Men's Tennis Takes on USC in NCAA Tournament
5/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
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May 16, 2002
WACO, Texas - Bears to take on #11 Southern California
2002 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament-College Station, Texas
Saturday, May 18 - #4 Baylor vs. #11 USC - 1 p.m.
Quarterfinals - Sun., May 19 - 1 p.m.
Semifinals - Mon., May 20 - 4 p.m.
Championship - Tues., May 21 - 7 p.m.
Baylor, currently ranked No. 4 nationally and boasting a 27-1 overall record, will travel to College Station for NCAA Tournament action. The Bears will bring a school-record 18-match winning streak into the round of 16. The Bears advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Hartford (4-0) in first round action and host Harvard (4-0) in second round competition of the NCAA Tournament.
Baylor will face the tournament's No. 11 seed in the University of Southern California Trojans. The Trojans come into the match at 21-5 after posting a first round victory over Oral Roberts (5-0) and a second round win over Arkansas (4-3). USC also played first and second round matches on the road, traveling to Tulsa, Okla. USC has four players, three of which are seniors, ranked among the top 100 nationally. No. 30 Andrew Park is a senior with a 24-14 singles record and plays at No. 1; Ryan Moore, a senior with a15-12 record, plays at No. 2; No. 46 Nick Rainey, a senior, plays at No. 4 and has a 19-8 record and No. 85 Prakash Amritraj, a freshman, plays at No. 3 and is 20-14 on the year. Moore and Rainey combine to rank No. 9 in doubles and play at No. 1.
The Bears...
Matt Knoll's Bears have an 18-match winning streak going, besting the school-record 13 straight wins set in 1999. Their lone loss of the season came on March 8 at then-No. 9 Pepperdine, 5-2.
Baylor achieved its highest team ranking of the season on May 1 when they moved up to No. 4 nationally.
The Bears come into the NCAA Tournament, with three players ranked nationally in singles and three doubles teams among the nation's best. In the national rankings for the Bears are freshman Benjamin Becker at No. 9, junior Zoltan Papp at No. 45 and sophomore Markus Hornung at No. 65. In doubles Hornung and Nathan McGregor rank highest for the Bears at No. 34, while Hornung and Reiner Neurohr are No. 39 and Becker and Hornung are No. 50.
Bears in the NCAAs...
The Baylor men had two individuals selected for the NCAA Men's Singles Tournament and one team picked for the NCAA Men's Doubles Tournament. Junior Zoltan Papp, ranked 45th nationally, and freshman Benjamin Becker, ranked ninth, will each make their first NCAA Singles Tournament appearance, while the 34th-ranked team of sophomores Markus Hornung and Nathan McGregor was chosen for the first time for the doubles tourney.
Baylor in the NCAA Tournament...
The Bears are 7-4 in NCAA Tournament play. Their highest finish was in 1999 when they reached the quarterfinals but were eliminated, 4-3, by host Georgia.
Here's the Bears' NCAA Tournament breakdown:
First round - 3-2
Second round - 3-0
Round of 16 - 1-1
Quarterfinals - 0-1
Semifinals - 0-0
Finals - 0-0
1998
First round - Lost to #44 TCU, 4-2
1999
First round - Defeated #67 Indiana State, 4-1
Second round - Defeated #20 Harvard, 4-1
Round of 16 - Defeated #5 Stanford, 4-3
Quarterfinals - Lost to #6 Georgia, 4-3
2000 - 5th seed
First round - Defeated Marist College, 4-0
Second round - Defeated #24 Mississippi State, 4-2
Round of 16 - Lost to #11 TCU, 4-1
2001
First round - Lost to #40 Tulane, 4-2
2002 - 6th seed
First round - Def. Hartford, 4-0
Second Round - Def. Harvard, 4-0
Round of 16 - Vs. Southern California
Second Conference Championship...
With their victory at the University of Oklahoma on Sunday, April 14, the Bears claimed their second Big 12 Championship in three years. They claimed sole possession of the title by defeating Texas A&M, 4-3, in College Station, and remaining undefeated in league play. Baylor also won the title in 2000 with a perfect 8-0 conference record.
First Big 12 Tournament Championship...
The Bears claimed their first Big 12 Tournament championship when they defeated Texas A&M, 4-2, in College Station, the site of the 2002 Big 12 Tournament. Baylor had lost twice before in the tournament finals (1999 & 2000) before claiming victory in 2002.
Head Coach Matt Knoll...
Head coach Matt Knoll is in his sixth season at the Bears' helm. He has a career record of 118-59 in seven seasons as a head coach and is 114-43 in his six years at Baylor. He has guided the Bears to two Big 12 championships (2000 & 2002) and was second in 2001. Under his guidance the Bears have made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
