Men's Tennis preview: Texas Tech
WHAT: No. 4 Texas (17-3, 3-0 Big 12) visits No. 20 Texas Tech (17-3, 2-1) WHERE: McLeod Tennis Center - Lubbock, Texas WHEN: Saturday, April 12 - 1 p.m. Central LAST MEETING WITH TEXAS TECH: Texas defeated Texas Tech by a 4-3 count on April 1, 2007 in Austin. Texas holds a 57-4-2 lead in its series with the Red Raiders. THE 2008 LONGHORNS: Texas heads to Lubbock with some added rest, as Wednesday's match at Baylor was postponed due to inclement weather in Waco. That match has been rescheduled for Wednesday, April 16. The Longhorns have won their last four matches, highlighted by wins over No. 9 Tulsa and No. 19 Oklahoma State. Sophomore Dimitar Kutrovsky, now ranked No. 16 in the ITA singles rankings, has been selected as the Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week after defeating Tulsa's 24th-ranked Arnau Brugues and Nebraska's David Bendheim last week. Under head coach Michael Center, the 2007 USPTA National College Coach of the Year, Texas returns all 10 letterwinners from the 2007 squad that registered a 20-9 record and reached the round of 16 at the NCAA Championship. Texas reached the finals of the Big 12 Championship for a second consecutive season after defeating Texas Tech and upsetting Oklahoma State in the opening rounds. Newcomers Kellen Damico and Ed Corrie have excelled early on in their Longhorn careers. Damico won singles titles at the H-E-B Baylor Fall Invitational and the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in his first semester, and Corrie claimed the Texas Invitational in November. Damico has twice been named the Big 12 Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week. Texas coach Michael Center collected his 300th career victory against Alabama. Now in his 17th year as a head coach, Center holds a 310-123 (.716) overall record and a 151-55 (.733) mark at Texas.
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