May 11, 2011
IRVING, Texas - Texas A&M senior All-American captain, Austin Krajicek (CRY-check) has been named the Big 12 Player of the Year and his Aggie coach, Steve Denton, was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year the league office announced today. Both Krajicek and Denton were unanimous selections. Krajicek and fellow senior Jeff Dadamo (duh-DOM-oh) also earned All-Big 12 accolades in both singles and doubles. Krajicek and Dadamo were unanimous selections to the All-Big 12 singles squad.
“I am very proud of Austin in all that he has accomplished here in Aggieland,” Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. “We have a lot of great players in the Big 12 Conference and this Player of the Year honor is a testament to all of his hard work and dedication to the game of tennis.”
“Austin and Jeff both are worthy of All-Big 12 honors in both singles and doubles,” Denton added. “Not only are they outstanding singles players and one of the best doubles team in the country, they are outstanding leaders for our team and great young men off of the court.”
Krajicek (Brandon, Florida), a four-time All-American, is quite possibly the best ever to wear the Maroon & White for Texas A&M as he already holds the career doubles title with 106 career wins entering NCAA play. With his next singles victory he will be the all-time leader in singles, he is currently tied for the singles career crown with an 85-39 record. This is his second Big 12 Player of the Year Award as he was Co-Player of the Year last spring along with Texas' Dimitar Kutrovsky. Krajicek has earned All-Big 12 honors all four years in both singles and doubles. His doubles partner his first two years was Conor Pollock and his doubles mate the past two seasons has been Jeff Dadamo. Krajicek was the 2008 Co-Freshman and Newcomer of the Year in the Big 12. Krajicek has won a Big 12 title three straight years winning the honor at No. 1 as a senior and junior and at the No. 2 line as a sophomore. He became the first Big 12 tennis player to earn Player of the Week honors three times in a row, and for his career he was Big 12 Player of the Week six times--once as a sophomore, twice as a junior and three times as a senior. The psychology major has also earned Academic All-Big 12 honors and is 18-5 this spring in dual action playing at the No. 1 line and he is the top-ranked Big 12 tennis player in the latest ITA rankings at No. 17 in the country. Krajicek was honored last week as the 2011 Texas A&M Male Distinguished Letterman of the Year honor at the annual CHAMPS Banquet on the Texas A&M campus.
“Steve Denton is very deserving of this Coach of the Year honor,” Texas A&M Director of Athletics Bill Byrne said. “Our tennis program has continued to move forward in the rankings during his five years and this year's team won the Big 12 Championship and has been ranked in the Top 10 a large part of the season. I know Steve and his team have their sights set even higher as the NCAA Championships begin this week.”
Coach Denton, in his fifth year at the helm of the men's tennis program, is being honored as Coach of the Year for the second time by the league office as he earned Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2009. The Aggies finished second in the Big 12 regular season and won the Big 12 Championships title held in Waco earlier this month. Denton has the Aggies seeded No. 9 in the upcoming NCAA Championships with first-round action set to begin in College Station on Friday. Denton has led the Aggies to an overall record of 27-5 in 2011, tying the school record for wins in a season. Denton has a 97-45 record in Aggieland and has led the Aggies to a second-place finish in the tough Big 12 three straight years. The Aggies have advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 the past two seasons.
Senior Jeff Dadamo (Tampa, Florida) earned All-Conference honors in both singles and doubles for the second consecutive year. Dadamo has a 22-3 record in dual action this spring and is 21-3 playing at the No. 2 singles line. He has teamed with Krajicek to post a 24-3 doubles record this spring at the No. 1 doubles line and the terrific tandem is ranked No. 4 in the country, earning All-America honors for the second straight year. The awesome Aggie duo is seeded No. 3 in the upcoming NCAA doubles championships held in Palo Alto, California. Krajicek and Dadamo won the USTA/ITA Indoor Doubles Championship last fall in Flushing, New York.
Krajicek, Dadamo and Coach Denton open NCAA first-round play against Alcorn State on Friday at 2 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station. The other first-round match has LSU facing Indiana at 11 a.m. on Friday. The two winners of the first-round matches will compete at 3 p.m. on Saturday for the right to move on to the Round of 16 at Stanford. For ticket information, go to AggieAthletics.com or 12thManFoundation.com and click on tickets.
2011 ALL-BIG 12 TENNIS AWARDS
Men's Player of the Year-- Austin Krajicek, Sr., Texas A&M*
Men's Newcomer of the Year-- John Peers, Sr., Baylor*
Men's Freshman of the Year--Peerakit Siributwong, Fr., Oklahoma*
Men's Coach of the Year-- Steve Denton, Texas A&M*
Men's All-Big 12 Team: Singles
Jeff Dadamo, Sr., Texas A&M*
Austin Krajicek, Sr., Texas A&M*
John Peers, Sr., Baylor*
Jordan Rux, Sr., Baylor
Christopher Aumueller, Jr., Nebraska
Ionut Beleleu, Sr., Oklahoma*
Costin Paval, So., Oklahoma*
Jean Andersen, Jr., Texas
Ed Corrie, Sr., Texas
Kellen Damico, Sr., Texas
Raony Carvalho, Jr., Texas Tech*
Gonzalo Escobar, Texas Tech
Men's All-Big 12 Team: Doubles
Austin Krajicek/Jeff Dadamo, Texas A&M
John Peers/Roberto Maytin, Baylor*
Christopher Aumueller/Andre Stenger, Nebraska*
Costin Paval/Peerakit Siributwong, Oklahoma
Jean Andersen/Ed Corrie, Texas*
Raony Carvalho/Rafael Garcia, Texas Tech*