April 28, 2008
Texas A&M men?â„¢s tennis players Conor Pollock and Austin Krajicek garnered All-Big 12 Conference honors as announced by the league office Monday.
Pollock, a right-hander from San Antonio, Texas, earned his second consecutive all-conference honor in singles and becomes the seventh all-time A&M player to be named All-Big 12 twice or more next to Jerry Makowski, Lester Cook, Ante Matijevic, Ryan Newport, Shuon Madden and Cody Hubbell. Pollock, ranked No. 25 nationally in the latest ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings, boasts a team-leading 20-14 overall record including 12 dual match victories at No. 1 singles for the Aggies. He has defeated eight nationally-ranked players in dual matches this season.
Krajicek, a left-hander from Brandon, Fla., shared Big 12 Freshman and Newcomer of the Year honors with Texas?â„¢ Ed Corrie. It marked the third time in league history to have co-winners for the men?â„¢s freshman and newcomer awards. Krajicek becomes the fifth all-time A&M player to win newcomer accolades along with Newport in 2000, Tres Davis in 2001, Matijevic in 2002 and Mohamed Dakki in 2004. Additionally, he is the third Aggie in the last four years and fourth overall to win freshman of the year honors next to Pollock in 2006, Makowski in 2005 and Rafael de Mesa in 1998.
One of two A&M freshmen rated among the top 8 players in the Class of 2008 by the Tennis Recruiting Network, Krajicek posted a 4-2 league regular-season mark at No. 3 singles this season. He also holds the distinction of being one of only three Aggies to ever be named all-conference in singles as a freshman including All-Americans Makowski in 2005 and Madden in 1998.
Pollock and Krajicek also received All-Big 12 honors in doubles combining for a 9-1 dual match record at the No. 1 line for the Aggies. They went 3-0 against league opponents which included an upset of sixth-ranked Kellen Damico and Ed Corrie of Texas on April 19. The duo combined for A&M?â„¢s first all-conference honor in doubles since the combination of Brett Joelson and Matijevic in 2005. They are currently ranked No. 20 nationally leading into the NCAA Tournament.
All-Big 12 honors were selected by the league?â„¢s head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
2008 ALL-BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN?â„¢S TENNIS AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Oleksandr Nedovyesov, Oklahoma State
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Ed Corrie, Texas
Austin Krajicek, Texas A&M
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Ed Corrie, Texas
Austin Krajicek, Texas A&M
COACH OF THE YEAR
Tim Siegel, Texas Tech
ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
SINGLES
Denes Lukacs, Baylor
Lars Poerschke, Baylor*
Andrei Daescu, Oklahoma*
Oleksandr Nedovyesov, Oklahoma State*
Luis Diaz Barriga, Texas
Ed Corrie, Texas*
Kellen Damico, Texas
Dimitar Kutrovsky, Texas*
Austin Krajicek, Texas A&M*
Conor Pollock, Texas A&M
Sinisa Markovic, Texas Tech*
Bojan Szumanski, Texas Tech*
DOUBLES
David Galic-Denes Lukacs, Baylor
Andrei Daescu-Fedrico Chavarria, Oklahoma
Nathan Byrnes-Oleksandr Nedovyesov, Oklahoma State*
Ed Corrie-Kellen Damico, Texas*
Austin Krajicek-Conor Pollock, Texas A&M
Christian Rojmar-Bojan Szumanski, Texas Tech*
*- Unanimous Selection