Feb. 17, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 14-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team embarks on a tough five-match road swing with its first test at No. 34 TCU on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas. First serve between the Aggies and Horned Frogs is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT).
The Aggies (2-2) have used the last 12 days between matches to prepare for the road conditions ahead which will include stops at No. 25 Notre Dame on Feb. 28, No. 39 Louisville on March 1, No. 30 Boise State on March 6 and No. 41 Washington on March 8. A&M goes into its meeting with TCU on a two-match win streak in the all-time series. Last year, A&M edged the Horned Frogs by a count of 4-3 in College Station.
"This is a big match for us to get back on a winning track," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "We've had a week of really good practices. Competition for spots in the lineup is still wide open and our guys have been competing really well. Hopefully, we can translate that into a win on Wednesday night."
TCU (1-3) will face its third-straight opponent from the Big 12 Conference after suffering a 5-2 loss to Oklahoma on Feb. 14 and a 4-1 setback to second-ranked Texas in the second round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Feb. 1.
"There are quite a few young players on TCU's team," Denton said. "They have a new coach (Dave Borelli) who has recruited some new players. They have five-to-six new players in their lineup, some who we have not played against before. They are a pretty young and talented team with some success against top teams this season. Last year, it was a really close match, where (former player) Matt Bain was able to clinch it for us at No. 5 singles. I anticipate it being a really close match there and we are going to have to play well to beat them."
The Aggies look to snap a two-match skid which includes a 7-0 decision to second-ranked Texas in the non-conference Texas Cup series between the two in-state rivals on Feb. 6 in Houston and a 6-1 loss to seventh-ranked Florida in the second round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 31.
Live statistics and results from the match will be available on www.gofrogs.com.
Catch The Coach Denton Radio Show On Mondays...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.