April 29, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 10th-ranked and second-seeded Texas A&M men's tennis team looks to make its mark at the 2010 Big 12 Conference Men's Tennis Championship to be held on April 30-May 2 at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin, Texas.
The Aggies (21-5) have won 14 of their last 15 matches leading into postseason play and are still gunning for their first conference title since 2001. They will meet No. 49-ranked and seventh-seeded Oklahoma State (8-12) in quarterfinal action on Friday, April 30 at noon (CT).
The winner will move on to face either seventh-ranked and third-seeded Baylor (20-5) or No. 40-ranked and sixth-seeded Nebraska (13-11) in the semifinals on Saturday, May 1 at noon (CT). Top-seeded and third-ranked Texas (23-2) received a first-round bye and will await the winner between No. 15-ranked and fourth-seeded Texas Tech (20-4) and No. 20-ranked and fifth-seeded Oklahoma (16-6) in Saturday's other semifinal match.
For the second consecutive year, A&M earned the No. 2 tournament seed with an impressive 5-1 record in league play. After 13-straight wins, the second-longest win streak in school history, the Aggies fell short of the Longhorns in their final Big 12 match on April 21, which eventually decided this year's regular-season champion. With the strength of the conference loaded from top-to-bottom this season, the Aggies know that no school can be overlooked in the postseason, but a little redemption this weekend in the state capital wouldn't hurt either.
"We've had a really good run," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "We obviously faced some adversity in the Texas match last week, but I felt like our guys were able to overcome and put it (the loss) behind them against TCU last Friday. This week, we have really stressed competing and working hard in practice in our preparation. It's been a very productive week for us. Whether we win or lose, I know we are going to play well this weekend. That's more important to me - that we are playing well and everyone is feeling good about their game as we move into the Big 12 Tournament and then the NCAA Tournament."
A&M has already beaten OSU twice this season, a 4-1 non-conference victory in the second round of the ITA Men's Tennis Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 31, and a 7-0 shutout on March 28. Both matches were played in College Station.
"They are playing for their NCAA life this weekend," said Denton on Oklahoma State's must-win situation after posting an 0-6 record in conference play. "They are just outside the number which will get you into the tournament. They are going to have to beat us and because of that, we know we are going to get a huge effort from them. It's hard to beat a team three times in the same year, especially as good and as talented of a team Oklahoma State is and how close we have played them in the past. I discount the 7-0 match, because there were a lot of matches that were close and could have went their way. This is a very dangerous OSU team and we are going to have to come out and play well if we expect to move on in the tournament."
The Aggies are 1-3 all-time versus the Cowboys in Big 12 Championship matches having last met in the 2006 (2-4) and 2007 (1-4) quarterfinals. However, they have reached the semifinals in each of the last two years. Four of A&M's five losses of the season have come against opponents ranked No. 12 or higher in the Campbell/ITA rankings.
With one of the deepest lineups in the Big 12, the Aggies are led by junior All-American Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) and junior Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, Fla.) who are currently ranked No. 7 and No. 44 respectively in singles as well as No. 5 in doubles. Krajicek (17-4) and Dadamo (15-6) are one of five A&M players who have posted 11-or-more dual wins in singles this season next to junior Alexey Grigorov (Moscow, Russia) with a team-best 18-5 record at No. 4 singles, freshman Alberto Bautista (McAllen, Texas) 17-6 at No. 5 singles and sophomore Alexis Klegou (Dunkerque, France) 11-8 at No. 3 singles.
"If you told me we were going to be 21-5, finish second in the Big 12, beat as many teams as we have this season, ranked as high as we are in the rankings and have the opportunity to host a (NCAA) regional - we are right where we want to be," said Denton on if this is where he imagined his team would be heading into postseason play. "We lost a couple of matches we would have liked to have won, but at the same time, this team has really improved throughout the season and I am very proud of their progress."
All-session passes to the 2010 Big 12 Championship are available for purchase at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center priced at $10 for adults and $5 for youth, while day passes are $5 for adults and $3 for youth.
Live scoring for all Big 12 Championship matches will be available at www.TexasSports.com.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Friday, April 30 (Quarterfinals)
(4) Texas Tech vs. (5) Oklahoma - 9 a.m. (CT)
(2) Texas A&M vs. (7) Oklahoma State - Noon (CT)
(3) Baylor vs. (6) Nebraska - 3 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, May 1 (Semifinals)
(1) Texas vs. Texas Tech-Oklahoma winner - Noon (CT)
Texas A&M-Oklahoma State winner vs. Baylor-Nebraska winner - Noon (CT)
Sunday, May 2 (Finals)
Championship Match - 1 p.m. (CT)