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Jan. 28, 2010

WHAT/WHEN:  No. 8 Texas (1-0) hosts four matches this week in conjunction with the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.  On Saturday, Jan. 30, UT will take on No. 56 Middle Tennessee State, and No. 40 Texas Tech will take on No. 33 California.  Due to the unfavorable playing conditions anticipated for Saturday morning, BOTH matches will begin at 1 p.m. Central on Saturday.  

The Texas Tech/California match had been scheduled for an 11 a.m. start, and the Texas/Middle Tennessee State match was previously scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.    The winners of Saturday’s matches will face off on Sunday at 2 p.m. Central, and the victor will earn a berth in next month’s ITA National Team Indoor Championships at The University of Virginia.

SATURDAY, JAN. 30 – 1 p.m. Central
Texas vs. Middle Tennessee State
Texas Tech vs. California

SUNDAY, JAN. 31 – 11 a.m.
Texas/Middle Tennessee State loser vs. Texas Tech/California loser

SUNDAY, Jan. 31 – 2 p.m.
Texas/Middle Tennessee State winner vs. Texas Tech/California winner

WHERE:   Penick-Allison Tennis Center – Austin, Texas

LIVE SCORING:  Live scoring will be available at TexasSports.com for the Texas matches on Saturday and Sunday. 

LAST MEETINGS vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE, TEXAS TECH AND CALIFORNIA
Texas and Middle Tennessee State will meet for the first time on Saturday.  Texas defeated Big 12 Conference foe Texas Tech by a 4-3 count on April 5, 2009 in Austin.  UT holds a 58-5-2 edge in the all-time series against Texas Tech.  Texas defeated California by a 4-3 count in the teams’ most recent meeting on Feb. 10, 2007 in Tulsa, Okla.  The all-time series between the two schools is even at 5-5.     

ITA RANKINGS UPDATE
Singles
5. Dimitar Kutrovsky (Texas)
9. Ed Corrie (Texas)
25. Raony Carvalho (Texas Tech)
33.  Jonathan Dahan (California)
38. Josh Zavala (Texas)
40. Gonzalo Escobar (Texas Tech)
85. Daniel Whitehead (Texas)
98. Bozhidar Katsarov (California)
104. Vasko Mladenov (Texas)
105. John Peers (Middle Tennessee State)
106. Christoffer Konigsfeldt (California)

Doubles
19. Raony Carvalho/Rafael Garcia (Texas Tech)
22. Dimitar Kutrovsky/Josh Zavala (Texas)
23. John Peers/Victor Melo (Middle Tennessee State)
35. Gonzalo Escobar/Andre Stabile (Texas Tech)
39. Sky Lovill/Nick Andrews (California)
49. Christoffer Konigsfeldt/Nick Andrews (California)

PRE-MATCH COMMENTS
Texas head coach Michael Center
On Middle Tennessee State: We don’t know a lot about Middle Tennessee State.  We know their No. 1 player (John Peers) is outstanding.  He reached the semifinals at their (ITA) regional.  Their No. 2 player is talented, but after that, we don’t know a lot about their team.  MTSU has had very good teams, and we expect them to be competitive.

On Texas Tech: We know Texas Tech well.  They have some new players, and we saw most in the fall.  Texas Tech has one of the most talented teams in our conference.  They have really good shot-makers and outstanding players.  They are very good and very dangerous.

On California: California is one of the most improved teams in the country.  They have really talented guys at the top, and on paper, they do not have any holes in their lineup.  I think California will be a much higher-ranked team as the season progresses.

On preparing for this weekend: We had our season opener at Arkansas in a tough environment.  I thought we were a little hesitant and had missed on some opportunities.  We worked on some basic fundamentals and played some more percentage tennis in those situations this week, and we had a good week of practice.  The guys have worked hard.  They are excited to play at home.  We wished the weather looked a little better, but we will make the best of it and see what we can get done this weekend.

THE 2009-10 LONGHORNS
Under 10th-year head coach Michael Center, Texas features four singles starters who led the Longhorns to the NCAA title match in 2008 and to the NCAA semifinals in 2009.  Senior Dimitar Kutrovsky is off to a fast start for Texas with a 17-3 overall singles record highlighted by an appearance at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November.  Junior Ed Corrie joined Kutrovsky in the singles draw at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoors and boasts a 14-4 overall singles record.

Junior Kellen Damico finished the 2009 dual-match season by going unbeaten in his last 14 singles contests, and with his win at Arkansas last weekend, he has won his last 13 dual-match decisions.  Senior Josh Zavala holds an 8-4 overall singles record, which features a win over Oklahoma’s 10th-ranked Andrei Daescu.