May 27, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. - Texas A&M's Jeff Dadamo (pronounced duh-DOM-oh) and Austin Krajicek (pronounced CRY-check) fell in the round of the 32 at the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships held Thursday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Dadamo, a junior from Tampa, Fla., dropped a close 6-4, 7-6 (5) decision to No. 9-16 seeded Tim Puetz of Auburn in the second round of the 64-player singles draw. The Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year and All-Big 12 singles and doubles selection concludes the season with a team-leading 28-13 overall singles record - 16 of those wins against nationally-ranked opponents. Krajicek, a junior from Brandon, Fla., fell in the opening round on Wednesday, but garnered his second career All-America nod in singles as a top 16 seed in the draw.
"Jeff played one loose service game in the first set and then it was a toss-up from there on," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "It was a high-quality match. I'm really pleased with Jeff's progress this season. His attitude improved and he continued to believe in himself. He had a really great year for us."
Dadamo and Krajicek, the fifth-ranked doubles team in the country, lost their opening-round match versus No. 14-ranked Drew Courtney and Michael Shabaz of Virginia, 6-4, 6-4, and were eliminated from the tournament. Despite the loss, Dadamo and Krajicek, earned All-America honors as a top eight seed in the draw. Dadamo becomes only the 11th A&M player in school history to earn All-America honors, while it was the third nod for Krajicek in doubles.
"Virginia made returns better than we did and I thought that was the difference in the doubles match," Denton said. "They were able to put more pressure on our service games than we were able to do to theirs. We had close sets, but with four good tennis players on the court, sometimes that's what happens."
Dadamo and Krajicek are one of 11 players returning from A&M's 2010 NCAA Sweet 16 squad with the loss of only two graduating seniors in co-captain Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas) and Patrick Dean (Dallas, Texas) next season. Other key returners include junior Alexey Grigorov (Moscow, Russia), sophomore Alexis Klegou (Dunkerque, France), freshman Alberto Bautista (McAllen, Texas), sophomore Colin Hoover (Victoria, Texas), freshman Niall Angus (London, England), junior Calon Alpar (Austin, Texas), sophomore John Lewis (Birmingham, Ala.), sophomore Austin Klores (Franklin, Texas) and freshman Beau Blackshear (Brentwood, Tenn.).
"I am really pleased with the season we had," said Denton whose Aggies turned in the second-most wins in school history with a 25-7 overall record. "We were able to reach the Sweet 16 with four new players in our lineup and we were able to beat several good teams this year. I felt like our team got better and better as the year progressed. We had a really good run in the Big 12 and finished second for the second-straight year.
"We are moving in the right direction. Our team has improved and we have great chemistry. We have positioned ourselves well to have another great season next year. It's never easy when the season comes to an abrupt halt. I was pleased with how we competed and improved over the course of the season. Our program is right on target to becoming a national power. That's what Coach (Bob) McKinley and I set out to do and it is exciting to see it all come to fruition."
2010 NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
May 25-31, 2010
Dan Magill Tennis Complex
at Athens, Ga.
SINGLES
Round of 32
(16) Tim Puetz (Auburn) def. (39) Jeff Dadamo (Texas A&M), 6-4, 7-6 (5).
DOUBLES
Round of 32
(14) Drew Courtney-Michael Shabaz (Virginia) def. (5) Jeff Dadamo-Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-4.