, the week ahead threatens to harsh our mellow, beginning with tomorrow night's Big Monday matchup in Lawrence as our struggling men's basketball team has to face #1 Kansas on their home court. Things don't get much easier, as undefeated and #3 Nebraska comes to the LNC on Wednesday for a women's basketball matchup.

Baseball and softball are on the road again next weekend, as the men travel to Jacksonville for the Jacksonville Tournament and the women head to the Cathedral City Classic in Cathedral City, CA. Women's gymnastics will take their newly-regained #1 ranking to East Lansing to face #23 Michigan State on Friday night, while the men host #5 Minnesota Saturday. Also on Saturday, men's basketball hosts Baylor while the women head to Austin to take on Texas. Women's tennis travels to Fayettville to play Memphis on Saturday and #18 Arkansas while the men play host to #37 Minnesota Friday night and #50 Indiana Sunday morning. Finally, the men's and women's track teams will be in Ames for the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

As always, SoonerSports.com (http://www.soonersports.com) is your home for all things OUAD. If you get a chance, come out and cheer on your Sooners this week; plenty of good tickets remain for both the Nebraska and Baylor basketball games, men's gymnastics tickets are just $8 for adults and $5 for the kiddos, and admission to the Wadley Indoor Pavilion for tennis is always free. Boomer Sooner!