OU Athletics Communication Press Release

NORMAN – Oklahoma senior women's golfer and Norman native Kaitlin Milligan has accepted an invitation from the Augusta National Golf Club to compete in the second annual Augusta National Women's Amateur on March 31-April 3 in Augusta, Ga.

Gathering in Augusta the week before the 85th Masters Tournament, 85 of the world's best amateur women's golfers will come together to create the most elite field in all of women's amateur golf. The field will play 54 holes to determine the second ANWA champion.

"On behalf of the membership at Augusta National, it is my distinct honor and privilege to welcome these talented competitors to the 2021 Augusta National Women's Amateur," said Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. "While the wait for the return of this championship has been longer than expected, the excitement generated by the sportsmanship and competitive spirit showcased in the inaugural edition still resonates with us today. We look forward to hosting this elite field this spring and showcasing the future of the women's game."

The first two rounds will take place on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club Wednesday, March 31 and Thursday, April 1. Following the second round, the field will be cut to 30 competitors.

After the entire field plays Augusta National for an official practice round Friday, April 2, the final round will take place at Augusta National on Saturday, April 3 and will feature the 30 competitors who made the cut.

"I'm so honored to get an invitation and even more excited to play in the Augusta National Women's Amateur this year," Milligan said. "We have had such a long break because of the pandemic and I'm so thankful to get the opportunity to play golf this year. The time off allowed me to get healthy and I once again feel confident in my game. I can't wait to get out there and see the course and environment. To get this opportunity is like a dream come true."

Milligan has assembled one of the most decorated careers in program history and holds a 72.85 career stroke average, second-lowest all-time by a Sooner. She possesses the Oklahoma and Big 12 records for the lowest round (62), as well as OU's lowest 54-hole tournament score (199; -17).

The senior has been the Sooners' top finisher nine times at tournaments, placing inside the top 10 each time, and owns 17 top-20 finishes as a collegian. She was named to the All-Big 12 Team as a freshman, finished inside the top 50 nationally as a sophomore and set the OU single-season scoring record (71.40) as a junior.

"Anytime that you get invited to play in a field and event like the ANWA, it's a huge opportunity. It's something that Kaitlin has worked for and earned," said OU head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell. "It's one of the best tournaments in the country and great exposure for her, so I'm really excited to see what she'll do out there."

Milligan was extended the invitation after previously accepting an invite to the 2020 ANWA, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She follows former Sooner Julienne Soo, who competed at the inaugural ANWA in 2019. Oklahoma joins Texas as the only Big 12 schools to have a student-athlete appear in both tournaments.

"It's a huge honor for our program to have had someone play in each of the ANWA events so far," Drouin-Luttrell said. "It's really cool for our program and shows that we're doing the right things here at the University of Oklahoma to make sure that our student-athletes have the opportunities to play in events like this."

NBC Sports will produce and broadcast three hours (11 a.m.-2 p.m. CT) of live final-round coverage of the event at Augusta National. Golf Channel will deliver on-site highlights, live reports and news coverage throughout the event. Additionally, Golf Channel's "Live From the Masters" will commence on Friday, April 2 at Augusta National to provide coverage of the Augusta National Women's Amateur, the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals and the Masters Tournament.

Tickets to the Augusta National Women's Amateur are sold out following an online ticket application process.

Milligan and the Sooners start their spring season on Sunday, Feb. 14 in Melbourne, Fla., at the Moon Golf Invitational, which will host 14 ANWA players and five top-10 teams. The ninth-ranked Sooners are searching for their third Big 12 championship of the Drouin-Luttrell era.

OSU Press Release

OU and Little Rock Notes (PDF)

STILLWATER - The No. 5 Oklahoma State wrestling team will face its third-straight ranked opponent when they travel to Norman to face No. 19 Oklahoma. Following the first Bedlam dual of the season, the Pokes will return to Gallagher-Iba Arena for the first time since Jan. 10, to wrestle Little Rock for the second time this season.

