April 16, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The ninth-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team will battle third-ranked Texas with ultimate bragging rights on the line for the State Farm Lone Star Showdown trophy between the two storied in-state rivals on Saturday, April 17 at 4 p.m. (CT) at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin, Texas.
The Aggies (20-4, 5-0) enter the annual rivalry showdown on a 13-match winning streak and the program's first top 10 national ranking under fourth-year head coach Steve Denton and assistant coach Bob McKinley. It is currently the second-longest winning streak in school history dating back to a 5-2 upset of No. 11 California on March 12 in College Station.
This will be the first-ever meeting with both schools ranked in the top 10 in the 53-match series. A&M and Texas remain undefeated in Big 12 Conference play and a win by either squad will determine the league regular-season champion who will earn a No. 1 seed and first-round bye in the upcoming Big 12 Tennis Championship on April 29-May 2 in Austin.
"It's going to be an exciting match," Denton said. "It's just a great rivalry. The guys all get excited to play on both sides. That's what makes it very unique. Both schools love to compete against each other. For our players who want to go on to play on the pro circuit, it gives them a taste of competition at the highest level."
The Longhorns (21-2, 4-0) are one match back in second place in the latest league standings behind A&M and will wrap-up league competition at Nebraska on April 25. The Aggies last won a Big 12 regular-season title in 2001.
"Texas has lost twice this season to teams, outside of (defending national champion) USC, who have the most talent on paper in Virginia and Tennessee," Denton said. "What makes them so good is they don't have any holes. They play well at all three doubles lines and are capable of winning any singles match. The success they've had over the last couple of years makes them a very tough lineup to play top-to-bottom. We are nine-or-10 players deep as well and that's what makes us a really good team. Both programs have had a lot of success this season and it will come down to who is mentally tougher on Saturday."
A&M is 14-4 this season against nationally-ranked opponents with losses only to Fresno State (3-4) in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 30, then-No. 8 Texas (3-4) in a non-conference, neutral Texas Cup match played on Feb. 5 in Houston, Texas, as well as a back-to-back road trips to No. 12 Illinois (2-5) on March 5 in Urbana-Champaign, Ill., and No. 3 Ohio State (3-4) on March 7 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Aggies are led by reigning Big 12 Player of the Week and fifth-ranked Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) who is an unbeaten 5-0 at No. 1 singles in league play. Junior Alexey Grigorov (Moscow, Russia) and No. 35-ranked junior Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, Fla.) also lead the Big 12 with a 5-0 record at No. 4 singles and a 4-1 record at No. 2 singles respectively. Dadamo and Krajicek, ranked No. 4 nationally, pace the Big 12 with a 4-1 mark at No. 1 doubles.
Live scoring will be available at: http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/012510aaa.html
State Farm Lone Star Showdown Update...The winner of Saturday's match will add a point toward the current State Farm Lone Star Showdown standings in which Texas leads Texas A&M 6.5 points to 5.0 points. Last season, the Aggies defeated the Longhorns by a count of 4-3 in both team's regular-season finale on April 16, 2009, in College Station, to earn a full point toward A&M's second consecutive claim to the State Farm Lone Star Showdown trophy in the rivalry series.
Denton Texas Ties...Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton was a former All-American at Texas and led the Longhorns to a 78-27 (.743) team record and a Southwest Conference title from 1976-79. He compiled an 85-22 career record in singles and a 72-18 career record in doubles. Denton, who was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 2006, graduated from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 1998, while serving as the Director of the HEB Tennis Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. "I played at Texas for four years, but opted to leave college early and play the pro circuit. I promised my mom I would go back and earn my degree - I just didn't know it would be in my 40's," Denton said. "I have many fond memories from my time at Texas, but since I've been at A&M, I've fallen in love with Aggieland. Everyone has been great to me and my family here. I've had so much support and been given the resources to be able to build our program into what we have in place now. It's definitely an exciting time to be an Aggie."