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March 18, 2002
WACO, Texas -
#10 Baylor (12-1) Hosts Three Matches This Week
#69 Colorado - Tues., Mar. 19, 2002, 3 p.m. , Waco
#7 Kentucky - Fri., Mar. 22, 6 p.m., Waco
#75 Texas Tech - Sun., Mar. 24, 1:00 p.m., Waco
Baylor, currently ranked No. 10 nationally and boasting a 12-1 overall record and 1-0 Big 12 mark, hosts No. 7 Kentucky and will take on two Big 12 opponents as well this week.
The Colorado Buffaloes come into the Baylor Tennis Center with a record of 7-4 overall. They lost their Big 12 Conference opener when Texas Tech defeated them in Lubbock, 6-1. The Buffs are playing at TCU on Monday.
Kentucky, ranked 7th nationally, defeated SEC foe 24th-ranked South Carolina last weekend to raise their season record to 13-3. Five Wildcats are ranked among the nation's top 100. Jesse Witten leads the Wildcats at No. 5, In addition, freshman Karim Benmansour is No. 39, junior Johan Gurnditz is No. 72, Evan Austin is No. 77 and junior Gustav Pousette is No. 81. The Texas Tech Red Raiders are 9-5 on the season after defeating Colorado 6-1 in Lubbock. They are 1-0 in the Big 12 Conference so far this season. The Red Raiders are led by junior Royce Ramey who is ranked No. 59 nationally.
Note the Changes...
Baylor's match against Kentucky has been moved to March 22 at 6 p.m. The Bears' Big 12 match with Texas Tech has been changed to Sunday, March 24 at 1 p.m.
Bears on Fire...
Junior Zoltan Papp and sophomore Matias Marin are two of the Bears' hottest player so far. In dual match competition, Papp, a native of Budapest, Hungary, is a perfect 10-0 in singles. He is 3-0 at No. 2 singles and 7-0 at No. 3. In addition, he is victorious in 16 of his last 17 matches.
Marin, a native of Rosario, Argentina, is 12-1 in dual match competition, posting four victories at each of the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 spots. His lone loss came at the No. 4 spot. He has won six straight matches and has won 12 of his last 13. After losing his first two dual matches, freshman Benjamin Becker has reeled off wins in 10 of his last 11 matches. His lone loss in that stretch came to Pepperdine's Al Garland, ranked No. 3 nationally.
Becker Named Preseason All-Big 12...
Freshman Benjamin Becker was Baylor's lone preseason All-Big 12 selection as voted by the conference coaches. Becker, a native or Orscholz, Germany, is currently ranked No. 10 nationally. This previous reanking of No. 3 is the highest ever for a Baylor player. Becker finished the fall season with a 14-4 record and made it to the finals of the ITA Indoor Nationals.
Baylor in the Rankings...
According to the latest team rankings released Wed. March 13 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the Baylor men's tennis team dropped to No. 10 in the country. They dropped two spots after losing to then-No. 10 Pepperdine. Matt Knoll's men's team, currently 12-1 on the season, is the Big 12's highest ranked team. They are two spots ahead of Texas (No. 12) and eight ahead of Texas A&M (No. 18t). In the ITA Top 100 individual rankings released on March 6, three Bears received rankings. Freshman Benjamin Becker fell two spots to No.10, newcomer Markus Hornung, a sophomore, is No. 42 and junior Zoltan Papp ranks No. 46. In doubles, one made the top 60 rankings. Hornung and Reiner Neurohr ranked No. 17.
Undefeated Bears...
The Bears have one singles player that is currently undefeated in dual match play, Zoltan Papp has posted 10-0 record so far. In singles the Bears are 13-0 at the No. 5 spot and are 12-1 at No. 3.
Protecting the Home Court...
The Bears have won all 10 of their home matches this season. They will put that mark on the line when they host No. 7 Kentucky on Friday evening.
Head Coach Matt Knoll...
Head coach Matt Knoll is in his sixth season at the Bears' helm. He has a career record of 105-59 in seven seasons as a head coach and is 97-43 in his six years at Baylor. He has guided the Bears to a Big 12 championship (2000) and was second last season. Under his guidance the Bears have made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
