Sept. 14, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Three Texas A&M men's tennis players will begin fall tournament play this week at the USTA Tulsa Challenger on Sept. 15-20 in Tulsa, Okla., and the Midland Invitational on Sept. 18-20 in Midland, Texas.
Junior All-American Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) will compete as an amateur in the singles main draw of the USTA Tulsa Challenger. He received one of three wild-card entries into the USTA Pro Circuit draw which includes several ATP Tour players who recently competed at the U.S. Open including former Texas A&M All-American Lester Cook, fifth-seeded American Jesse Levine and American Jesse Witten. Krajicek will face Daniel Garza of Mexico in the opening round on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, senior Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore newcomer John Lewis (Birmingham, Ala.) will participate in both the singles and doubles flights at the Midland Invitational. Lunt posted a 21-17 overall record last season playing primarily at No. 4 and 5 singles for the Aggies. Lewis is a transfer from the University of Alabama who compiled an 8-2 record in fall tournament play a year ago including a singles title at the USTA National Tennis Center Men's Tennis Invitational.
"Our players have been working on their own all summer, so we are really interested in seeing the progress they have made," said Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton, who enters his fourth season in Aggieland. "This is the first week of official practice for us and we will go right into fall tournament play. We have a few new players this year, in addition to our returners from last year, so this weekend will be a great way to assess everyone and let them get their feet wet with a little competition."