Texas A&M
Baylor
Men's Tennis Downs Bears In Big 12 Semifinals, 4-1
May 01, 2010 | Men's Tennis
May 1, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas - The second-seeded and 10th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team handed third-seeded and seventh-ranked Baylor an uncharacteristic early tournament exit with a 4-1 rout in the semifinals of the 2010 Big 12 Tennis Championship held Saturday afternoon at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
The Aggies (23-5) halted the defending Big 12 tournament champions' streak of reaching the finals to three, while advancing for the first time of their very own since 2004 - the sixth overall time in program history to do so since the league's formation in 1996-97. They will face top-seeded and third-ranked Texas (24-2) in tomorrow's championship match slated for a 1 p.m. (CT) start. The Bears (21-6) previously reached the finals seven out of the last eight years winning the title in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
One of the hottest teams in the country, A&M has won 16 of its last 17 matches of the season. The victory marked the team's second of the year over a top 10-ranked opponent next to a 6-1 blowout of then-No. 9 Baylor on April 7. It also tied the Aggies' highest ranked victory in the Steve Denton Era, a 4-3 stunner over No. 7-ranked Illinois on March 15, 2009 in College Station.
For the first time in the all-time series, A&M beat BU twice in the same season and claimed back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2000 and 2001 campaigns.
"Anytime we play Baylor, they just compete so hard," said Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton of the rematch with the Bears which took close to four hours to complete. "It's such a tough match and the competition is always high from both teams. This is such a big win for us and it means a lot to our players. It builds their confidence level higher and that's what we need going into the finals tomorrow against Texas."
It would come down to both team's top players as junior All-American and seventh-ranked Austin Krajicek (Brandon, Fla.) clinched the match for the Aggies with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3 victory over No. 14-ranked Denes Lukacs at No. 1 singles. Krajicek used a flurry of service aces and smart volleys to earn A&M's fourth and deciding point over the Bears.
"It was a tough match," Krajicek said. "He's (Lukacs) such a great player and we always have close matches against each other. He always fights until the end and came up with some really good passing shots and made me work for it today. I stayed tough during the third (set), got an early break and kept the momentum going."
Both teams began doubles play holding serve through the first two games on all three courts. The fifth-ranked tandem of Krajicek and junior Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas), ranked No. 43 nationally, held serve against Attila Bucko and Jordan Rux and won their tiebreaker on a service ace by Lunt, 9-8 (2), at No. 2.
"I thought both sides played high quality doubles," Denton said. "We were able to win the big point there in the tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles."
With the doubles point in hand, A&M went on to win four of the first six sets in singles. Baylor's Dominik Mueller leveled the match at one-all after defeating Alberto Bautista, 6-2, 6-3, at the No. 5 line, but No. 44-ranked Jeff Dadamo put the Aggies back up with a 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 34-ranked Jordan Rux at No. 2. Dadamo has now contributed a point in singles in each of the team's Big 12 postseason matches against Oklahoma State in yesterday's quarterfinals and Baylor in the semis. He improved his dual record to 17-6 with 11 of those wins over nationally-ranked foes.
Alexey Grigorov was one of four A&M players to battle their way through three tough sets. He persevered and posted his team-leading 19th victory of the season by winning his third-set tiebreaker, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4), over Attila Bucko at No. 3 singles.
"In singles, we didn't relinquish any points again and that's been the hallmark of our team this season," Denton said. "We continue to stay in there and battle. (Alexey) Grigorov's third set was a big momentum change in the match for us. It gave us a little bit of a cushion with three matches still remaining on the court."
The Aggies will meet the Longhorns for the third time this season in hopes of putting past a close 4-3 Texas Cup loss on Feb. 5 in Houston and a 7-0 setback in their Big 12 regular-season finale on April 21 in Austin. Both teams last met in the finals in 1998 and 2001 with A&M winning the title in each of those years.
"Our conference has been unbelievable this year," Denton said. "It's the best it's been in a long time and for us to be able to get to the finals and play as well as we did today against Baylor, I'm just so proud of this team. It's really exciting for us, especially to have the chance to come back and play Texas again, who took it to us last week. We look forward to that challenge again and hopefully, a different result."
Tickets to the 2010 Big 12 Championship are available for purchase at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center and are priced at $5 for adults and $3 for youth.
Live scoring for the Big 12 Championship match will be available at www.TexasSports.com.
(10) TEXAS A&M 4, (7) BAYLOR 1
Big 12 Men's Tennis Championship Semifinals
May 1, 2010
Penick-Allison Tennis Center
at Austin, Texas
SINGLES
No. 1 - (7) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. (14) Denes Lukacs (Baylor), 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3.
No. 2 - (44) Jeff Dadamo (Texas A&M) def. (34) Jordan Rux (Baylor), 6-4, 7-5.
No. 3 - Alexey Grigorov (Texas A&M) def. Attila Bucko (Baylor), 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4).
No. 4 - Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M) vs. Roberto Maytin (Baylor), 3-6, 7-5, 4-4, DNF.
No. 5 - Dominik Mueller (Baylor) def. Alberto Bautista (Texas A&M), 6-2, 6-3.
No. 6 - Colin Hoover (Texas A&M) vs. Julian Bley (Baylor), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 2-4, DNF.
DOUBLES
No. 1 - (5) Krajicek-Dadamo (Texas A&M) def. (27) Lukacs-Maytin (Baylor), 8-5.
No. 2 - (43) Grigorov-Marcus Lunt (Texas A&M) def. Bucko-Rux (Baylor), 9-8 (2).
No. 3 - Bautista-Hoover (Texas A&M) vs. Horny-Ramirez (Baylor), 8-7.
ORDER OF FINISH
Singles: 5, 2, 3, 1*
Doubles: 1, 2
Players Mentioned
