March 18, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 18th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team will host Lamar and No. 24 Pepperdine in a doubleheader scheduled for Friday, March 19 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. First serve between the Aggies and Cardinals is set for noon (CT) followed by a nightcap with the Waves at 6 p.m. (CT).
The Aggies (8-4) have won their last four-straight home matches including two against top 25 opponents in a 5-2 upset of No. 11 California on March 12 and a 4-1 victory over No. 24 Oklahoma State in the second round of the ITA Men's Tennis Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 31. They have put together an impressive 6-1 mark at the Mitchell Tennis Center playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation.
A&M will also host No. 12 Louisville (14-3) on Sunday, March 21 at 1 p.m. (CT) to close out a portion of its non-conference slate prior to commencing Big 12 Conference play. The Aggies are an undefeated 8-0 in the all-time series with Lamar (9-4) having last met in 2004. Meanwhile, Pepperdine (6-7) has won the last three consecutive meetings between the two schools and owns an 8-3 advantage in the series. A&M is tied 1-1 in the series with Louisville and is 5-4 this season versus ranked competition.
Junior All-American Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) and freshman Alberto Bautista (McAllen, Texas) lead the Aggies with matching 8-2 records in dual-match action. Krajicek reeled off eight-straight victories to open up the spring season, but has dropped back-to-back matches to No. 3 Ohio State and Cal. Bautista, who has played primarily at No. 5 and 6 singles, is on a two-match winning streak and clinched A&M's upset of the Golden Bears last Friday.
Live video and live scoring for all three matches will be available on www.AggieAthletics.com. Tickets can be purchased online at: www.12thManFoundation.com or by calling the ticket office at 1-888-99-AGGIE.
Catch The Coach Denton Radio Show...Listen to the Steve Denton Radio Show live every Monday at 4:15 p.m. (CT) on Chip Howard's SportsTalk broadcast live on KZNE 1150 AM The Zone in College Station. Denton joins Chip Howard for the only college tennis coach's radio show in the nation. Each week, the duo will recap and preview matches for the nationally-ranked Aggies. The weekly radio show airs every Monday from February through the NCAA Championships and can also be heard worldwide on the Internet at: www.KZNE.com.
Where's Wilson Promotion...Wilson, a smiling tennis ball, will be hiding at every home match this season at the Mitchell Tennis Center. One lucky fan who finds him this weekend will receive a prize compliments of Texas A&M University and will be entered into a grand prize contest which will be held during the women's tennis team's Lone Star Showdown match versus rival Texas on April 20. Fans are encouraged to come out to the matches early to increase their chances of being the first person to find Wilson.
2000 Big 12 Tennis Championship Team Reunion Weekend Postponed...Due to scheduling conflicts, the Texas A&M Lettermen's Association has postponed the 2000 Big 12 Conference Men's Tennis Championship Team reunion weekend originally scheduled for March 19-21 in College Station.