No. 5 Texas A&M Men's Tennis Beats No. 37 Rice in Houston, 6-1

Wednesday, March 30

Houston, Texas

1:30 PM

Texas A&M

Rice

Mar 30, 2011 | Men's Tennis

By: Texas A&M Athletics

March 30, 2011

HOUSTON, Texas - Colin Hoover, a junior from Victoria, clinched the match for the fifth-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team as the Aggies defeated No. 37 Rice, 6-1, at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium in Houston. Hoover had missed some singles matches due to illness earlier this month and his return has bolstered an already potent lineup.

The win improves the Aggies' record to 18-4 while Rice drops to 13-5.

"We thought Colin was the MVP of today," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "After doubles we decided to give Alexis Klegou a little rest and moved everyone up in the lineup. Colin started slowly and was down 3-0 before bouncing back and getting into his rhythm. He hit the ball well and we were pleased and he was able to clinch the match for the team."

The Aggies got started in doubles with the No. 3 tandem of sophomore Alberto Bautista and Hoover, ranked No. 65 nationally, being first off with an 8-2 decision.

"Coach (Bob) McKinley thought Alberto and Colin played their best doubles match of the year," Denton said. "Austin (Krajicek) and Jeff (Dadamo) were solid and clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 win. The No. 2 doubles with (Alexey) Grigorov and Junior (Ore) started slow and was down 6-1. They got things clicking and really moved forward to come back and take the match, 9-7. That will do a lot for the confidence of those two players."

The first singles match completed was at No. 6 where Niall Angus, a sophomore from London, England, took care of Philipp Jan Seifert, 6-1, 6-3.

"Niall did a nice job of handling the last minute switch in the lineup and really played solid to get his win," Denton stated.

The next point came at the No. 2 line where senior All-American Jeff Dadamo, ranked No. 45 nationally from Tampa, Florida, defeated Oscar Podlewski, 6-2, 6-4.

Hoover would clinch the match with his 6-4, 6-2 win in straight sets overChristian Saravia.

Bautista rallied at the No. 5 line coming back from a set down to defeatMichael Nuesslein, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 10-4.

Austin Krajicek, a senior All-American ranked No. 26 nationally from Brandon, Florida, came back to win his match against Peter Frank, 6-7, 6-3, 10-6.

Rice would claim the final point of the match with a three-set victory by Sam Garforth-Bles over the Aggies' Alexey Grigorov, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

"Overall this could be considered a trap match," Denton said. "Rice is a solid team up and down the lineup. They have quality players. We opened Big 12 play on the road last weekend and then we return home next week to host nationally-ranked Texas Tech, but I was proud of the focus of our guys and the ability to go out and take the match."

"We will get a little break from matches and be able to work on a few things in practice," Denton explained. "We have to get ready for a stretch run in the Big 12 and there is a lot of work to be done."

Texas A&M will host double dual matches on Friday, Apr. 8 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station. The men host No. 21 Texas Tech and the Texas A&M women host Oklahoma with both matches slated to start at 6 p.m.

The Aggie men have won a school-record 28 straight matches at home.

Tennis Match Results

Texas A&M vs Rice

Mar 30, 2011 at Houston, Texas

(Jake Hess Tennis Stadium)

#5 Texas A&M 6, #37 Rice 1

Singles competition

1. #26 Austin Krajicek (TEXASA&M) def. Peter Frank (RICE) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-6

2. #45 Jeff Dadamo (TEXASA&M) def. Oscar Podlewski (RICE) 6-2, 6-4

3. Sam Garforth-Bles (RICE) def. Alexey Grigorov (TEXASA&M) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

4. Colin Hoover (TEXASA&M) def. Christian Saravia (RICE) 6-4, 6-2

5. Alberto Bautista (TEXASA&M) def. Michael Nuesslein (RICE) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 10-4