April 23, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
NORMAN, Okla. - Texas A&M is the No. 3 seed at the 2009 Big 12 Women's Tennis Championships and will open play Friday at 6 p.m. against either No. 6 seed Oklahoma State or No. 11 seed Iowa State at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla.
The Aggies (13-9), who won their only Big 12 tournament title when the championships were last held in Norman in 2004, went 9-2 during the Big 12 regular seasonand are ranked 35th in the Campbell's/ITA College Tennis rankings.
This marks the third consecutive year and the sixth time overall that A&M has appeared as the No. 3 seed. Last year the host Aggies defeated No. 6 Oklahoma State, 4-1, in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals of the Championship where they were eliminated by No. 2 seed Texas, 4-3.
Live scoring of A&M matches will be available at AggieAthletics.com. Live scoring for other matches as well as other tournament information can be found at SoonerSports.com.
The Road to a Championship -- All 12 Big 12 women's teams participate in the single-elimination Big 12 Women's Tennis Championship, which takes place Thursday, April 23 through Sunday, April 26 at the Headington Family Tennis Center on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Okla.
The top four seeds earn a first-round bye. Baylor, the three-time defending tournament champion, earned the No. 1 seed for the sixth time since the inaugural Big 12 Championship was held in 1997. The Lady Bears were undefeated in conference play, going 11-0 to win the regular season championship and earn the No. 1 seed.
The No. 5-12 seeds open Championship play Thursday.
The following is the complete women's tournament schedule:
Thursday, April 23 -- First Round Matches
Match - Teams Time
M1 No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9 Kansas 10 a.m.
M2 No. 5 Colorado vs. No. 12 Kansas State 10 a.m.
M3 No. 7 Texas Tech vs. No. 10 Oklahoma 1:30 p.m.
M4 No. 6 OSU vs. No. 11 ISU 1:30 p.m.
Friday, April 24 -- Quarterfinal Matches
M5 No. 1 Baylor vs. Winner of M1 9 a.m.
M6 No. 4 Nebraska vs. Winner of M2 12 p.m.
M7 No. 2 Texas vs. Winner of M3 3 p.m.
M8 No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Winner of M4 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 25 -- Semifinal Matches
M9 Winner of M5 vs. Winner of M6 1 p.m.
M10 Winner of M7 vs. Winner of M8, 3 p.m.
Sunday, April 26-- Championship Match
M11 Winner of M9 vs. Winner of M10 1 p.m.
Matches will be stopped immediately when a team reaches four points.
The tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship. Texas leads the league with seven tournament titles (1997-2002, 2005). Baylor (2006, 2007, 2008), Oklahoma State (2003) and Texas A&M (2004) are the only other teams to possess a Big 12 Championship trophy.
A&M's Conference Tournament History -- Texas A&M is 17-11 all-time in the 12-year history of the Big 12 Women's Tennis Championship. The Aggies have reached the finals four times (1997, 2002, 2003, 2004) and are 1-3 in the championship match. A&M has reached at least the semifinals every year except 1999 when the No. 4 Aggies fell to No. 5 Baylor, 4-2, in the quarterfinals in College Station.
Last year, the No. 3-seed Aggies hosted for a league-leading third time. A&M defeated No. 6 Oklahoma State, 4-1, in the quarterfinals but fell in the semifinals for the fourth consecutive year after dropping a 4-3 decision to No. 2 Texas. It was the third straight year the Aggies lost to the rival Longhorns in the semifinals, and it was the second consecutive year the semifinal contest was decided by the last match standing.
The Aggies captured their only Big 12 Championship trophy in 2004 in Norman. The championship match between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Texas A&M also was decided in the last match standing, where A&M's Helga Vieira came through with the deciding victory, defeating Katie Ruckert, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 singles to give the Aggies a 4-3 victory. It was sweet revenge for A&M, as the Longhorns had won the last match standing when the two teams met in College Station during the regular season to decide the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed.
A&M had reached the finals three times prior to the 2004 season, losing to Texas in both the 1997 and 2002 championship matches and falling to No. 4 seed Oklahoma State, 4-1, in the 2003 tournament held in Kansas City, Mo.
In the inaugural 1997 Big 12 Championship, the third-seeded Aggies and the Longhorns met in a conference finals for a fifth consecutive year. The match lasted nearly seven hours before the Aggies fell, 5-4.
