Texas A&M
Texas
Men's Tennis Advances to Big 12 Championship Match on Sunday against OU
Apr 30, 2011 | Men's Tennis
April 30, 2011
WACO, Texas - Led by three seniors, Austin Krajicek, Jeff Dadamo and Alexey Grigorov at the top of the lineup, the ninth-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated No. 14-ranked Texas, 4-0, in the semifinals of the 2011 Big 12 Championships being held at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, Texas on Saturday. The win advances the Aggies into the Big 12 Championship match for the second straight year and the seventh time in the league's existence. The Aggies will face Oklahoma who upset host and No. 5-ranked Baylor, 4-3, in the other semifinal match.
"The seniors really showed a great deal of leadership and our entire team was engaged and gave great effort today," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "This match was a lot like our Ohio State (a 4-0 A&M win on Mar. 10) match in that each player was really hooked in and competed on every point. This was our first morning match of the season and the guys came out ready to play. Our three seniors were outstanding and the MVP would probably go to Jeff (Dadamo) as he and Austin played well at No. 1 doubles and then Jeff clinched the match right after Austin's win."
"The key to the match came at No. 1 doubles with Austin and Jeff down a break," Denton explained. "They really elevated their game from that point to win their doubles match and clinch the doubles point. We took that momentum and won every first set in singles and took control of the match."
In doubles, Texas was first off the court at No. 2 as Ben Chen and Kellen Damico defeated senior Alexey Grigorov and freshman Junior Ore, 8-3. The No. 3 doubles went the Aggies direction as junior Colin Hoover and sophomore Alberto Bautista defeated the Horns' Chris Camillone and Daniel Whitehead, 8-2. The win marked the 19th victory of the spring for the No. 90th-ranked tandem. The Aggies clinched the doubles point at No. 1 with seniors Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek turning back UT's duo of Ed Corrie and Vasko Mladenov, 8-4.
The first singles match in the books was at No. 3 where senior Grigorov (Moscow, Russia) won the first set 6-1 and then with Grigorov up 4-1, Ben Chen retired from the match to up the Aggies lead to 2-0.
At No. 1 singles, Krajicek (Brandon, Florida) took out Kellen Damico from Texas, 6-2, 6-3, and moments later Dadamo (Tampa, Florida) clinched the match with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ed Corrie at No. 2 singles.
The team win improves the Aggies' record to 26-5 on the year, the second-most wins in school history behind the 2001 club's 27 victories. That 2001 Aggie team was the last A&M squad to win the men's Big 12 Championship and it was conducted in Waco. A&M faced top seed and host Texas last year in the 2010 Big 12 Championship match with Texas edging the Aggies, 4-3.
Texas falls to 18-8 on the year. The Aggies, the second seed in the Big 12 Championships, will take on the fifth seed Oklahoma Sooners in Sunday's championship match. A&M has defeated Oklahoma State and Texas, while the Sooners have defeated Texas Tech and Baylor. A&M defeated OU earlier this spring in Norman, 5-2.
[2] Texas A&M 4, [3] Texas 0
Saturday, April 29 - Men's Big 12 Championship Semifinal Round - 9:30 a.m.
Baylor Tennis Center • Waco, Texas
RECORDS: Texas A&M (26-5, 5-1); Texas (18-8, 3-3)
ATTENDANCE: n/a
SINGLES
1. #18 Austin Krajicek, TAMU def. #45 Kellen Damico, UT 6-2, 6-3
2. #36 Jeff Dadamo, TAMU def. #33 Ed Corrie, UT 6-4, 6-4
3. Alexey Grigorov, TAMU def. Ben Chen, UT 6-1, 4-1, ret.
4. #89 Alexis Klegou, TAMU vs. Vasko Mladenov, UT DNF
5. Alberto Bautista, TAMU vs. Daniel Whitehead, UT DNF
6. Colin Hoover, TAMU vs. Sudanwa Sitaram, UT DNF
DOUBLES
1. #4 Krajicek/Dadamo, TAMU def. Corrie/Mladenov, UT 8-4
2. Chen/Damico, UT def. #61 Junior Ore/Grigorov, TAMU 8-3
3. #90 Hoover/Bautista, TAMU def. Chris Camillone/Whitehead, UT 8-2
FINISH ORDER: Singles: 3,1,2 Doubles: 2,3,1
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
"I thought we played well, everyone played well today. I wasn't sure how everyone was going to respond after having a tough match with them last week, but our guys came out with a lot of fire and a lot of energy. I thought we did a good job in the doubles point, we were down to break with doubles one, and our guys picked it up there and I thought it was key to get that point. Our senior leadership stepped up on the first three courts and won the first set and kept the pressure on them the whole morning. We just didn't give them an opportunity to get in the match."
Michael Center, Texas Head Coach
"Once again, we couldn't score a point against them at the top. We played well at No. 2 doubles, and I thought we had some chances at No. 1 (doubles), but they just outplayed us. Texas A&M is a very good team. They have great senior leadership, and they are solid all the way through. For us to win against them right now, we've got to take advantage of opportunities, and we didn't do it. I give the Aggies a lot of credit. We've got a lot of work to do to get ready for the NCAA Tournament."
Match Notes:
Ninth-ranked Texas A&M advances to the Big 12 Championship finals for the second straight season and seventh time overall.
Players Mentioned
