Texas A&M
Baylor
Bautista, Aggies Thump No. 9 Bears In 6-1 Upset
Apr 08, 2010 | Men's Tennis
April 8, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Freshman Alberto Bautista (McAllen, Texas) led the 12th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team to a 6-1 upset of ninth-ranked Baylor to tie the second-longest winning streak in school history on Wednesday night before a crowd of 447 fans at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The Aggies (19-4, 4-0) claimed their first victory over Baylor since 2006 and first in the Steve Denton Era. It snapped a five-match losing skid in which the Bears (16-4, 0-1) have dominated the all-time series in the last decade between the two in-state rivals. A&M has now won 12-straight matches which ties two Big 12 Conference Championship squads who also won 12 in a row in 2000 (postseason) and 2001 (regular season and postseason). The Aggies are off to their first 4-0 start in league play since 2001. It was the largest margin of victory in the series since a 6-1 win at Baylor in 1998.
"It feels really good to play this kind of match against Baylor," said Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton whose Aggies have now beaten three top 10 teams over the last two years at the Mitchell Tennis Center including No. 7 Illinois and No. 10 and defending national champion USC in 2009. "We started out really well in doubles and the first five out of six first sets in singles. Then, Baylor really started to show their mettle and really put us to the test. They really fought back, like I knew they would. It's a learning experience, because our guys haven't been in a situation like this against a team this good. There was some self doubt there for a little while, but our guys hung in there and really came through in the third set. I couldn't be more proud of how well they fought tonight. Everybody stayed in their matches and didn't give them any points. That is what we've been doing lately - fighting on every single court and keeping the pressure on the other team."
After a one-hour and 15-minute delay due to rain and the threat of lightning, the Aggies and Bears were able to begin doubles play. The fifth-ranked combination of junior All-American Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) and junior Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, Fla.) reeled off 18-straight points and took a 5-0 lead against Denes Lukacs and Roberto Maytin at the No. 1 line. They would go on to win their 11th consecutive match by a count of 8-3.
Junior Alexey Grigorov (Moscow, Russia) and Bautista clinched the doubles point with a love game on Bautista's serve for an 8-3 victory over No. 78-ranked Julian Bley and Attila Bucko at No. 2.
The Aggies started off strong winning five of six first sets in singles. No. 46-ranked Dadamo dispatched No. 32-ranked Jordan Rux, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 2, followed by Krajicek, who improved to an undefeated 4-0 in league play with a 6-2, 6-4, straight-set victory over No. 19-ranked Denes Lukacs at No. 1. Both wins put A&M up 3-0.
Looking for the fourth and deciding point, three A&M players, Bautista, Grigorov and sophomore Alexis Klegou (Dunkerque, France), were at one time, in position for match point in their third set. Up 5-3 in his third set, Bautista had three match points before having to take an injury timeout. He later returned to the game and served out the match, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3, over Dominik Mueller at the No. 5 line.
Ironically, the last time the Aggies beat Baylor, former player Matt Bain beat Matt Brown in three sets at No. 5 to clinch the Aggies' victory over the then fourth-ranked Bears in College Station in 2006. This year's meeting took four hours and 15 minutes to complete.
Grigorov and Klegou won their third-set tiebreakers to contribute to the rout of Baylor. Grigorov earned his 11th-straight victory of the season defeating Baylor freshman Roberto Maytin, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-6 (7), at No. 4, while Klegou got past No. 109-ranked Attila Bucko, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), at No. 3. Grigorov, who is 4-0 in Big 12 play, and Bautista own a team-best 16-4 dual record and are one of five A&M players with 10-or-more wins in the spring.
"We knew that if we let three (matches) go and opened the door for this Baylor team, then they would fight us to get a way back into this match," Denton said. "That came to fruition a little bit in the second set, when we weren't able to close those matches out in two sets. Our guys continued to still believe and fight. We were able to come through with what I think is my best victory as a coach since I've been here. I'm really proud of these guys. They have done everything that we've asked them to do and they continue to get better."
The Aggies will travel next to No. 14 Texas Tech (17-2, 0-1) for a Sunday, April 11 match at 1 p.m. (CT) in Lubbock, Texas.
(12) TEXAS A&M 6, (9) BAYLOR 1
April 7, 2010
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
at College Station, Texas
Attendance: 447
SINGLES
No. 1 - (8) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. (19) Denes Lukacs (Baylor), 6-2, 6-4.
No. 2 - (46) Jeff Dadamo (Texas A&M) def. (32) Jordan Rux (Baylor), 6-3, 6-3.
No. 3 - (121) Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M) def. (109) Attila Bucko (Baylor), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3).
No. 4 - Alexey Grigorov (Texas A&M) def. Roberto Maytin (Baylor), 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-6 (7).
No. 5 - Alberto Bautista (Texas A&M) def. Dominik Mueller (Baylor), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
No. 6 - Julian Bley (Baylor) def. Niall Angus (Texas A&M), 6-3, 6-1.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - (5) Krajicek-Dadamo (Texas A&M) def. Lukacs-Maytin (Baylor), 8-3.
No. 2 - Grigorov-Bautista (Texas A&M) def. (78) Bley-Bucko (Baylor), 8-3.
No. 3 - Rux-Mueller (Baylor) def. Klegou-Marcus Lunt (Texas A&M), 8-6.
ORDER OF FINISH
Singles: 2, 1, 6, 5*, 4, 3
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Players Mentioned
