Feb. 18, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 14-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team won four out of six singles to edge No. 34 TCU, 4-3, Wednesday night at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
The Aggies (3-2) claimed their third-straight victory over the Horned Frogs (1-4) in the all-time series, but had to make up some ground in singles, after dropping the doubles point with close losses at No. 2 and No. 3.
The All-American doubles combination of senior Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.), ranked No. 34 nationally in the ITA rankings, picked up their sixth-straight win of the season and fourth-straight in dual matches at No. 1. They defeated No. 12-ranked Emanu Brighiu and Adrian Simon, a team they lost to in their fall tournament opener, by a count of 8-5. For Pollock, it marked his 50th career dual match victory in doubles to make him the 21st player in school history to gain entrance into the 50-Win Club in the A&M record books.
TCU gained a 2-0 advantage in the match after eighth-ranked Wil Spencer (Ponce de Leon, Fla.) fell in straight sets to No. 97-ranked Kriegler Brink, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 3 singles. Pollock and Krajicek used a one-two punch at the top of the lineup to quickly tie up the match at two-all. Pollock, the Aggies' top player ranked No. 12 in the country, downed No. 93-ranked Brighiu, 6-3, 6-2, while Krajicek, ranked No. 46, beat Slah Mbarek in the same fashion, 6-3, 6-2.
"Our guys fought hard and played really well tonight," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "I was very proud of this team and pleased with how well they responded in singles. Conor and Austin played solid and won a fairly comfortable first set in singles. They did not allow their opponents a momentum change and were able to sustain their matches. They put up some points and quickly responded for us."
According to Denton, the momentum in the match really shifted in A&M's favor when junior Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas) was down a set point against TCU's Adrian Simon at No. 4 singles and assistant coach Bob McKinley stepped in to help Lunt make a few adjustments in-between games. It resulted in a 7-5 first set for Lunt who did not give up a game in his second, 6-0.
Freshman newcomer Colin Hoover (Victoria, Texas) went on to clinch the match for the Aggies with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 straight-set victory over TCU's Casey Powers at the No. 6 line.
"Colin played a very good match," Denton said. "He is playing his very best tennis since coming to A&M. He is just a really hard worker and has been a great team player. Marcus and Colin were able to close it out for us tonight. Overall, it was a good, solid team effort by all."
A&M will get back to work and practice indoors over the next couple of days to get ready for a two-match non-conference road swing through No. 25 Notre Dame (5-4) on Friday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. (CT) in South Bend, Ind., and No. 39 Louisville (9-1) on Sunday, March 1 at 10 a.m. (CT) in Louisville, Ky.
(14) TEXAS A&M 4, (34) TCU 3
February 18, 2009
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center
at Fort Worth, Texas
SINGLES
No. 1 - (12) Conor Pollock (Texas A&M) def. (93) Emanu Brighiu (TCU), 6-3, 6-2.
No. 2 - (46) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. Slah Mbarek (TCU), 6-3, 6-2.
No. 3 - (97) Kriegler Brink (TCU) def. (8) Wil Spencer (Texas A&M), 6-2, 6-3.
No. 4 - Marcus Lunt (Texas A&M) def. Adrian Simon (TCU), 7-5, 6-0.
No. 5 - Zach Nichols (TCU) def. Austin Klores (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-3.
No. 6 - Colin Hoover (Texas A&M) def. Casey Powers (TCU), 6-2, 6-2.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - (34) Krajicek-Pollock (Texas A&M) def. (12) Brighiu-Simon (TCU), 8-5.
No. 2 - Brink-Mbarek (TCU) def. Lunt-Spencer (Texas A&M), 8-5.
No. 3 - Christopher Price-Nichols (TCU) def. Hoover-Klores (Texas A&M), 9-7.
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 3, 1, 2, 4, 6*, 5