Dual Details
Date/Times:
at No. 19 Oklahoma – Feb. 7, 2021/ 1 p.m. CT
Location: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Okla.
Watch: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com
 
vs. Little Rock – Feb. 7, 2021/ 7 p.m. CT
Location: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Okla.
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Listen: Hot 93.7 KSPI-FM
Live Stats: Trackwrestling.com
 

The Basics 
The fifth-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team (7-0 overall; 3-0 Big 12) caps off a stretch of four-straight weekends on the road with a dual against No. 19 Oklahoma in Norman on Sunday. The first Bedlam dual of the season will begin at 1 p.m. in the Lloyd Noble Center. Later that night, the Pokes return to Gallagher-Iba Arena for the first time since Jan. 10 for their second bout of the season with Little Rock. Extra matches will begin at 6 p.m. followed by the main dual at 7 p.m. OSU is coming off a trip to Iowa where they defeated No. 16 Northern Iowa, 20-12, and No. 13 Iowa State, 16-15, for its first ranked wins of the season.
 
The Series – Oklahoma 
The Bedlam dual series dates back to 1920, a bout that Oklahoma State won a staggering 50-0 in Still­water. OSU leads the all-time rivalry series 143-27-10. Sunday's dual marks the 181st time the two teams have met for dual competition. In the 2019-2020 season, the Cowboys and Sooners met twice for the first time since 2017-2018 with OSU taking both matches. The Pokes upended OU 23-9 in Norman before defeating the Sooners 27-8 on senior day in February. Lou Rosselli is 0-6 against the Cowboys since taking over the program in 2016. OSU has won 18 of the last 19 duals and holds a 62-15-8 record in Norman. The most recent win for the Sooners was a 16-15 win at home in 2013.
 
The Series – Little Rock 
Oklahoma State and Little Rock met for the first time on Jan. 17. The Cowboys routed Little Rock winning 36-4 with the only win for the Trojans coming at 133 pounds. The Trojans traveled to Stillwater to compete in the quad-meet Oklahoma State hosted welcoming Oregon State and Chattanooga to open the season, but the two squads did not wrestle.
 
Winning Wittlake
With a 34-2 record at Oklahoma State, sopho­more Travis Wittlake is tied for 13th in career winning percentage of wrestlers with a minimum of 30 career bouts at OSU. At 94.44%, he is tied with teammate Daton Fix who also holds a 34-2 and head coach John Smith who went 152-8 in his legendary career as a Cowboy.
 
Fast Start for the Freshmen
A part of the nation's No. 1 signing class, three true freshmen have started in every dual for the Cowboys this season. The trio has combined to go 20-1 with 10 wins coming with bonus points up to this point.
At 125 pounds, Trevor Mastrogiovanni has filled the void left behind by three-time All-American and four-time Big 12 champion Nick Piccininni. Through his first seven dual matches, Mastrogiovanni has gone 6-1 and is ranked No. 15 in the country in his weight class. In a crowded lineup at the 174 and 184 weights, No. 2 overall recruit Dustin Plott has stood out in his first collegiate matches. The Tuttle, Okla. native has tacked on bonus points in four of his six matches. He picked up the first fall of his young career when he pinned Little Rock's Triston Wills in the first period on Jan. 10. The only recruit ranked higher than Plott in the class of 2020 was his own teammate AJ Ferrari. Fer­rari has adjusted quickly to the college ranks starting the season 7-0 and being ranked as high as No. 9 at 197 pounds. In November, Ferrari won the UWW Ju­nior Nationals tournament outscoring his opponents 37-1 on his route to the 92 kg championship. 
 
