Sept. 26, 2008
WACO, Texas - Five Texas A&M men's tennis players advanced to the round of 16 in both flights of singles at the Baylor HEB Intercollegiate Invitational held Friday at the Baylor Tennis Center.
Fifth-seeded and No. 17-ranked Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) handed Joel Kincaid of Portland a 6-1, 6-3 opening-round loss and later defeated Dennis Polyakov of Rice, 6-1, 6-4, for a spot in the round of 16. Pollock will face No. 86-ranked Jordan Rux of host Baylor tomorrow morning at 9:15 a.m.
Fellow A&M top returners and preseason nationally-ranked singles players Wil Spencer (Ponce de Leon, Fla.) and Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) also reached the round of 16 after solid showings on the first day of play. Spencer upset seventh-seeded and No. 30-ranked Ed Corrie of Texas, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-0, in the opening round followed by a 6-4, 6-0 straight-set victory over Tulsa's Marko Ballok.
Fresh off of his recent trip with the U.S. Davis Cup Team in Spain, Krajicek opened up the tournament with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Roman Stoisavljevic of New Mexico State and then won a three-setter over No. 93-ranked Kriegler Brink of TCU, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Spencer, ranked No. 102, will take on Phil Stephens of Tulsa in tomorrow's round of 16, while Krajicek, ranked No. 97, will face second-seeded and second-ranked Denes Lukacs of Baylor.
Newcomers Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas) also had success in the B singles draw moving on to tomorrow's round of 16. In his freshman debut, Hoover gave up just one game in the opening round to David Subirats of UT Arlington, 6-0, 6-1, and later defeated Alex Panavides of TCU, 6-0, 7-5. Lunt, a junior who returns to the team after serving a two-year Mormon mission, received a first-round bye and handily defeated Jason Lateko of UTA, 6-2, 7-5, in the round of 32.
In doubles competition, the No. 45-ranked tandem of Wil Spencer moved past the first round with an 8-5 victory over Texas Tech's Gonzalo Escobar and David Gonzales, but lost to Arkansas' Matt Hogan and Blake Strode, 8-4, in the round of 32.
Meanwhile, top-seeded and fourth-ranked Conor Pollock and Austin Krajicek fell to Emmanuel Brighiu and Adrian Simon of TCU, 8-6, in the round of 16 after a first-round bye. The Aggies continue play through Sunday.
BAYLOR HEB INTERCOLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Sept. 26-28, 2008
Baylor Tennis Center
at Waco, Texas
SINGLES (A)
Round of 64
(17) Conor Pollock (Texas A&M) def. Joel Kincaid (Portland), 6-1, 6-3.
(102) Wil Spencer (Texas A&M) def. (30) Ed Corrie, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-0.
(125) Matt Hogan (Arkansas) def. Austin Klores (Texas A&M), 6-1, 6-3.
(6) Arnau Brugues (Tulsa) def. Chris Chirico (Texas A&M), 6-3, 6-3.
(97) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. Roman Stoisavljevic (New Mexico State), 6-3, 7-5.
Round of 32
(17) Conor Pollock (Texas A&M) def. Dennis Polyakov (Rice), 6-1, 6-4.
(102) Wil Spencer (Texas A&M) def. Marko Ballok (Tulsa), 6-4, 6-0.
(97) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. (93) Kriegler Brink (TCU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Consolation
First Round
Austin Klores (Texas A&M) def. Nathan Byrnes (Oklahoma State), 6-0 (retired).
Chris Chirico (Texas A&M) def. Christian Saravia (Rice), 7-5, 6-3.
SINGLES (B)
Round of 64
Michael Jung (Alabama) def. Kayvon Karimi (Texas A&M), 6-2, 6-2.
Colin Hoover (Texas A&M) def. David Subirats (UTA), 6-0, 6-1.
Round of 32
Marcus Lunt (Texas A&M) def. Jason Lateko (UTA), 6-2, 7-5.
Colin Hoover (Texas A&M) def. Alex Panayides (TCU), 6-0, 7-5.
Geoff Hernandez (Portland) def. Patrick Dean (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-3.
Consolation
Second Round
Kelubia Mabatah (TCU) def. Kayvon Karimi (Texas A&M), 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Patrick Dean (Texas A&M) def. Austin Francis (Air Force), 7-5, 6-4.
DOUBLES (A)
Round of 32
(45) Chirico-Spencer (Texas A&M) def. Escobar-Gonzales (Texas Tech), 8-5.
(39) Baumann-Michalicka (Wisconsin) def. Klores-Lunt (Texas A&M), 8-5.
Round of 16
Brighiu-Simon (TCU) def. (4) Krajicek-Pollock (Texas A&M), 8-6.
Hogan-Strode (Arkansas) def. (45) Chirico-Spencer (Texas A&M), 8-4.
DOUBLES (B)
Round of 32
Brouleau-Diep (New Mexico State) def. Hoover-Karimi (Texas A&M), 8-3.