May 13, 2009
NCAA Sweet 16 Notes in PDF Format 
Texas A&M NCAA Tennis Championships Central
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 15th-seeded and 15th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team is one of 16 schools who remain in the hunt and look to make a national title run as the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Championships gets underway on Thursday, May 14 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The Aggies (17-8), who led the nation in attendance during the month of April, will square off against second-seeded and second-ranked Mississippi (26-2) in a Sweet 16 matchup slated for Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT). They have put together an impressive 10-2 record on their home courts including top 10 upsets over Illinois on March 15 and USC on March 19. A&M reached the round of 16 for the first time since 2005 and for the ninth time in school history by way of 4-0 shutouts of Binghamton in the first round on May 8 and 24th-ranked Arizona in the second round on May 9.
"We had a great weekend and our guys really picked up their level of play against Arizona last Saturday," said third-year Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton who has now guided his first team to the round of 16 in eight seasons of coaching on the Division I level including a five-year stint at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi from 2001-06. "We played a complete match and played well in all facets of the game. We had three goals we wanted to set this year. One was to host an NCAA regional, the second was to make the final team tournament and the third was to win the Big 12. We didn't quite get it done against Baylor, but our players have made great strides all season long to obtain our team goals."
Playing the third-toughest schedule in the nation has prepared the Aggies well for postseason play. In fact, A&M went head-to-head during the regular season against six of the final 16 teams in the tournament field including Big 12 Conference foes Baylor and Texas as well as Illinois, USC, Boise State and Ohio State. The winner between the Aggies and Rebels will move on to face either seventh-seeded and seventh-ranked UCLA (19-4) or Miami (16-8) in the men's quarterfinals on Saturday, May 16 at 5 p.m. (CT). A&M has only advanced to the Elite Eight once in 2001.
"It is certainly exciting to play at home and in front of the 12th Man," Denton said. "This is a major stepping stone for our program and was an important one for us to make. We want to continue to build our team into an elite top 10 program. The ups-and-downs we had this season all came together on Saturday (against Arizona) and it was a big moment for us. It should be an electric match against a very good Mississippi team on Thursday."
Texas A&M leads 3-1 in the all-time series versus Ole Miss. Both teams last met in 2003 where the then 18th-ranked Aggies pulled off a 4-3 victory over the then fifth-ranked Rebels in the opening round of the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships held in Louisville, Ky. It remains one of their top victories in program history.
"We know pretty much their whole team," Denton said. "They are predominately a Swedish team who ran the table in the SEC and won the SEC Tournament. They kind of got slighted by having to play at LSU and didn't get to host as a top seed. They've already had to play on the road against a good SEC team and are battle tested. Like us, they are a young team with players who have never played in a Sweet 16. It's going to be a really close match like all of our other matches this season. We have a lot respect for them as a No. 2 seed, but we are certainly not afraid of them. We are a tough team to beat and they are going to have to play well to beat us."
Senior All-American and team captain Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) leads the way for the Aggies playing at the top of the lineup in singles and doubles. He is currently ranked 17th nationally in singles and is joined by a talented supporting cast that includes sophomore All-American Wil Spencer (Ponce de Leon, Fla.), sophomore Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas) and freshman Colin Hoover (Victoria, Texas). Alternates include sophomore Kayvon Karimi (Dallas, Texas) and freshman Austin Klores (Franklin, Texas).
A&M continues to put the finishing touches on one of the best seasons in program history which includes a No. 11 national ranking, a second-place finish in the Big 12 and its 16th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. One key matchup between the Aggies and Rebels will be at the No. 1 line in doubles. The seventh-ranked Aggie tandem of Krajicek and Pollock will go up against the top-ranked Ole Miss duo of Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge. Last season, A&M reached the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship with a round of 16 upset over top-ranked Somdev Devvarman and Treat Huey of Virginia. They later fell short of making the finals with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Mississippi's Jonas Berg and former doubles partner Erling Tveit.
"We've had a solid season," Denton said. "Ultimately, this tournament doesn't come down to who is seeded where, but who is playing well at this particular time of year. There will be no excuses on Thursday night. Both teams will be prepared, but all you can do is put yourself in a good position. We are going to give it our best shot and see how the chips fall."
NCAA Championships Ticket Information...Fans can purchase tickets by calling the 12th Man Foundation Ticket Center at 1-888-99-AGGIE or by going online at www.12thManFoundation.com. All-session ticket prices (all 12 days of the Championship) range from $103 for Stadium Club seating, $78 for adult general admission and $35 for youth general admission. Individual day tickets range from $12 for single day reserved (Stadium Club seating), $10 single day general admission and $4 single day admission for students and youth.
The Big Three...Conor Pollock, Wil Spencer give A&M one of the top one-two-three punches in all of college tennis. Each qualified individually for the upcoming NCAA Singles Championship to be held on May 20-25 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Krajicek and Spencer are ranked No. 47 and 48 respectively in the latest Campbell/ITA singles rankings. A&M is one of only four schools in the nation to have three players in the singles draw next to top-ranked Virginia, third-ranked Ohio State and Ole Miss.
Everybody's All-American...Conor Pollock is currently one of the top six Americans in college tennis who will be competing in the round of 16 this week in College Station. The others include third-ranked Bryan Koniecko of Ohio State, 10th-ranked Cory Parr of Wake Forest and 12th-ranked Nate Schnugg of Georgia. The Sweet 16 foursome are also joined by NCAA Singles Championship qualifiers in seventh-ranked Michael Venus of LSU and 15th-ranked Blake Strode of Arkansas.
NCAA Tennis Championships Weekend and Group Promotions...In addition to the all-session and single-session tickets, parents and children can take advantage of the "Weekend Experience" ticket promotion on each Saturday and Sunday of the tennis championships. There must be at least one adult and one child present in order to receive the discounted weekend tickets for only $7 for adults and $3 for children. Groups of 12-or-more can also receive discounted tickets ($7 adult and $3 youth). The 12th Man Team Rewards Program will scan each day of the tournament for Aggie fans who may need additional scans to earn their next reward.
NCAA MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 14 - Men's Round Of 16
(4) Georgia vs. (13) Illinois at 9 a.m. (CT) - Stadium Courts
(5) Tennessee vs. (12) Texas at 9 a.m. (CT) - Grandstand Courts
(1) Virginia vs. (16) Florida State at Noon (CT) - Stadium Courts
(8) USC vs. (9) Stanford at Noon (CT) - Grandstand Courts
(3) Ohio State vs. (14) Boise St. at 3 p.m. (CT) - Stadium Courts
(6) Baylor vs. (17-32) Wake Forest at 3 p.m. (CT) - Grandstand Courts
(2) Mississippi vs. (15) Texas A&M at 6 p.m. (CT) - Stadium Courts
(7) UCLA vs. (17-32) Miami (Fla.) at 6 p.m. (CT) - Grandstand Courts