Jan. 29, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M men's tennis team climbed three spots to No. 15 in the nation in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Top 25 Collegiate Tennis Rankings released on Thursday.
The Aggies (1-0) will travel to the Sunshine State for the inaugural ITA Kick-Off Weekend to be held on Jan. 30-31 on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla. The nationwide event showcases the top 60 men's and women's programs in the country squaring off at 15 campus sites each. The 15 men's teams who win both of their matches this weekend will receive an invitation to play in the 35th ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Illinois on February 13-16 at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago.
Each site has been seeded one through four with the No. 1 seed pitted against the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds matched up on the first day of play. Twelve of the 15 men's top seeds are featured among the top 15.
Second-seeded A&M will face tough competition in No. 42 and third-seeded North Carolina State (3-1) on Friday, Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. (CT) at Linder Stadium. The Aggies are an undefeated 2-0 against the Wolfpack in the all-time series between both schools and last met in 1997. A&M will either take on No. 7 and top-seeded Florida (2-0) or No. 48 and fourth-seeded Arizona (2-0) on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. (CT).
"We don't know their team that well, but we do know that North Carolina State has a couple of good players and are really strong at the top of their lineup and in doubles," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "It will be a very interesting match for us and will be very close. Mainly, we are focusing on taking care of our first match, but we do have two very good teams to play after that. Arizona has a tough team. They will be playing Florida in the first round that also has a lot of talent and got really hot and beat a good Baylor team, 7-0, this past weekend. Regardless of who we will play next, we will have a really tough match."
It will be a homecoming weekend for two Sunshine State natives this weekend in sophomore Wil Spencer (Ponce De Leon, Fla.) and sophomore All-American Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.). Spencer is currently ranked No. 8 nationally with a 12-2 overall singles record this season, while Krajicek is ranked No. 46 at 7-3 overall. Both contributed wins in singles and doubles in A&M's 5-2 season-opening victory over No. 68 Radford on Jan. 25 in College Station.
"They are excited to go back and play in their home state," Denton said. "They are familiar with the competition there and were both recruited by Florida. They also have the extra incentive of playing at home in front of their families, friends and against former competitors. On the other hand, it also motivates their opponents to play well, because they don't get to see each other often, so they can use this to gauge how well they have improved."
Live scoring and complete results will be available at: www.GatorZone.com.
Coach Denton Radio Show Premieres On Monday...The Steve Denton Radio Show, in its third year, premieres on Monday, Feb. 2 at 4:15 p.m. (CT) on Chip Howard's SportsTalk broadcast live on KZNE 1150 AM The Zone in College Station. Denton joins Chip Howard for the only college tennis coach's radio show in the nation. Each week, the duo will recap and preview matches for the nationally-ranked Aggies. The weekly radio show airs every Monday from February through the NCAA Championships and can also be heard worldwide on the Internet at: www.KZNE.com.
Former Player Martinez Makes Worldwide Headlines...Former A&M men's tennis standout Bernardo Martinez (1992-95) recently married Mexican soap opera star and model Luz Elena González and photos of their fairytale wedding on Jan. 26, 2009 are featured exclusively in the current issue of PEOPLE En Español Magazine. Martinez, originally from Mexico City, Mexico, was a two-time NCAA Doubles Championship qualifier for the Aggies with former doubles partner and current A&M women's tennis assistant coach Mark Weaver in 1993 and 1994. He still ranks tied for fourth all-time in career doubles victories (66). Martinez and Weaver were crowned the Southwest Conference No. 1 doubles champions in 1994 with a school-record 24-4 dual record under legendary head coach David Kent.