April 9, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - With two more key matches remaining in Big 12 Conference play, the No. 12-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team begins a three-match homestand with No. 55 Nebraska on Friday, April 10 to close out regular-season action at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT).
The Aggies (12-6, 3-1) are looking to bounce back from a hard-fought 5-2 road loss at No. 7 Baylor on April 8 which marked their first league loss of the season and ended a seven-match win streak. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers (16-6, 0-3) are searching for their first win in conference play after near 4-3 misses against Oklahoma, Baylor and Oklahoma State.
Both teams have a ranked doubles team with the third-ranked A&M All-American tandem of senior Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) and the No. 59-ranked Nebraska duo of David Bendheim and Calin Paar. Pollock and Krajicek are 14-4 in dual matches, but will look to even out their 1-3 mark against Big 12 opponents this season.
"Nebraska is a very dangerous team and has been good as of late," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "They nearly beat Baylor up in Lincoln and have been playing really solid in singles. They have a few guys back from last year's team when we beat them in a close 5-2 match. They've had several close matches against good teams so far this year. The Big 12 Conference offers a lot of parity and capable teams. Nebraska is a little better in singles, because that's more of their strong suit, but they are coming down here with nothing to lose, and everything to gain, which could be a bit of a problem for us."
A&M will host Rice three days later in a non-conference dual match on Monday, April 13 at 6 p.m. (CT) and then rival Texas (15-4, 3-1) in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown on Thursday, April 16 at 6 p.m. (CT). In all, the Aggies will play some of the nation's best teams in a little over a week's time in preparation for the upcoming Big 12 Tennis Championships on April 23-26 in Norman, Okla.
"This is a good opportunity to go play another match right away," Denton said. "The Baylor match was a very tough and emotional one for us not to win. The good thing is that our guys realize that our team goals are still in front of us. We will need a little help from the other teams to knock off Baylor and we will need to play well in our remaining matches. Theses matches will be important for our team to start us off in the right direction leading into the Big 12 Tournament and to really prepare us for the NCAA Tournament."
Live scoring and video from the Nebraska match will be available on www.AggieAthletics.com.
Where's Wilson? Promotion...Fans don't forget to get out early and be the first one to locate Wilson, a smiling tennis ball, who will be hiding at every home match this season at the Mitchell Tennis Center. One lucky winner will receive an exclusive reward and will be entered into the grand prize drawing that will be held next Wednesday during the women's tennis match against Baylor on April 15. There are only two more chances to win with men's matches scheduled versus Nebraska on April 10 and Rice on April 13!
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.