March 25, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas— The sixth-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team has done a remarkable job during the non-conference schedule with wins over No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Illinois and No. 5 California in one week's time to vault to No. 6 in the latest ITA rankings with an overall record of 15-4. The Aggies will now begin Big 12 Conference play with two road trips this weekend to Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Friday, and a Sunday match against No. 30 Oklahoma in Norman.
The Aggies had won 10 straight before a very close 4-3 loss to Pepperdine in Malibu last Saturday and leading the way for Texas A&M will be three doubles teams that are currently ranked. Senior All-Americans Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek played at the No. 1 doubles and are currently ranked No. 2 in the country. Sophomore Alberto Bautista and junior Colin Hoover are ranked No. 53 in the latest ITA rankings and play at the No. 3 line and at the No. 2 line is senior Alexey Grigorov and freshman Junior Ore who are ranked No. 63.
Under the guidance of Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton and assistant coach Bob McKinley, the Aggies have continued to improve. In 2008 the program finished No. 23 in the country, in 2009 the team ended ranked No. 14 and last spring the Aggies finished as the No. 10 in the land. This year the No. 6 ranking is the highest for an Aggie men's tennis team since 2001 when A&M reached as high as No. 4 in the country.
In singles rankings, the Aggies are led by Krajicek who is ranked No. 23 and plays at the No. 1 line. Dadamo plays at No. 2 and is currently ranked No. 62. Dadamo beat the No. 17 player in the land last time out in Pepperdine's Sebastian Fanselow, 6-3, 6-4. Grigorov has played mainly at No. 3 and the No. 100 player in the land, junior Alexis Klegou, has played at No. 4. Hoover has battled illness and has only played doubles in the most recent matches. Bautista has played at No. 5 and sophomore Niall Angus has played at No. 6.
“The season starts over this weekend as we get into Big 12 Conference play,” Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. “Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are always tough, and especially on their home courts. Both teams have experienced lineups and are capable of playing at a very high level.”
Oklahoma State enters the match with a 3-6 record having won three of its last six matches. The Cowboys have to replace their No. 1 player, Oleksandr Nedovyesov, who was ranked No. 19 in the country last year when the Aggies dueled in College Station last spring and was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year.
“Oklahoma State has to replace one of the top players in the country in Nedovyesov, but they have some very experienced ITF players and they are always exceptional in doubles,” Denton explained.
The Cowboys tandem of Aleksey Bessonov and Rifat Biktyakov is ranked No. 13 in the country. Maniel Bains is the top-ranked singles player for the Cowboys at No. 110.
The Friday match at the DeBois Tennis Complex in Stillwater has first serve at 2 p.m.
Oklahoma advanced to the Elite Eight at the NCAA Championships last spring after the Sooners finished 2-4 in Big 12 play and 19-8 overall. OU is 9-3 this season and has won seven of its last eight matches and the lone loss was to top-ranked Virginia.
“Oklahoma was an Elite Eight team last spring and they are as good or better this season,” Denton stated. “Our guys have battled on the road and they know these two road matches will be a challenge, but they are excited about the weekend and getting started in Big 12 play.”
The Sooners boast the No. 34 player in the rankings in Ionut Beleleu, the No. 65 player in Costin Paval and the No. 113 player Peerakit Siributwong.
The Sunday match will begin at 1 p.m. at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman.