April 4, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 12th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team will put its nine-match winning streak on the line as it hosts regional rival UTSA and No. 36 Notre Dame in a tennis tripleheader scheduled for Monday, April 5 at noon (CT) and 6 p.m. (CT) respectively at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The A&M women's tennis team will also compete against Notre Dame simultaneously with the Aggie men at 6 p.m. (CT) on the stadium and grandstand courts. A&M will host its annual Dollar Day promotion with $1 hot dogs, $1 drinks and $1 popcorn available for purchase by fans while supplies last for the three matches.
The Aggies (16-4) are an impressive 13-1 at home this season and most recently defeated No. 37 Nebraska (4-3) on the road to improve their Big 12 Conference record to 3-0 and tied for first place with archrival Texas. The Roadrunners (11-6) are on a seven-match winning streak including a 6-1 rout of Lamar on April 3, while the Fighting Irish (11-8) are winners of five out of their last six matches with a 5-2 victory at SMU on April 3.
"Obviously, we want to keep our streak alive," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "More importantly, though, our players believe in themselves right now. We know we can band together even when faced with adversity. We have two really good teams coming in on Monday. UTSA is one of the better teams in the Southland Conference. The early match will give us the opportunity to have other players on the team contribute and keep them dialed in. We are going to need that depth as we move on in the season. Notre Dame is a really good team and they beat us 4-3 indoors at their place last year. We were up 3-0 in that match, but lost four three-set matches in a row. We are excited to have the opportunity to play them again. It will be a close match and just another opportunity for us to be challenged by some of the top teams in the country."
The Aggies are 11-4 this season against ranked opponents. They are tied 3-3 in the all-time series with Notre Dame and an undefeated 10-0 versus UTSA. A&M will close out a tough four-match in six-day stretch with No. 11 Baylor (16-3, 0-0) on Wednesday, April 7 at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Live video and live scoring for all home 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.
Montelongo's Mixed Doubles Challenge...The Montelongo's Fine Jewelry Mixed Doubles Challenge will be held on Wednesday, April 7 at 5 p.m. (CT) at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Interested participants should sign up at: www.BrazosValleyTennis.org before Monday, April 5 at midnight. The championship will be played during the break of the Texas A&M men's tennis versus Baylor match. The winning mixed doubles team will receive a maroon Jewel Signature ring valued at $2,800. Participants must have an NTRP of 4.0 or below to enter and be at least 25 years old.
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.