April 01, 2008
The No. 21 Texas A&M men?â„¢s tennis team will continue Big 12 Conference play versus No. 18 Baylor in their final home dual match of the season at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on Wednesday, April 2 at 6 p.m.
A&M (10-7, 1-2) will be looking to pick up its second league victory of the season after edging Oklahoma (4-3) on March 28 in a six-hour battle that started outdoors and later moved indoors due to inclement weather. It will mark the league opener for the Bears (14-7, 0-0) as the Aggies host Senior Day at their home venue where they are 7-1.
Texas A&M holds a 30-13-1 series advantage versus Baylor with the Aggies?â„¢ last win occurring on April 12, 2006. Senior Matt Bain (Georgetown, Texas), who will be honored along with fellow senior Mike Beatty (Cincinnati, Ohio) prior to first serve, led A&M to a 4-3 victory over BU in the last match standing. He used a three-hour and 20-minute three-set match to clinch the win against the league rival Bears.
?Baylor has been a top program for years,? Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. ?This year is no different. All of our Big 12 matches have been very close, and I expect this one to be the same. It?â„¢s going to come down to who can score the big points better and hopefully that will be us on Wednesday night. Last year, it was clear that Baylor was a better team, but this year we?â„¢ve closed that gap. Now, we have to see how we fare against them. The guys have been playing really well lately, so it should be a very good match.?
All three of A&M?â„¢s conference matches have come down to the last point including close 4-3 setbacks to two top 25 opponents in No. 23 Oklahoma State on March 30 and No. 21 Texas Tech in the Big 12 opener on March 23. Freshman Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) paces the Aggies with an undefeated 3-0 record at No. 3 singles followed by freshman Wil Spencer (Ponce de Leon, Fla.) and Bain with a pair of 2-1 marks at the No. 2 and No. 5 lines respectively.
In doubles play, junior Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore Chris Chirico (Philadelphia, Pa.) have won two-straight at the No. 2 position in the lineup for a team-leading 2-1 mark against league competition.
A Maroon Out is scheduled and fans who wear Maroon to the match will receive free admission. In addition, the first 200 fans will receive Aggie Tennis sling bags.
Up Next?...Texas A&M will take a break from Big 12 competition to play a non-conference match at Rice on Wednesday, April 9 at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium at 1:30 p.m. in Houston. The Aggies will then pick back up and take on Nebraska in league play on Friday, April 11 at the Nebraska Tennis Center at 3 p.m. in Lincoln, Neb.
Where?â„¢s Wilson? Promotion...Wilson is the newest teammate to the Texas A&M men?â„¢s and women?â„¢s tennis teams. Wilson, a smiling tennis ball, will be hiding at every home match this season at the Mitchell Tennis Center. One lucky fan who finds him will receive a pair of Crocs compliments of Texas A&M University and will be entered into a grand prize contest to win an iPod Touch that will be held during the women?â„¢s Lone Star Showdown match versus rival Texas on April 16. Fans are encouraged to come out to the matches early to increase their chances of being the first person to find Wilson.
On The Airwaves?...Listen to the Steve Denton Radio Show every Monday evening at 4:15 p.m. on Chip Howard?â„¢s SportsTalk broadcast live on KZNE 1150 AM The Zone In College Station. Denton joins Chip Howard for the only college tennis coach?â„¢s radio show in the nation. Each week, the duo will recap and preview matches for the nationally-ranked Aggies. The weekly show airs from February through the NCAA Championship and can also be heard worldwide on the Internet at www.KZNE.com.