Men's Tennis Heads to NCAAs to Face Texas A&M
Mustangs (20-8) Hold All-Time Series Edge Over Aggies
May 8, 2008
WACO, Texas (SMU)--The No. 40 SMU men's tennis team hits I-35E southbound for Waco and the NCAA tournament this weekend. The Mustangs will face No. 25 Texas A&M on Saturday, May 10 at 2pm on Baylor's campus.
Scouting the Mustangs: SMU is 20-8 on the season, the team's best record since the 2001 season, and head coach Carl Neufeld's fifth 20+ win season at SMU. The Mustangs boast a stable of consistent players across the lineup, including five players with 15 or more wins on the season. In singles, the team has an outstanding 117-43 (.731) record, owing to the strength and depth of its lineup. Seniors David Kuczer, Oivind Alver, Adolfo Solares and Alex Skrypko have each won 15 or more singles matches. Skrypko (16-6), is a second-team Conference USA All-Conference selection and enters the tournament riding a 12-match winning. He is 8-0 in his last 10 matches, with two non-decisions. Kuczer, another second-team C-USA All-Conference selection, is 17-6 this season, including an impressive 10-4 mark at No. 1. Alver is 15-8 and boasts a 7-2 mark in his last 10 matches. Solares (15-3) has amassed a nearly perfect 11-1 record at No. 5, with his only loss coming to Rice in the conference tournament semifinal match. Adding to the Mustangs' strength is sophomore Robin Fahgen, currently ranked No. 91 in the country. Fahgen, a first-team All-Conference selection, is 16-6 this season and is 7-1 in his last 10 matches, including an impressive 8-1 record at No. 2.
In doubles, the team is 46-22 (.676), with each duo riding a winning streak. Fahgen and Kuczer have played four matches together at No. 1 and remain perfect with a 4-0 record. Alver pairs with Chris Hooshyar at No. 2, where the two are 13-9 on the season, having won eight of their last 10 matches. At No. 3, Solares and Skrypko have won their last five straight, compiling a season record of 7-1.
Last Time Out: The Mustangs defeated Memphis, 4-0, to advance to the semifinal round of the Conference USA tournament. In the semifinal, the team faced Rice, who they had beaten, 5-0, in regular season play just two weeks earlier. The Mustangs jumped out to a 1-0 lead after taking the doubles points with convincing 8-4 wins at the second and third slots. Kuczer faced a tough match against then-No. 15 Bruno Rosa at the first slot, falling in straight sets. Alver battled out to a first-set lead at No. 4, but dropped the next two to Chong [deleted]. Hooshyar took the only SMU singles win, defeating Dennis Polyakov in straight sets at No. 6. Solares' tough loss at No. 5 sealed the match in Rice's favor. When the match was called, Skrypko was in his third set at No. 3 and Fahgen was beginning his third set at No. 2.
Scouting the Aggies: The Aggies of Texas A&M enter the weekend ranked No. 25 and with a 12-11 record. All 11 of their losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Texas A&M is coming off a 1-1 tournament run in the home-hosted Big 12 Conference Championship where the Aggies edged Texas Tech, 4-3, in the quarterfinals, but lost to top-seeded Texas in the semifinals. Last year, the Aggies defeated Rice, 4-2, in first-round NCAA action, but later fell to third-seeded Baylor, 4-0, in the second round. The Aggies are headlined by two-time All-Big 12 standout and top player Conor Pollock who is currently ranked No. 25 nationally and has claimed 20 overall victories this season at No. 1 singles. Freshman Austin Krajicek is the reigning co-Big 12 Freshman and Newcomer of the Year and was tabbed All-Big 12 in singles with a team-leading 15-6 dual match record at No. 3. Additionally, the 20th-ranked combination of Pollock and Krajicek earned all-conference honors in doubles with a 9-1 mark in dual match play.
About the Series: These teams last met in 1998, during the first round of the NCAA tournament. SMU prevailed with a 4-3 win over the Aggies, breaking Texas A&M's nine-match win-streak over the Mustangs, dating back to 1991. In all, the teams have met a total of 28 times, with SMU holding the series edge, 15-13.
On the Horizon: The winner of the SMU-Texas A&M match-up will play the winner of Baylor-Oral Roberts on Sunday, May 11 at 2pm.
The complete recap and results will be posted immediately following the match on SMUMustangs.com.