March 11, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Coming off of a 4-0 victory over 5th-ranked Ohio State on Thursday before a regular-season record crowd of 1,093 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, the 17th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team will face another large challenge as the 6th-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini face the Aggies at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 12. A&M will also face Laredo Community College at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
"After a great team win last night against Ohio State, we will need another terrific effort against a very good Illinois team if we are to avenge our earlier match against them in Seattle," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "Illinois is very good at every spot. They are very athletic and have beaten quite a few good teams this season. In the loss to Notre Dame earlier in the week, their No. 1 and No. 2 players did not play. I expect them to be at full strength for our match tomorrow. It should be another terrific match. If you were not at our match last night against Ohio State, you missed something special. Our guys competed their tails off!"
The win against Ohio State marked the 26th straight home match victory for Texas A&M dating back to the 4-3 loss to Fresno State in a match played Jan. 30, 2010. The school record is 27 straight set which started in 2000 and was broken by none other than Illinois on Apr. 6, 2001 in a 4-3 match. During that streak, Texas A&M defeated the nation's 2nd-ranked club, Pepperdine, in a 4-3 match during the 2000 season.
Led by the All-American doubles tandem of Austin Krajicek and Jeff Dadamo, the Aggies are 12-3 on the season. Illinois brings a 9-5 record and a 1-0 mark in Big 10 play. The Fighting Illini lost at Notre Dame on Tuesday, 5-2. These two teams met once already this spring in Seattle in the ITA National Indoor Team Championships and Illinois won, 4-1. A&M won the doubles point with Alexey Grigorov and Junior Ore picking up the victory at the No. 2 doubles and Krajicek and Dadamo pulling out a hard-fought 9-7 win at the No. 1 line over Abe Souza and Johnny Hamui.
Krajicek, (pronounced CRY-check) a senior from Brandon, Florida, brings a career Aggie doubles record of 91-33 into the Illinois match tying him with his former partner, Conor Pollock. Pollock, a four-year Aggie letterman from San Antonio, was in attendance at the Thursday night match against Ohio State. Pollock and Krajicek teamed together in 2007-08 and 2008-09 while the past two years Krajicek has played mainly with Jeff Dadamo (pronounced da-DOM-oh) (Tampa, FL). The Aggie doubles duo has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the country in the Campbell/ITA rankings and is currently ranked No. 3 with a 9-2 record this spring in dual matches.
“Austin and Jeff played very well Thursday night and Austin elevated his singles game to pick up a big win in singles against Ohio State,” Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. “He has had an unbelievable career here in Aggieland. He is a leader and has a great work ethic. Austin is a tremendous ambassador, not only for men's tennis, but for the entire University.”
This will mark the last home action by the men's team in March until they return home on Apr. 8 against nationally-ranked Texas Tech. The record-setting fans who attended Thursday night's match should love to return to the Mitchell Tennis Center for this heavyweight match. Between the teams of A&M, Ohio State and Illinois, 13 individuals are ranked among the country's top 95 singles players. Seven of the top 75 doubles teams will also be in action.
General admission tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for youth and the gates open at the Mitchell Tennis Center one hour prior to first serve.
TEXAS A&M ALL-TIME DOUBLES RECORDS
Austin Krajicek, 2008-2011 91-33 (thru 3/10/11)
Conor Pollock, 2005-09 91-40
Ryan Newport, 1999-2003 86-28
Shuon Madden, 1997-2001 84-28
Dumitru Caradima, 1997-2001 83-27
TOP 10 ATTENDANCE MARKS AT GEORGE P. MITCHELL TENNIS CENTER
1. 2,339 Georgia (#) May 18, 2002
2. 1,820 Baylor (#) May 21, 2005
3. 1,316 Ole Miss (#) May 14, 2009
4. 1,130 Texas (*) Apr. 27, 2002
5. 1,093 Ohio State Mar. 10, 2011
6. 1,089 Texas Tech Apr. 3, 2009
7. 1,030 Texas Apr. 23, 2005
8. 1,022 Baylor (*) Apr. 28, 2002
9. 1,007 Texas Apr. 14, 2001
10. 1,003 Texas Tech Apr. 9, 2005
#NCAA Championships
*Big 12 Championships
Campbell/ITA Rankings (May 8)
Singles
No. 6 Dennis Nevolo, Illinois
No. 38 Austin Krajicek, Texas A&M
No. 55 Jeff Dadamo, Texas A&M
No. 62 Johnny Hamui, Illinois
No. 65 Abe Souza, Illinois
No. 80 Alexis Klegou, Texas A&M
Doubles
No. 3 Jeff Dadamo/Austin Krajicek, Texas A&M
No. 32 Dennis Nevolo/Abe Souza, Illinois
No. 45 Alberto Bautista/Colin Hoover, Texas A&M