Feb. 5, 2009
Directions to The Downtown Club at the Met in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 15-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team will battle second-ranked Texas with the coveted Texas Cup at stake in a non-conference dual match scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6 at The Downtown Club at the Met in Houston. First serve between the two in-state rivals is set for 6 p.m. (CT).
This is the second consecutive year in which the Aggies (2-1) and Longhorns (4-0) have rekindled the non-conference series that was dormant for four years prior to the 2008 season. Last year, A&M lost a 4-0 decision to its archrival. The Texas Cup was previously contested in Houston from 2001-03 and UT has won all four early season meetings between the two schools.
The Aggies will face back-to-back top 10 competition after a 6-1 setback at No. 7 Florida in the second round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 31 in Gainesville, Fla. Texas, meanwhile, defeated UC Santa Barbara (4-0) and TCU (4-1) for a spot in next week's ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago.
"Texas is obviously a good team," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "They were No. 2 in the country last year and have most of their team back. They are ranked No. 2 now and have already beaten a couple of top 10 teams. Anytime Texas and Texas A&M play each other in any sport, it is a big deal. It is especially big when we are playing against a team that is so highly-ranked and-regarded like Texas. It is a great opportunity for us."
A&M has practiced indoors over the last week in preparation for the faster conditions ahead of them. In fact, the Aggies next five contests after the Texas Cup will include road trips to Notre Dame, Boise State and Washington, which will be played indoors due to the winter weather conditions in the North.
"If you play matches against good teams, it helps you in preparation and to be battle-tested by the end of the year," Denton said. "We have a lot of young players in the lineup right now and they need these types of matches in order to get better throughout the season. It is a great opportunity for them to gain experience. We are getting into what I would call the `indoor stretch' of our season. The Texas Cup is the first of those matches. It will be interesting to see how our players adapt to indoor play over the course of the next month."
Legendary Texas A&M head coach David Kent and former Texas head coach Dave Snyder, both Hall of Famers who are still revered by both programs, will be honored prior to the match but will not be able to be in attendance. Kent remains the all-time winningest coach in school history with a 316-161 record compiled over 18 seasons with the Aggies from 1979-96.
Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for students with proceeds benefiting Special Olympics Texas. Texas holds a 38-10 advantage in the all-time series. The Aggies and Longhorns will meet each other again in both team's regular-season finale which will earn the winner a full point toward the State Farm Lone Star Showdown standings on April 18 at noon in College Station.
Live scoring and complete results will be available at: www.AggieAthletics.com.
Catch The Coach Denton Radio Show On Monday...Listen to the Steve Denton Radio Show live every Monday 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.