Texas A&M
North Carolina State
No. 15 Men's Tennis Fends Off Wolfpack, 6-1
Jan 30, 2009 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 30, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 15-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team improved to 2-0 on the season with a 6-1 victory over No. 42 North Carolina State in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend held Friday afternoon at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex on the campus of host Florida.
For the second-straight match, the Aggies dominated in doubles play with rookies Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) and Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.), ranked No. 34 nationally in the latest ITA rankings, handed Christian Welte and Julian Sullivan an identical 8-3 loss at the top of the lineup to collect the doubles point for A&M.
"It (doubles point) got us off to a good lead," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "We played solid doubles, especially at No. 3 with Colin and Austin (Klores). I have been very impressed by their play as freshmen. Conor and Austin (Krajicek) also played a very good doubles match to get us going early."
Krajicek and Wil Spencer (Ponce de Leon, Fla.), both native Floridians, quickly put A&M up 3-0 with straight-set victories at the No. 2 and 3 lines. Spencer, ranked No. 8 nationally, dismantled his seventh nationally-ranked opponent of the season with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 124-ranked Christian Welte. He raised his overall season record to 13-2 and has won 24 of his last 32 games against players from Radford and N.C. State combined. Krajicek, ranked No. 46 nationally, defeated Derek Stephens by a tally of 6-1, 7-5 in his homecoming.
With four of the six matches in play going into third sets, the Aggies searched for a closer on courts 1, 4, 5 and 6. Sophomore Kayvon Karimi (Dallas, Texas) answered the call for A&M by clinching the match with a hard-fought victory over Dominic Hodgson, 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1, at No. 5.
"We were able to get our first three (wins) pretty comfortably, but looking for that fourth point lasted forever," Denton said. "Kayvon played his best match. He started out really well in the third set by staying ahead and playing out front the entire time. I was very pleased with his effort and happy he had the opportunity to close it out for us today."
The remaining Aggies on the court met some adversity in their attempt to finish out the match. Junior Conor Pollock (San Antonio, Texas) and No. 55-ranked Jay Weinacker of N.C. State, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (1), at No. 1.
A&M will face No. 7 and top-seeded Florida (3-0) tomorrow at 1 p.m. (CT). The Gators defeated fourth-seeded and No. 48 Arizona, 5-2, in the opening round of 64. The winner will receive an invitation to play in the 35th ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Illinois on February 13-16 at the Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago.
"They are a solid team all the way down their lineup in singles and doubles," said Denton on Florida. "They are going to be a difficult opponent, but if our guys are fighting hard, we will have a great chance of winning the match. We just have to get all of our guys playing well on the same day we. We are certainly not the favorite in the match, but if we can play to our potential, we can win it. The doubles point is going to be key. We've had success so far and we look to keep it rolling."
Live scoring and complete results will be available at: www.GatorZone.com.
(15) TEXAS A&M 6, (42) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 1
January 30, 2009
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex
at Gainesville, Fla.
Attendance: 66
SINGLES
No. 1 - (12) Conor Pollock (Texas A&M) def. (55) Jay Weinacker (North Carolina State), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (1).
No. 2 - (8) Wil Spencer (Texas A&M) def. (124) Christian Welte (North Carolina State), 6-1, 6-4.
No. 3 - (46) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. Derek Stephens (North Carolina State), 6-1, 7-5.
No. 4 - Marcus Lunt (Texas A&M) def. Jaime Pulgar (North Carolina State), 7-6 (6), 4-6, 1-0 (10-5).
No. 5 - Kayvon Karimi (Texas A&M) def. Dominic Hodgson (North Carolina State), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1.
No. 6 - David Chermak (North Carolina State) def. Austin Klores (Texas A&M), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - (34) Krajicek-Pollock (Texas A&M) def. Welte-Julian Sullivan (North Carolina State), 8-3.
No. 2 - Lunt-Spencer (Texas A&M) def. Pulgar-Weinacker (North Carolina State), DNF.
No. 3 - Colin Hoover-Klores (Texas A&M) def. Chermak-Freddy Prandecki (North Carolina State), 8-3.
ORDER OF FINISH
Doubles: 3, 1
Singles: 3, 2, 5*, 6, 4, 1
