Nov. 5, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The fourth-ranked and second-seeded Texas A&M All-American doubles tandem of senior Conor Pollock (pronounced PAUL-luck) and sophomore Austin Krajicek (pronounced CRY-check) will compete in the prestigious Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Championships on Nov. 6-9 at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va.
After reaching the NCAA Doubles Championship semifinals a year ago, the Aggie duo are making their first-ever appearance at the ITA National Indoors as the reigning Wilson/ITA South Central Region doubles champions. Pollock and Krajicek have posted a 7-3 overall fall record including an undefeated 5-0 run in ITA regional play. They will take on No. 33-ranked Houston Barrick and Sanam Singh of host Virginia tomorrow in the opening round of the 16-team doubles draw at 9 a.m. (CT).
"Conor and Austin are one of top returning doubles teams in all of college tennis," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "They have a great chance of winning it all -- just like they were able to win in our region. The competition will be tough, especially indoors and with it being an eight-game pro set. It will be a sprint instead of a long-distance race, so they will have to take their chances and win the big points. You do not get too many opportunities when you play indoors. They will have to be razor sharp to have success. I feel confident in the fact that they have been playing very well leading up to this tournament."
Pollock, a native of San Antonio, Texas, will also compete in the 32-player singles draw at the four-day tournament. He held off No. 14-ranked Bruno Rosa of Rice in three sets to capture the Wilson/ITA South Central Region singles championship title last week. Pollock will face eighth-seeded and ninth-ranked Bryan Koniceko of Ohio State tomorrow at 3 p.m. (CT). Last year, he upset second-ranked Steven Moneke of Ohio State, 6-3, 6-3, in the opening round. He is currently ranked No. 17 nationally in singles and making his second all-time indoor appearance.
The participants of the 2008 ITA National Indoor Championships include some of the best and brightest players in college tennis. The event was inaugurated in 1978 with past men's champions and finalists including current professional players James Blake (Harvard), Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford), John Isner (Georgia), Kevin Kim (UCLA), Todd Martin (Northwestern) and MaliVai Washington (Michigan).