May 5, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS - Texas A&M's Austin Krajicek (pronounced CRY-check) and Jeff Dadamo (pronounced duh-DOM-oh) were among the 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams selected to compete in the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships to be held on May 21-31 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Singles and doubles competition will be conducted on May 26-31 following the conclusion of the men's and women's team championships on May 20-25 on the campus of host University of Georgia. All matches shall be the best of three sets. Regular scoring and a 12-point tiebreaker at six games all will be used for all matches.
Krajicek, a junior All-American and left-hander from Brandon, Fla., is making his second consecutive NCAA Singles Championship appearance and is currently ranked No. 6 in the nation in the latest Campbell/ITA rankings released on Monday. He was one of 16 automatic qualifiers and is seeded fifth. Krajicek is the second-highest ranked A&M player to ever enter the singles draw behind four-time All-American Shuon Madden (1998-01), who was ranked No. 3 in the nation, leading into the 2000 NCAA Singles Championship also held at Georgia. The two-time Big 12 Player of the Week selection compiled an 18-5 dual record and was crowned co-Big 12 Conference No. 1 singles champion with a 5-1 league mark. He beat 14 nationally-ranked opponents this past season.
Krajicek is joined in the individual tournament by Dadamo, a junior transfer and No. 39-ranked left-hander from Tampa, Fla., who is making his first trip to the NCAA Singles Championship after previously being a top alternate for the NCAA Doubles Championship while a freshman at the University of Florida in 2008. Dadamo, also a Big 12 Player of the Week honoree this past season, put together a 17-7 dual record including 11 versus ranked foes and was co-Big 12 No. 2 singles champion with a 4-2 mark.
In addition, Krajicek and Dadamo were one of eight top seeds in the NCAA Doubles Championship and are currently ranked No. 5 nationally. The Aggie duo was one of 11 automatic qualifiers and are seeded No. 5-8 in the draw. Krajicek is looking to contend for his third-straight NCAA doubles title, while Dadamo his first. They were crowned Wilson/ITA Texas Region doubles champions in the fall and have posted a 24-9 overall record including an impressive 18-8 mark in dual matches this year.
A&M junior Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas), ranked No. 34 nationally with a 12-2 overall and 9-1 dual record, were also selected as one of nine top alternates in the doubles draw.