The most-anticipated college tennis match ever in Tucson was a hot ticket, so much so they had to print out more just to accommodate all the people who wanted to watch Arizona try and make history on Saturday afternoon.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Hosts Ole Miss in Norman Once Again for Potential Playoff Primer
Earlier this year, Sooners On SI broke down Oklahoma’s opponents in 2026. With spring football in the rearview window, how do the Sooners’ foes look heading into the summer following their March/April practices? We continue with the Ole MIss Rebels.
As Oklahoma journeys deeper into November, the talent level keeps rising.
While Oklahoma worked to secure a pivotal player’s return for one final season, Ole Miss had already pulled off one of the offseason’s most impactful moves — locking in an extra year of eligibility for quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Exit Lane Kiffin, enter Pete Golding. Well, that already happened before the College Football Playoff, but now the country waits to see if Golding will be able to continue his impressive run as a head coach into an offseason.
How did spring treat the Rebels? Even if Ole Miss appears strong on paper. OU does get the benefit of hosting the Rebels for a second straight season once November arrives.
The Injury Front
Good news and bad news for Ole Miss during spring ball: The good is that no players will be dealing with injuries deep into the summer.
The bad news was that an “injury bug” plagued the offensive line, causing the defensive-minded coach to scale back on full-contact drills and practice during the spring to avoid further injury.
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While injuries weren’t a large concern for Ole Miss this spring, they have to deal with replacing top-end talent — mostly on defense. Talents like edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, who transferred to LSU to follow Kiffin.
Ole Miss Strength
Chambliss ranks among the best quarterbacks in the country, and the way he rises to the occasion in Ole Miss’ biggest games makes the Rebels dangerous every time he takes the field.
Even without Kiffin, Ole Miss was busy during the transfer portal in trying to replenish a great deal of skill talent that either exited the program or graduated.
Post-Spring Oklahoma Opponent Breakdowns
With Kewan Lacy in the backfield and tight ends Dae’Quan Wright and Luke Hasz, the Rebels’ offense will no doubt be one of the tougher units Oklahoma will face.
If Golding is able to maintain his impressive control of the program he showcased during last season’s College Football Playoff, the offense should still be one of the best in the country.
The Final Verdict
Ole Miss has had Oklahoma’s number in the Sooners’ first two years in the SEC. Could a fortitous schedule factor — a second game in Norman in back-to-back years — finally get Oklahoma over the Rebels?
No matter the feelings prior to the game, Ole Miss may be one of the tougher games on the schedule for OU — including the first six-week crucible. Chambliss has proven to be that good, and despite the defensive departures, Ole Miss has proven to reload talent quickly.
Depending on Oklahoma’s record at the time of the game, their match with the Rebels could prove to pivotal for either team’s playoff chances. Last season for OU, this was the road game against Alabama.
OU will have the talent to combat Ole Miss, but the Rebels will have a sure-fire Heisman contender under center.
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And after more than three hours, the Wildcats finally broke through.
Arizona rallied from down 3-1 to beat Oklahoma 4-3 in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Sweet 16 at LaNelle Robson Tennis Center, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. The 8th-seeded Wildcats (24-4) will face top-seeded Wake Forest, the defending NCAA champions, in the quarterfinals Thursday in Athens, Ga.
Arizona had lost in its previous four Sweet 16 appearances, including three in a row, but this was the first time it got to host.
But with temperatures nearing triple digits, the UA found itself in a position where it needed to win every remaining singles match. No. 9 Oklahoma (20-7) had taken the doubles point and won in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 4 singles, with Arizona’s lone win to that point by sophomore Glib Sekachov (6-2, 6-2) at No. 5 singles.
“We got down 3-1 and I think the guys just said, you know what? This is destiny,” UA coach Clancy Shields said. “It’s supposed to happen this year. We’ve been to the Sweet 16, but we haven’t gotten any further. You saw how the guys buckled down to make it.”
Arizona began to turn a corner when it won first-set tiebreakers in two of three matches, including senior Jay Friend 8-6 at No. 1 singles after being down a break to Oklahoma’s Luis Alvarez. Junior Sasha Rozin started the comeback at No. 3 singles, winning 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4).
Friend lost his second set 7-5, and freshman Alejandro Arcilo did the same 6-4 at No. 6 singles after winning the first 6-4. Arcilo then fell down a break before going on a tear, winning the last three games to take the third set 6-4 and even the match at 3.
After a brief celebration, the entire UA team—and the crowd of 500-plus—migrated around Court 1 for the deciding set between Friends and Alvarez.
“He’s been in that situation so many times, and he looked cool as a cucumber, and I think everybody knew when it came down to his court … we might as well start booking tickets,” Shields said. “He’s not gonna lose that match.”
Friend made quick work of his opponent, winning 6-0 and finishing with an ace.
“I just entered a flow state that I’ve never been in before,” said Friend, the winningest singles player in school history. “The guys kept telling me it’s never going to come down to you because I play too fast, but it did. And I’ve been in this position before, and the last time I lost 7-6 in the third so obviously I was fighting those demons a little bit, but the guys did their job, and that took so much pressure off me, and then 6-0 in the third set to clinch. That’s crazy.”
The remainder of the NCAA Tournament will be held at the Dan Magill Tennis Center in Athens, with quarterfinals Thursday, semifinals on May 16 and the championship May 17. At No. 8, Arizona has the second-lowest seed remaining behind No. 10 Baylor.
