May 30, 2008
Texas A&M men?â„¢s tennis standouts Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) and Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) closed out a historic 2007-08 season ranked No. 9 nationally in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Collegiate Tennis Rankings released on Friday.
It marked the fifth time in the last 10 years that an Aggie doubles team finished among the top 10 in the country. Pollock and Krajicek earned All-America honors this season after advancing to the NCAA Doubles Championship semifinals for the first time in school history. Their historic postseason run included a straight-set upset of the top-ranked and top-seeded doubles pair from Virginia as well as winning 87 percent (13-of-15) of their overall matches.
Pollock and Krajicek are now one of 10 all-time A&M players to be named an All-American and return for their senior and sophomore campaigns in 2008-09. Both garnered All-Big 12 Conference honors in singles and doubles this year, while Krajicek was selected co-Big 12 Freshman and Newcomer of the Year with a 16-7 overall mark at No. 2 and No. 3 singles combined.
Individually, Pollock finished a career-best No. 25 nationally in the final ITA singles rankings after placing 63rd in the 2007 rankings. He posted a team-leading 22-15 overall record which included 14 dual match victories against nationally-ranked opponents at No. 1 singles for the Aggies. Pollock also participated in the NCAA Singles Championship for the first time of his career in 2008.
For his leadership as team captain, work ethic and perseverance on the court, Pollock was also named this year?â„¢s recipient of the team?â„¢s Aggie Heart Award. He becomes only the second Aggie to earn the honor twice next to former player Matt Bain in 2005 and 2006. Pollock joins a list that includes greats such as Bain, Khaled El Dorry, Ryan Newport, Jarin Skube, Cody Hubbell and Cory Hubbard.
Read All About It?...Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton, Conor Pollock and Austin Krajicek are among the coaches and players from more than 40 universities mentioned in tennis journalist Marcia Frost?â„¢s new book entitled, ?American Doubles?... the Trials?... the Triumphs?... the Domination? which was released at the 2008 NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla. The book focuses on the success of Americans in college doubles as well as on the professional circuit. In fact, Pollock and Krajicek were one of three American-born players to advance to the NCAA Doubles Semifinals next to USC?â„¢s Kaes Van't Hof. Denton, a native of Kingsville, Texas and former All-American at the University of Texas, won the U.S. Open doubles title in 1982. Krajicek, who reached the finals of the U.S. Open in junior doubles in 2006 and reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in junior doubles in 2006, is featured on the back cover of the book in a photo from the U.S. Open.