In 1998, the 5th-seeded Aggies fell to eventual champion Texas in the semifinals by the score of 5-0. The No. 4-seed Aggies were eliminated at home by the Baylor Bears, 5-2, in the quarterfinals of the 1999 tournament. In 2000, it again was the Bears eliminating the Aggies. Baylor topped third-seeded A&M in the semifinals, 5-3. A&M was eliminated by eventual champion Texas, 4-0, in the semifinals of the 2001 tournament.
A&M also hosted the 2002 tournament and fell to the six-time tournament-champion Longhorns, 5-0, in the championship match.
The Aggies advanced to the finals of the former Southwest Conference Championships each of the last four years it existed. Each of the finals pitted the Aggies against the Longhorns. The Aggies' only SWC tournament championship was in 1986, before the league recognized both a regular season and a tournament champion.
Aggies vs. Oklahoma State/Iowa State -- A&M defeated both Oklahoma State and Iowa State during the regular season. The Aggies held off then-No. 73 OSU, 5-2, on March 20 in College Station and defeated the Cyclones, 6-1, on March 28 in Ames.
Against the Cowgirls, A&M swept the doubles point and then won four hard-fought singles matches to win its seventh consecutive match in the series with OSU and improve to 15-9 all-time against the Cowgirls.
While doubles wins appeared somewhat easy against OSU, the singles portion turned into a different story. A&M began singles by winning the first set on four courts, but three of those matches would drag out to three sets.
Elzé Potgieter, Christi Liles and Sheri Olivier also picked up singles wins at the No. 1, 3 and 6 courts, respectively, for the Aggies.
A&M improved to 13-0 all-time against ISU, winning two of three doubles matches and then jumping out to a 5-0 lead after winning the first four singles matches in straight sets against the Cyclones.
Aggies Capture Big 12 Individual Titles -- Texas A&M's Elzé Potgieter is the Big 12 No. 3 doubles champion after going 9-2 in league play.
Individual Big 12 champions are crowned for each of the six singles positions and all three doubles flights based on the number of conference wins during the regular season. A player must have competed in at least six matches at a set position to qualify for a conference title. In addition, wins at higher positions count toward the record in which an athlete has played a minimum of six matches.
This marks the second singles title for Frank, a sophomore who is 20-2 all-time in Big 12 regular season matches during her two-year career. Frank, who is 15-7 overall at the No. 2 line this season, was the No. 5 singles champion as a freshman after posting a 10-1 record in conference matches.
The doubles title is the first for both Potgieter, a junior, and Olivier, a freshman. The duo enters the Big 12 Championships with a 16-3 overall record and is riding a five-match winning streak.
2009 Big 12 Individual Champions
No. 1 Singles: Maria Constantinescu, Oklahoma (11-0)
No. 2 Singles: Morgan Frank, Texas A&M (10-1)
No. 3 Singles: Krista Damico, Texas (8-3)
No. 4 Singles: Iryna Khatsko, Oklahoma State and Maggie Mello, Texas (9-1)
No. 5 Singles: Sarah Lancaster, Texas (8-0)
No. 6 Singles: Sophia Ayala, Missouri (7-2)
No. 1 Doubles: Edina Horvath-Katerina Morozova, Kansas (7-3) and Camila Belassi and Melisa Esposito, Colorado (7-4)
No. 2 Doubles: Tara Eckel/Marie-Pier Huet (8-1)
No. 3 Doubles: Sheri Olivier/Elzé Potgieter, Texas A&M (9-2)
A&M Coach Bobby Kleinecke -- Two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year Bobby Kleinecke enters the Big 12 Championship with a 387-251 (.607) record in his 24th season at the helm of the Aggies, including a 114-29 (.797) record in Big 12 regular-season matches. In 1986, Kleinecke's inaugural season of his college coaching career and at A&M, he led the Aggies to the Southwest Conference title and was named the SWC Coach of the Year. In 1996, he was voted the SWC Coach of the Year and in 2002, Kleinecke was honored as the Wilson/ITA Coach of the Year in the Southwest Region after leading A&M to a record-23 wins. In 2003, A&M tied for its first regular-season title as the Aggies and Baylor went 9-2. In 2004, Kleinecke's team captured its first Big 12 tournament championship, advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 and finished the season with a record 24 victories. Under Kleinecke's leadership, the Aggies have made 14 NCAA appearances, including the last nine consecutive years.
In the Rankings -- A&M is ranked No. 35 in the Campbell's/ITA College Tennis Rankings released April 21. The Aggies have been ranked as high as No. 24 (March 3) and as low as No. 47 (March 10) during the regular season.