“Now we’re really dangerous,” Shields said. “This is a team that has accomplished their main goal, and now they’re hunting for something else, and they’re playing free, and we’re gonna play free down there in Athens. I think our team’s gonna have the most fun, and they’re playing with the least amount of pressure. And that’s a dangerous squad. And I think our team also knows how good we are.”
Oklahoma’s early exit at the SEC Tournament opened the door for UCLA to take the lead in the home run race.
Kendall Wells, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Year on Friday for her outstanding 2026 season, went 0-for-3 with a walk in Thursday’s defeat to Georgia, meaning she enters the NCAA Tournament sitting on 36 home runs.
She’s no longer chasing former Arizona star Laura Espinoza, however.
UCLA slugger Megan Grant hit home runs on Friday and Saturday to equal and surpass the record set by Espinoza in 1995.
Grant broke the record in the top of the third inning in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game. She hammered the 0-2 delivery from former OU pitcher Jordy Frahm for home run No. 38.
The solo shot put the Bruins up 2-0, but Frahm and the Cornhuskers roared back to win the game 7-2.
Wells still has the entire NCAA Tournament to chase down and pass Grant. Her next home run will tie Espinoza’s mark of 37 long balls.
It wouldn’t be the first time things have shifted in this massive 2026 home run race, either.
OU was the first team to catch and surpass the 161 home runs hit by the 2021 Sooners.
UCLA’s run at the Big Ten Tournament flipped the race.
The Bruins homered four times against Penn State on Thursday and four times on Friday against Wisconsin before Grant’s record-breaking blast on Saturday.
As a result, UCLA will enter the NCAA Tournament having hit 182 home runs to Oklahoma’s 174 home runs, and the Sooners have played one additional game.
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Both teams a virtually guaranteed to be hosting regionals when the full NCAA Tournament field is revealed on Sunday evening.
Despite the loss to Georgia, Oklahoma is in strong position to earn a top four seed in the tournament. Patty Gasso’s team enters the tournament 48-8 overall, including a 20-4 mark in SEC play during the regular season, which clinched the program’s second-straight regular season crown.
Should the Sooners advance out of the first weekend of the tournament, they are also projected to host a Super Regional at Love’s Field.
UCLA finished the weekend 47-8 overall following their run at the Big Ten Tournament, and the Bruins went 20-4 in league play during the regular season.
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show will air on ESPN2 on Sunday at 6 p.m.
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OKLAHOMA CITY –
Tensions over changes to transportation between the Oklahoma County Detention Center and courthouse reached a peak during a special meeting of the jail’s governing trust on Friday.
Early in April, Sheriff Tommie Johnson III announced he would no longer task any of his own deputies with driving inmates and detainees the half-mile route from the jail to their court hearings, effective May 11. However, from May 11 through June 30, Johnson’s plan included keeping some deputies on the assignment to train and work alongside the jail’s own detention officers.
Along the way, other members of the jail trust have expressed some concerns about the trust’s ability to fully assume the transportation duties.
Oklahoma County’s district attorney, chief public defender, and presiding judge all made rare appearances at the trust meeting on Friday to share some of their own thoughts.
“I want you to consider this decision on whether or not the detention center should take over transport of detainees from the jail to the courthouse, because there is no plan,” District Attorney Vicki Behenna told the trust. “There are no employees at the detention center right now that can fulfill this obligation.”
Behenna also cited concerns that the already understaffed jail would face a worsening staffing situation if it has to pull some of its existing detention officers to provide transportation.
“In my opinion, and the opinion of other lawyers in my office, the indenture requires the Sheriff’s department to do transport,” she added, referencing the indenture which created and assigned control of jail operations to the trust in 2020.
Sheriff Tommie Johnson III cited his own budget concerns as a reason to discontinue the transportation service. His office believes it needs roughly 17 to 19 more deputies inside the courthouse for court security, and it could begin by reassigning
Presiding District Court Judge Sheila Stinson shared her own remarks with the trust, stating that this week alone, three judges had faced death threats. Johnson said his ambition is to have a deputy in every courtroom.
Ultimately, Behenna suggested the trust should not accept the end of the contract and that the sheriff has a duty to continue providing the service, regardless of if the sheriff is paid for the service.
In response, Sheriff Johnson accused the district attorney of being misleading.
“Considering the gross amount of misrepresentation in this section, and relative ease to obtain the correct information, I must assume — I must assume — that this was intentionally misstated to persuade this body to make an ill-informed decision to further the DA’s agenda,” he said.
The district attorney and sheriff eventually got into a back-and-forth.
“Sheriff Johnson, I don’t understand why you have such a visceral reaction to me,” Behenna stated. “If the DA has an agenda, my agenda is public safety.”
Tensions settled some later in the meeting, with trust members still pressed to find an alternative solution.
Trustee Derrick Scobey proposed a solution for the trust and sheriff to work together to find a private partner to operate the transportation service, rather than tasking their own in-house staff to perform the duties.
Sheriff Johnson eventually agreed that his office could help identify a private partner, but that the timeline for gradually taking his deputies out of the task would remain.
Jail administrator Tim Kimrey acknowledged that three of his detention officers would be available starting Monday to work alongside three of Johnson’s deputies to train and learn about the transportation duties while both parties work to find a private partner.
Kimrey said his office had already begun some research on private jail transportation partners, including The GEO Group, TransCor, and LaSalle Corrections.
The trust postponed officially accepting the end of the sheriff’s contract until its next meeting.
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