May 20, 2009
Updated NCAA Men's Singles Draw in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M senior All-American Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) defeated No. 88-ranked Aleksandr Seleznev of Old Dominion in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, to move on to the round of 32 at the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles Championships held Wednesday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The Aggies are playing host to the team and individual championships through Monday, May 25 on the A&M campus. Pollock, a three-time All-Big 12 Conference selection making his second all-time appearance in the NCAA singles draw, will face No. 86-ranked Damon Gooch of Elon tomorrow at noon.
"I was happy with the way I played," Pollock said. "The first rounds are always tough, especially in a tournament like this. I think I handled the moment very well, and it feels good to get a match under my belt. I feel like I'm working my way into the tournament a little bit. Overall, it was a great first day and a great first round."
Pollock becomes only the ninth player in school history on 11 occasions to get past the opening round of singles competition. He closed out the match by returning serve in a love game to raise his record to 28-3 overall on the season. Pollock joins a select few Aggies to make it past the round of 64 including four-time All-American Shuon Madden, three-time All-American Lester Cook, three-time All-American Grant Connell, two-time All-American Ryan Newport, two-time All-American Jerry Makowski, All-American Greg Hill, Mark Weaver and Shaun O'Donovan.
"Conor has worked so hard to get himself ready," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "There is no question that he is one of the top players in the field. He's played a lot of these guys and has confidence in himself. I think he will play well as a result of that. He had a good end of the season and played well against Mississippi the other night (in the NCAA Sweet 16). This match will spring board him into having some confidence to play well here."
Meanwhile, sophomore All-American and No. 47-ranked Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) fell in a third-set tiebreaker to former A&M player and No. 32-ranked Clay Donato of North Carolina, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in the opening round. It was Krajicek's first go-around in the NCAA singles draw which saw a school-record three Aggies make the final cut. Krajicek will partner with Pollock in the NCAA doubles draw tomorrow at a time still to be determined. The seventh-ranked Aggie tandem is one of the top-seeded teams to the beat in the tournament field.
"Austin had a tremendous run for a while," Denton said. "He was playing really well and I know it's disappointing for him, but he's going to be able to learn from it. He's going to be a better player and it's going to make him more determined. Give Clay some credit. He was able to raise his game and change the momentum. Then, it was anybody's match in the third set with both players not really being able to take any opportunities."
Sophomore and No. 48-ranked Wil Spencer (Ponce de Leon, Fla.) also drew a tough first-round matchup in his first NCAA singles appearance with a 6-1, 6-3 loss to fifth-seeded and sixth-ranked Bruno Agostinelli of Kentucky.
"It was not the outcome I was hoping for, but to be in the tournament is a privilege," Spencer said. "There are a lot of great players here. You have to be on top of your game constantly and you can't have a loose match. You have to be playing your best tennis. I got off to a slow start, picked it up in the second set and then it just wasn't enough. He started playing even better and that's the way it goes. I didn't come in playing my best tennis and he was playing great, so give him a lot of credit."
Note: All singles matches will be played between 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (CT). Men's and women's doubles times will be posted by 10 a.m. (CT) on www.AggieAthletics.com. Doubles matches will not be played before 2 p.m. (CT).
NCAA Division I Tennis Championships
Men's Singles Draw
May 20, 2009
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
Round of 64
(9-16) Conor Pollock (Texas A&M) def. Aleksandr Seleznev (Old Dominion), 6-2, 6-4
Clay Donato (North Carolina) def. Wil Spencer (Texas A&M), 6-1, 6-3