May 6, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M's Elzé Potgieter (pronounced el-ZAY POT-geeter) and Morgan Frank have been named to the All-Big 12 Women's Tennis Team in singles, the conference office announced today.
Potgieter, a two-time member of the Academic All-Big 12 First Team as well as a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week this season, is making her second consecutive appearance on the All-Big 12 singles team. The junior from Bloemfontein, South Africa, plays No. 1 singles for the Aggies and is 20-14 overall, including 13-9 in dual matches as well as 9-2 in Big 12 matches only.
Potgieter has posted four victories against ranked opponents this spring, including No. 25 Alex Poorta of Saint Mary's, No. 46 Taylor Ormond of Baylor, No. 89 Macall Harkins of TCU and No. 104 Vanja Corovic of Texas. She is currently listed No. 108 in the Campbell's/ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings and has been ranked as high as No. 102 this spring.
Frank is this year's Big 12 No. 2 singles champion after posting a 10-1 record in league play. A sophomore from Oldsmar, Fla., Frank is 17-7 in dual matches, all at No. 2, and 23-11 overall in 2008-09.
Earlier this season, Frank garnered Big 12 Player of the Week honors during a season-high eight-match winning streak. She has been ranked as high as No. 98 in the nation this spring and is currently No. 120.
The Aggies (14-10) will be making their 10th consecutive and 15th overall appearance in the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships when they take on SMU at 11 a.m. on Saturday in first-round action at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. The winner advances to the second round to take on the winner between No. 4 Baylor and Texas-Arlington Sunday at 2 p.m. in Waco.
The winners of the 16 second-round matches will converge in College Station, where the national champion will be determined.