May 8, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M has earned its 10th consecutive and 15th overall bid to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships and will make a short 90-mile trip to Waco, Texas, for first- and second-round action Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10. The No. 39 Aggies (14-10), an at-large selection from the Big 12 Conference, meet former Southwest Conference foe and 23rd-ranked SMU (27-2), the automatic qualifier from Conference USA, at 11 a.m. Saturday in the first round at the Baylor Tennis Center.
In other first-round action in Waco, No. 4 seed Baylor (24-4), the automatic entry from the Big 12, faces Texas-Arlington (18-6), an automatic qualifier from the Southland Conference, Saturday at 2 p.m.
The first-round winners meet Sunday at 2 p.m. to determine who advances to the Round of 16 to be played at Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station beginning May 15.
A&M, which has advanced to at least the second round in each of the last six years, is a No. 33-48 seed in the 64-team tournament field and is the No. 3 seed at the Baylor site. SMU, a No. 17-32 seed overall, is the No. 2 seed in Waco, and host Baylor is the No. 1 seed at the four-team Waco site and the No. 4 seed overall. UTA is a 49-64 seed and the No. 4 seed at Baylor.
Single-day tickets at the Baylor site are $10 for a reserved seat, $5 for adult general admission and $3 for student general admission. Tickets can be purchased at the Baylor Ticket Office or online at BaylorBears.com.
Tournament Schedule
Saturday, May 9
No. 23 SMU vs. No. 39 Texas A&M, 11a.m.
No. 4 Baylor vs. Texas-Arlington, 2 p.m.
Sunday, May 10
First round winners, 2 p.m.
Each match will be played on six courts and will be stopped immediately when an overall winner is determined.
Live scoring updates of A&M matches will be available on the A&M website, www.AggieAthletics.com. Live stats of all matches will be provided on Baylor's website at baylorbears.com.
A&M's Road to the NCAAs -- The Aggies went 14-10 during the regular season, notching nine wins against ranked opponents, including two wins against teams in the NCAA tournament field -- Auburn and Denver. All 10 losses were against teams that are in the NCAAs, including No. 3 seed Duke, No. 4 seed Baylor, No. 5 seed Notre Dame and No. 7 seed Southern California.
The Aggies, who were ranked as high as No. 24 in the nation on March 3, went 9-2 in the Big 12 Conference to finish third behind regular-season and conference tournament-champion Baylor and runner-up Texas.
A&M's History in the NCAAs -- Texas A&M is making its 10 consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and 15th overall since the first championship was held in 1982. The Aggies, who received automatic NCAA tournament berths in 1986 and 2004 and were seeded an all-time high No. 12 in 2004, are 12-15 all-time in postseason play.
This is the third time in the past four years and third time overall that the Aggies have been sent to Waco for first and second-round matches. A&M has fallen to the Lady Bears in the second round each time the Aggies have been sent to Waco.
Last year, A&M was sent to Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., for the first two rounds. It marked the first time the Aggies were sent out of state since A&M traveled to Notre Dame in 2001. No. 31 A&M defeated 38th-ranked Washington, 4-1, in the opening round but then was eliminated by No. 4 seed Stanford, 4-1.
In 2007, A&M was sent to Baylor for the second consecutive year. A&M defeated in-state rival TCU, 4-1, in the first round and then fell to the Lady Bears, 4-1, in the second round.
In 2006, A&M was an at-large team and faced No. 22 Arizona State in the first round in Waco. After winning two of three doubles matches, A&M went on to win three of the first four completed singles matches to clinch the win and advance to the second round. No. 13 seed Baylor eliminated A&M, 4-1, in the second round.
In 2005, A&M received an at-large berth and defeated Nevada-Las Vegas, 4-0, in the first round played at the University of Texas' Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin. The Aggies were eliminated in the second round as the Longhorns topped A&M, 4-1, en route to their national runner-up finish.
In 2004, the Aggies received an automatic berth after coming from behind to top 10th-ranked and Big 12 regular-season champion Texas, 4-3, in the finals of the Big 12 Tournament. It was the Aggies' first automatic NCAA invitation in the eight-year history of the conference. A&M was awarded an all-time high No. 12 seed in the 64-team bracket and was selected to host first and second rounds for the second consecutive year and the third time overall.
A&M took advantage of playing at home, racing past SWAC automatic qualifier Southern, 4-0, in the first round. The Aggies faced former Southwest Conference-foe SMU in the second round, and after dropping the doubles point, A&M won the first four singles matches to send the Aggies to the Round of 16 for the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams.
The Aggies were eliminated by fifth-seeded and No. 7-ranked Clemson, 4-1, in Athens, Ga.