Elzé Potgieter is listed No. 107 in the national singles rankings. It is the second time the junior has been listed in the top 125 this spring, having received a No. 102 ranking on Feb. 19.
After a one-week absence, sophomore Morgan Frank also reappeared in the singles rankings this week, coming in at No. 114. Frank, who has been listed in all but the April 14 regular-season ranking, was ranked a career-high No. 98 on March 3.
Potgieter plays No. 1 singles for the Aggies and is 12-9 in dual matches -- including 9-2 in Big 12 matches -- and is 19-14 overall. She is 4-6 against ranked opponents with her biggest win coming against No. 25 Alex Poorta of Saint Mary's, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), on Jan. 31 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Los Angeles.
Frank plays No. 2 singles, where she is 15-7, including 10-1 in Big 12 matches. Her overall record stands at 21-11. She is 1-6 against ranked opponents, with her only win coming against No. 86 Alex Haney of Auburn, 6-3, 6-3, on Feb. 6 in College Station. Haney is No. 26 in this week's rankings.
Potgieter Garners Academic Honor -- Texas A&M's Elzé Potgieter was recently named to the 2009 Academic All-Big 12 Tennis First Team. It marks the second time in her two years to be eligible for the award that the junior accounting major from Bloemfontein, South Africa, was named to the first team.
To qualify for the Academic All-Big 12 Tennis Team, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of her team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, and the second team consists of those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the women's tennis academic all-league squad consisted of 30 first team recipients and six student-athletes on the second team.
Aggies Have Double Vision -- A&M has won the crucial doubles point in 15 of 22 matches, including 9 of 11 Big 12 matches. The Aggies are 12-3 when winning the doubles point. The No. 3 line is the winningest position with a 17-4 (.810) record, including a 16-3 mark by freshman Sheri Olivier and junior Elzé Potgieter.
A&M has posted the winning record in doubles despite using six different doubles combinations in dual matches.
Young Guns -- The Aggies have no seniors on this year's roster, and junior Elzé Potgieter is the only starting junior in the lineup. She holds down the No. 1 singles line, while sophomores Morgan Frank and Christi Liles play the No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively. The remainder of the singles lineup is made up of freshmen. Most recently, Janelle Cuthbertson has been assigned to the No. 4 line, with Lauren Santacroce and Sheri Olivier playing No. 5 and 6 singles, respectively.
A&M Leads Nation in Home Attendance -- Texas A&M led the nation in home attendance at women's tennis matches in each of the first two months of the ITA National Attendance Race this season.
Through March, the Aggies drew 3,389 fans in eight home matches. Seven of the matches were played at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, and rain forced the Aggies to play one match at the City of Bryan Tennis Center.
In addition, A&M had recorded four of the top five single match totals for a season average of 424 per month through March. The Aggies led second-place Michigan in average attendance by nearly 250.
A&M led the nation with a 576 average attendance in 2008, the first year the ITA conducted the ITA Attendance Race.
Looking Ahead to the NCAA Selections -- The Aggies are aiming to make their 10th consecutive and 15th overall appearance in the NCAA Championships when the 64-team field is announced Tuesday, April 28 on ESPNEWS The announcement for both the men's and women's brackets will air at approximately 4:30 p.m. (CDT)
ESPNEWS is located on DirecTV channel 207/DishNetwork channel 142. In addition, the ESPNEWS audio signal is available on the ESPNEWS channel on XM Radio and SIRIUS Radio.
First- and second-round competition will be played May 8-10 at 16 sites. The winners at each of the 16 sites will advance to the final site, the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. The men's Round of 16 will begin May 14 and the women begin May 15.
Participants in the 64-player singles tournament and a 32-team doubles championship will be posted on NCAA.org April 29 before 5 p.m. (CDT). Those individuals selected will join the final 16 teams May 20-25 in College Station.
A&M to Host 2009 Men's and Women's Tennis Championships -- Texas A&M will serve as the host of the 2009 Men's and Women's Tennis Championships. The men's tournament gets underway Thursday, May 14 and the women start one day later at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The finals for both men and women are slated for May 19.
The 64-player singles tournament begins May 20, and doubles begins on May 21. The finals for both men's and women's singles and doubles will be played May 25.
For a complete schedule and ticket information, go to AggieAthletics.com.
Passing Shots -- The Aggies are 13-2 when they are victorious at No. 2 singles and 0-7 when No. 2 singles loses...A&M is 6-0 when winning at No. 3 singles...The Aggies went 8-3 in home matches, 4-6 at away matches and 1-0 at neutral sites.