Texas A&M
TexasState Farm Lone Star Showdown
No. 10 Aggies Fall To No. 3 Texas In State Farm Lone Star Showdown
Apr 21, 2010 | Men's Tennis
April 21, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas - The 10th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team fell short of third-ranked Texas, 7-0, in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown between the two in-state rivals on Wednesday night at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
It marked the first loss for the Aggies (20-5, 5-1) in a little over a month after reeling off 13 consecutive victories dating back to a 5-2 victory over No. 11 California on March 12 - the second-longest win streak in school history. The rivalry match was originally scheduled five days ago, but was postponed and moved due to inclement weather on Saturday. It was also a first-time meeting of two top 10-ranked A&M and Texas squads in the all-time series.
With the victory, the Longhorns (22-2, 5-0) claimed a full point toward the State Farm Lone Star Showdown standings as well as at least a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the league's postseason tournament to be held next week in Austin. Texas must beat No. 40 Nebraska (13-9, 1-3) to win the title outright over A&M. That meeting is scheduled for Sunday, April 25 in Lincoln, Neb.
The Aggies were swept in doubles for only the third time this season, now twice to the Longhorns including in a close 4-3 neutral Texas Cup loss on Feb. 5 in Houston, and were only able to win two first sets in singles. A&M's top three players were able to take the Longhorns to three sets, but the match was decided early as No. 93-ranked Josh Zavala defeated freshman Alberto Bautista (McAllen, Texas), 7-6 (1), 6-2, at the No. 5 line to put Texas up 4-0.
"They (Texas) played one of their best matches of the year," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "We came out a bit flat in the doubles and that kind of put us on our heels. It seemed like we were playing uphill all night. We didn't win enough first sets in singles, but give them credit. They played well at home and in a big match. They did what they needed to do. Of course, all of these matches come down to who plays the big points well and the momentum points in games and in sets. They did a much better job in doing that tonight. It was a very tough night for us. We just never got anything rolling and they were a big part of that."
The Aggies will close out the regular season with a Friday, April 23 non-conference match with TCU (9-11) at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station. Senior co-captain Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Patrick Dean (Dallas, Texas) will be honored during Senior Day festivities held prior to first serve with the Horned Frogs at 6 p.m. (CT).
"We've won a bunch of matches in a row and beaten a lot of good teams," said Denton on where the Aggies go from the Texas loss. "This is just one match and we will move on. There's so much more for us to play for with the Big 12 Tournament next week and obviously, the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks. That's the big prize for us. We just want our guys playing their best tennis when we get to May and these are the kind of matches we need to make us better and get us prepared for NCAAs."
(3) TEXAS 7, (10) TEXAS A&M 0
April 21, 2010
Penick-Allison Tennis Center
at Austin, Texas
SINGLES
No. 1 - (11) Dimitar Kutrovsky (Texas) def. (6) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M), 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
No. 2 - (21) Ed Corrie (Texas) def. (43) Jeff Dadamo (Texas A&M), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
No. 3 - (96) Kellen Damico (Texas) def. (124) Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M), 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.
No. 4 - Jean Andersen (Texas) def. Alexey Grigorov (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-3.
No. 5 - (93) Josh Zavala (Texas) def. Alberto Bautista (Texas A&M), 7-6 (1), 6-2.
No. 6 - Vasko Mladenov (Texas) def. Colin Hoover (Texas A&M), 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - (6) Kutrovsky-Zavala (Texas) def. (3) Krajicek-Dadamo (Texas A&M), 8-6.
No. 2 - (23) Corrie-Damico (Texas) def. Bautista-Grigorov (Texas A&M), 8-2.
No. 3 - Andersen-Mladenov (Texas) def. Klegou-Lunt (Texas A&M), 8-5.
ORDER OF FINISH
Singles: 4, 6, 5*, 2, 1, 3
Doubles: 2, 3, 1
Players Mentioned