A&M was selected to host and was the No. 2 seed at the regional site in the 2003 tournament. The Aggies disposed of LSU, 4-0, to advance to the second round. A&M then fell to the nation's No. 4 seed, California, 4-0.
The Aggies first appeared in the 16-team tournament in 1986 and were eliminated by eventual runner-up Southern California, 8-1, in the first round in Austin. A&M returned to the Championships in 1989 and fell to Arizona, 5-1, in the first round in Gainesville, Fla.
A&M was selected to host for the first time in 1996 and took advantage of the home site, then the Omar Smith Tennis Center. The No. 2 seed in the eight-team Southwest Regional, the Aggies defeated Baylor, 5-1, and then downed No. 3 seed Arkansas, 5-3, to advance to the regional finals. A&M faced No. 1-seed Vanderbilt for the right to advance to the Round of 16 and fell, 5-3.
A&M made a second consecutive appearance in the 1997 NCAAs and defeated host Rice, 5-3, in the first round of the Southwest Regional played at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium in Houston. The Aggies were eliminated by LSU, 5-0, in the regional semifinals.
The Aggies returned to the NCAAs for a third straight year in 1998 and fell to Houston, 5-3, in the opening round of the Southwest Regional in Baton Rouge, La.
After missing the 1999 tournament, A&M received a bid to the 2000 tournament and was sent to Berkeley, Calif. The Aggies topped Kentucky, 5-4, in the first round and then fell to the host Golden Bears, 5-0, in the regional semifinals.
A&M fell in the first round of the 2001 and 2002 NCAA regionals, falling to Tulane, 4-3, at Notre Dame and then dropping a 4-1 decision to TCU in Austin in 2002.
Series Records vs. Regional Opponents -- SMU holds a 14-11 lead in the all-time series against A&M, but the Aggies have won the last five meetings and eight of the last nine. A&M also is 1-0 in NCAA matches against SMU, as the former Southwest Conference foes last met in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Championships, with A&M eliminating the Mustangs, 4-1, in College Station to advance to Athens, Ga., and the Round of 16.
A&M is 20-15 against Baylor since 1980. The Lady Bears, however, have won eight consecutive matches against the Aggies, including a 6-1 victory in College Station on April 15. In addition, Baylor is 2-1 against A&M in NCAA contests, having eliminated A&M in the second round in both 206 and 2007. Both of those matches were in Waco. A&M's one tournament victory was in the first round of the 1996 Championships at A&M's Omar Smith Tennis Center.
A&M and UTA have met only once with A&M winning, 9-0.
Regional Team Notes -- SMU (27-2, 4-0 C-USA) is ranked No. 23 and is riding a program-best 17 match winning streak into the NCAA Championships. The Mustangs won their first C-USA regular season title and then won their first tournament title in program history after defeating Tulsa, 4-1, in the C-USA finals.
The Mustangs are led by Marta Lesniak, the C-USA Freshman of the Year and an automatic qualifier in the NCAA Singles Championships with a No. 59 national ranking. Lesniak is 13-1 at the No. 1 singles line, with her only loss coming to Macall Harkins of TCU in three sets on March 18.
Lesniak also is an automatic entry in the NCAA Doubles Championships with freshman partner Aleksandra Malyarchikova. The pair is No. 32 with a 13-0 record at No. 1 doubles.
Lauren Longbotham-Meisner is in her fourth season as head coach of the Mustangs.
Baylor (24-4) is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Championships in program history and is the No. 4 seed. The Lady Bears went a perfect 11-0 in the Big 12 regular season and won the conference tournament for the fourth consecutive year after defeating Texas, 4-1, in the finals.
All-American Lenka Broosova is ranked No. 33 in the nation in singles and is an automatic qualifier in the NCAA Singles Championships. She will be joined in the NCAA Individual Championships by teammates Taylor Ormond and Jelena Stanivuk in singles and Csilla Borsanyi in doubles.
The Lady Bears are led by Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year Joey Scrivano. He is in his seventh season as head coach at Baylor.
Texas-Arlington (18-6, 11-0 SLC) is making its fifth appearance in the NCAAs after routing Texas-San Antonio in the Southland Conference Championship to earn the league's automatic berth. The Mavericks are 0-4 in NCAA matches.
A&M Coach Bobby Kleinecke -- Two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year Bobby Kleinecke enters the NCAAs with a 388-252 (.606) 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.
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.
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.
Although this is the third time A&M has served as host of the men's national championship, having also hosted in 2002 and 2005, it will mark the first time the women's national champion will be determined in College Station.
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 2-1 at neutral sites...A&M freshman Ashley Turpin's father and uncle, Mark and Jeff Turpin, both played tennis at SMU, whose tennis facility now bears the Turpin family name.