March 24, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 25th-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team heads to the Sunflower State this weekend for a pair of Big 12 Conference matches at No. 39 Kansas State and Kansas, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
First serve against the Wildcats is slated for 12 p.m., and depending on weather conditions, the match will be played either outdoors at the Wamego Recreation Complex in Wamego, Kan., or indoors at the 3-court Body First Tennis and Fitness Center in Manhattan.
The match at Kansas begins at 11 p.m. at the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kan.
The Aggies, who are in the Top 25 for the first time since March 3, 2009, have won seven of their last eight matches to improve to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12. Seven of the eight wins have been against teams in the ITA rankings.
Last weekend, A&M blanked No. 69 Missouri, 7-0, and also routed Colorado, 6-1, at the Mitchell Tennis Center, where the Aggies are 7-0 this season.
The Wildcats, 10-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 entering a match against No. 26 Texas on Friday, have tied the school record for the best start in school history after 12 matches, including a stunning 4-3 win against No. 9 Baylor last weekend in Waco.
K-State climbed 14 spots to No. 39 in the most recent ITA rankings and is now one of seven Big 12 teams listed in the top 50. The Wildcats are at their highest ranking since a No. 33 showing on Jan. 27, 2004.
"I'm really excited about this match," A&M head coach Bobby Kleinecke. "I'm excited about it because so many more Big 12 schools are doing better in the rankings, and this match gives us an opportunity that we haven't had in years where we can actually help ourselves during conference.
"It is in our hands. K-State is a tough team. They have everybody healthy and everybody playing, and they have a win over Baylor and are coming in with a lot of confidence. They played us really close last year, and even though the score was 5-2, it was a close 5-2."
Kansas is 6-6 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12 entering a Saturday match against the Longhorns.
"Kansas always plays us well there, especially if it is indoors," Kleinecke added. "That is always a match they play well, and we need to be ready to play."
Sophomore Nazari Urbina (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico) is No. 18 in singles and leads the Aggies with a 21-5 overall record. She is 9-2 in dual matches at the No. 1 line, including 3-0 in Big 12 matches.
Morgan Frank (Oldsmar, Fla.) is 15-5 overall, 9-2 in dual matches and 2-1 in Big 12 matches at the No. 2 line. The senior also is 80-26 in her career and needs three more wins to move into the top 10 in the A&M records for all-time career victories.
Senior Christi Liles (Largo, Fla.) is 5-1 since moving from No. 4 to No. 3 line singles and is 8-3 in dual matches.
Freshman Christi Potgieter (Petrusville, South Africa), who typically plays No. 4 singles for the Aggies, missed the last two matches with a thumb injury. Potgieter is questionable for this weekend but has resumed practicing despite wearing a cast.
"Christi is day to day as far as being at competition level," Kleinecke said. "I'd say she is questionable, but if I need to put her in, I can put her in."
In her absence, sophomore Janelle Cuthbertson (Perth, Australia) moved up to No. 4. Senior Stephanie Davidson (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas), who typically plays No. 6 singles, went 2-0 at the No. 5 line last week, and junior Lauren Santacroce (Spring, Texas) stepped into the No. 6 position, going 1-1.
Junior Sheri Olivier, who graduated from Washburn Rural High School in Topeka, Kan., has filled in for Potgieter in doubles, going 2-0 last weekend with Davidson at No. 3. Davidson has now won nine of her last 10 doubles matches and moved into sole possession of seventh place in the A&M records with 89 career doubles victory.
A&M is 16-0 all-time against Kansas State. Last year A&M defeated the Wildcats, 5-2, in a match that was moved from the Mitchell Tennis Center to the City of Bryan Tennis Center indoor courts due to strong winds.
A&M has won the last 12 meetings against the Jayhawks and owns a 15-3 lead in the all-time series. Last year the Aggies opened Big 12 Conference play with a convincing 7-0 victory over the Jayhawks in College Station, sweeping the three doubles matches and earning straight-set singles victories on five of six courts.
Live scoring of the matches will be available at AggieAthletics.com. In addition, updates will be posted on Twitter @AggieTennis.