Men's Tennis preview: NCAA first and second rounds
May 12, 2010
WHAT: Texas (25-2), the No. 3 national seed, hosts first- and second-round matches in the NCAA Championships this weekend at UT's Penick-Allison Tennis Center. The winner of the NCAA Austin regional advances to the round of 16 in Athens, Ga., where the tournament's remaining matches will be played. WHO/WHEN: ADMISSION NCAA AUSTIN REGIONAL WEB SITE: LIVE SCORING: http://www.texassports.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/012510aaa.html ITA RANKINGS UPDATE ITA SINGLES RANKINGS ITA DOUBLES RANKINGS
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY Texas is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA Tennis Championships. UT scored its best overall tournament finish as the NCAA runner-up in 2008. Texas also reached the semifinals in 1993, 2006 and 2009. Texas holds a 38-27 overall record in its 27 previous tournament appearances. Texas has now hosted NCAA first- and second-round matches in eight (1999, 2002, `03, '06-`10) of the 12 seasons since the NCAA introduced first- and second-round matches on campus sites in 1999. The Longhorns have advanced to the NCAA round of 16 in each of the previous seven seasons they have served as a NCAA first- and second-round host and are 14-0 in NCAA matches in Austin. A LOOK BACK AT THE 2009 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS The Longhorns' quarterfinal match featured a rematch of the 2008 NCAA title match featuring UT and fourth-seeded Georgia. Texas ended the Bulldogs' 15-match winning streak at the NCAA Championships, and in a match that started and finished on separate days due to rain, UT emerged with a 4-2 victory to reach the national semifinals for a third time in four seasons. Texas fell to eighth-seeded USC by a 4-1 count in the semifinals. The Trojans went on to win the national title over Ohio State. SCOUTING THE FIELD OF 64 TEXAS SWEEPS BIG 12 TITLES Texas went on to capture its fourth Big 12 postseason tournament title and its first since 2006 when it edged Texas A&M in the finals of the Big 12 Championship on May 2 in Austin. Junior Ed Corrie broke a 3-3 tie and registered the clinching point with a three-set win over the Aggies' Jeff Dadamo, as Texas was victorious by a 4-3 count. HORNS EARN THREE NCAA SINGLES AND DOUBLES BIDS Texas senior Dimitar Kutrovsky has earned a fourth consecutive at-large bid into the 64-player singles draw to be played at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex. UT junior Ed Corrie has earned a second career berth into the NCAA singles draw, and Kutrovsky and classmate Josh Zavala were selected for a second time to compete in the NCAA doubles draw. Kutrovsky earns ITA singles All-America status for a third consecutive year by way of his top-16 national seed. Kutrovsky will take a "9-16" seed into the NCAA singles competition later this month. In addition, Kutrovsky and Zavala become first-time ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) doubles All-Americans by way of their top-eight seed in the NCAA doubles draw. The Texas tandem will have a "5-8" seed in the NCAA doubles draw. Kutrovsky is ranked No. 10 in the latest ITA singles rankings, while Corrie holds the No. 20 national ranking. Kutrovsky holds a 30-11 overall singles record and a 14-8 dual-match record at No. 1 singles. Corrie boasts a 29-10 overall singles record and a 16-6 record in dual-match play. Kutrovsky and Zavala, ranked No. 6 in doubles by the ITA, hold a 24-11 overall singles record, including a 14-9 mark in dual matches. KUTROVSKY, ZAVALA CLIMB UT'S ALL-TIME WINS LIST Kutrovsky is tied for third all-time in singles wins at Texas with 112. He is within striking distance of Jack Brasington's record of 121 singles wins as a Longhorn. Kutrovsky's classmate, Josh Zavala, ranks eighth all-time at UT with 101 wins and has totaled 27 wins thus far in his senior season. Zavala has won 18 of his last 19 singles decisions dating back to his victory over Tennessee's Matt Brewer on Feb. 14 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Zavala clinched UT's victory at Texas Tech on April 3 and the Horns' win over Tulsa on April 6. He added match-clinching wins against Texas A&M (April 21) and Nebraska (April 25) that earned him a selection as the Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week. NEWCOMERS MLADENOV, ANDERSEN MAKING AN IMPACT Mladenov, a true freshman, boasts a 15-3 dual-match record after totaling a 10-5 record last fall. The native Bulgarian posted a 5-1 mark in conference play to win the league title at No. 6 singles. Mladenov produced a key results in UT's 4-3 win at No. 8 Baylor on April 10. With the match knotted at three on the Bears' home courts in Waco, Mladenov held on for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over BU's Julian Bley to clinch the victory for the Longhorns. Andersen, a first-semester sophomore from South Africa, holds a 18-5 dual-match record, primarily at No. 4 singles. He made his Texas debut on Jan. 30 and notched a 6-3, 6-1 win over Middle Tennessee State's Matthew Langley before adding a win over Texas A&M's Alberto Bautista on Feb. 5. Andersen flourished in UT's trip to the ITA National Team Indoors, where he helped the Horns reach the semifinals. Andersen helped Texas defeat No. 9 Stanford by knocking off Richard Wire by a 6-3, 6-2 count. He helped the Horns topple No. 1 USC in the ITA National Team Indoor quarterfinals, where he registered a 6-3, 7-5 win over the Trojans' Peter Lucassen at fourth singles. Center, now in his 19th season as a head tennis coach, holds a career record of 366-135 (.731) and a 207-67 (.755) mark at the helm of the Longhorns' men's tennis program. |
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