A Pair of Oklahoma State Wins Would... 
• Move the Cowboys to 9-0 on the season; advance their conference record to 4-0
• Mark OSU's 12th-consecutive win against Oklahoma; 2nd straight against Little Rock
• Improve coach Smith's record against OU to 50-6-3; 2-0 against the Trojans 
• Push Oklahoma State's road record to 6-0 on the season 
• Advance the Cowboys' record against ranked opponents to 3-0 on the season
 
Cowboys in the Polls
Oklahoma State's roster features 10 wrestlers ranked in various polls this week, with seven holding spots inside the top-10. Sophomore 133-pounder Daton Fix is the consensus No. 1 wrestler at 133 pounds and is the highest ranked Cowboy. Not far behind Fix are teammates and returning Big 12 individual champions Boo Lewallen and Travis Wittlake. Lewallen (149) ranks No. 4 among all of the polls, while Wittlake (165) ranges from No. 3 to a No. 5 ranking from FloWrestling. Three true freshmen appeared in the rankings after excellent starts to their college careers. Trevor Mastrogiovannii (125) has started the season 7-1 and is ranked as high as No. 15 by Intermat. 174-pounder Dustin Plott holds the highest ranking among the freshman claiming the No. 8 spot in TOM's poll. Finally, AJ Ferrari (197) ap­pears in three of the four rankings, including a No. 9 spot in WIN's poll after a 7-0 start to his freshman campaign. Wyatt Sheets remains as high as No. 6 at 157 pounds after making his first dual starts of the season for the Cowboys against UNI and Iowa State. Senior Dakota Geer is ranked as high as No. 7 and as low as No. 13 at 184 pounds where he was an All-American in 2019 after wrestling at 197 pounds last season. Austin Harris appeared in The Open Mat's poll for the third-consecutive week. With a 5-2 start to the season and a major decision over Air Force's Wyatt Hendrickson, Harris landed at No. 25 in the heavyweight division this week. 
 
Tune In
Oklahoma State's day begins with a 1 p.m. Bedlam dual in Norman that will be aired on Fox Sports Oklahoma. When the Cowboys return home later that day for their second bout of the season against Little Rock, the match will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Lee Roy Smith and J Carl Guymon on the call. Both matches can be heard on Hot 93.7 KSPI FM with Rex Holt on the call beginning 30 min­utes prior to the start of the dual. Live stats for both matches can be found on TrackWrestling.com.

Razorback Communications Press Release

Written by Ben Breitbach

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Razorback Men’s Tennis (4-0) gets its first Power 5 test on Saturday afternoon with a match against the Washington Huskies (2-0) at the Billingsley Tennis Center. First serve on February 6 is set for 3 p.m. CT in Fayetteville.

Match 5 Info

Opponent: Washington Huskies

Date: Saturday, Feb. 6

Location: Billingsley Tennis Center

First Serve: 3 p.m. CT

Live stats: bit.ly/3tpCbEJ

PlaySight: bit.ly/38RMCc9

Last Time Out

The Razorbacks won their fourth-straight match of the spring with a 5-2 win against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Wednesday afternoon. It was the fourth win in five years against Tulsa for the Hogs.

Arkansas won its third-straight doubles point by sweeping all three matches. At the No. 1 position Maxim Verboven and Hunter Harrison knocked off the 29th ranked pairing of Connor Di Marco and Kody Pearson by a score of 6-1. Enrique Paya and Jose Dominguez Alonso stayed undefeated as a duo with a 6-1 win over Kamdem/Thelwall-Jones while Alex Reco and Nico Rousset won their second-straight at the No. 3 spot.

Singles play was highlighted by freshman Adrien Burdet raising his record to 4-0 as a Razorback with a straight set win over Juan-Pablo Cenoz at the No. 5 position. After dropping his first set of the year, Melvin Manuel battled back in the next two sets to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 against Stefan Hampe. Enrique Paya clinched the victory with a third set win at No. 6 while 72nd-ranked Reco won in a third set tiebreak over Ezequiel Santalla.

Scouting the Huskies

Washington has only competed in a doubleheader with Eastern Washington, both 7-0 sweeps for the Huskies. Jack Davis and Clement Chidekh split the top spot for the Huskies with both winning in straight sets. Davis was ranked No. 65 in the ITA preseason rankings released on January 13th. UW took all six doubles matches in the doubleheader with Eastern Washington.

The Huskies will play at Tulsa today at 5 p.m. CT before making the trip to Fayetteville on Saturday.

Quick Hits

>> The Razorbacks last faced UW in 2010 and are looking for their first win against the Huskies since 1994.

>> Four Razorbacks currently boast 4-0 records in single play, including Alex Reco who was ranked No. 72 in the ITA preseason poll.

>> The doubles pairing of Enrique Paya and Jose Dominguez Alonso has gone undefeated this season after being moved up to the No. 2 position following the first match against Omaha.

>> Arkansas has opened the season at 4-0 for the third time in 10 seasons.

Razorback Communications Press Release

Written by Shawn Price

Heat Sheets

FAYTETTEVILLE, Ark. – An eight-team field will square off in the Arkansas Qualifier on Friday in the Randal Tyson Track Center. Hosting a fourth consecutive home meet, the No. 2 Razorbacks are still expecting a few season debuts among its squad in this meet.

Live stream (2 p.m. SEC Network+): https://es.pn/3pR7BBQ
Live results:

Joining Arkansas this week are Arizona, No. 19 Arizona State, Kansas, No. 21 Kansas State, Missouri, UCLA, and Washington State. Field events begin at noon with running events following at 2 p.m., when the live stream on SEC Network + starts.

“Competition-wise it’s great to see new faces and programs,” said Razorback men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “It’s good for the sport and it’s good for us when we are able to bring those teams in here. The variety of teams is great for our guys.

“We hope that we get a few guys debuting this weekend, which includes Kris Hari (60), Phillip Lemonious (60H) and Andrew Kibet (800).”

Hari set a national record for Denmark during the 2020 indoor season with a time of 6.62, which ranks him third on the Razorback all-time list. Lemonious, the 2020 NJCAA champion in the hurdles has a career best of 7.75, while Kibet, a NJCAA champion in the mile and 1,000m with career best times of 4:04.51 and 2:25.90 will race in the 800 where his best is 1:53.92 indoors.

The Razorbacks have four hurdlers racing on Friday, including Tre’Bien Gilbert, who posted his first collegiate hurdle victory last weekend. Joining Kibet in the 800 is teammate Kieran Taylor, who produced a career best of 1:48.66 as runner-up recently.

Another key race for Arkansas is the 3,000m and the return of Amon Kemboi, who missed action last week in the Razorback Invitational. Racing with Kemboi will be a crew that includes Gilbert Boit, Emmanuel Cheboson, Jacob McLeod, Myles Richter, Tommy Romanow, and Josh Shearer. Racing in the mile for the Razorbacks are Luke George and Reese Walters.

“The 3,000m is going to be real important for us since we missed a wonderful opportunity last week with Amon Kemboi not being able to race due to contact tracing with an eventual false-positive,” explained Bucknam. “We have to get him in a 3k this weekend.”

An Arkansas crew of James Milholen, Rhayko Schwartz, Ethan Carney, and Jadon Bartholomew will contest the 400m. In the 200m the Hogs have Tylin Jackson, Rashad Boyd, and Cade Clark racing in separate sections.

Fast times inside the Tyson Center were prevalent last weekend in various events with the combination of elite athletes and a new Mondo surface.

“It’s a phenomenal facility,” stated Bucknam. “Obviously, having fast people on it makes a difference. With the new surface on the banked oval, as well as the straightaway for the 60 and hurdles, the reviews that we’re getting from the athletes are very good and the results are showing it.”

Currently, with Arkansas hosting collegiate and professional meets, 14 world-leading marks for the 2021 indoor season have been set inside the Randal Tyson Track Center. For the men, those events include 60, 400, 800, mile, 60 hurdles, shot put, and distance medley relay.