Dec. 1, 2006

WACO, Texas - Now that the fall competition is completed for the Baylor's men's tennis team a very challenging schedule faces the squad.

Baylor's 2007 schedule features six of the 2006 NCAA Tournament quarterfinalists including Georgia, Texas, UCLA, Stanford, Virginia and national champion Pepperdine. In addition, Baylor faces nine opponents who finished in the top 20 in last season's Fila Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings.

Head coach Matt Knoll enters his 11th year at Baylor with a record of 233-47. During Knoll's 10 seasons, the Bears have won six Big 12 Championships: 2000, `02, `03, `04, '05 and `06, including five straight. Over the past five seasons, Knoll's squads have ranked no lower than ninth nationally including a 2004 NCAA championship, a 2005 runnerup finish and a semifinal appearance in 2006. Kyle Spencer joined the program in November as Assistant Director of Tennis. Spencer brings a wealth of experience to the Bear tennis program having played at the collegiate, Olympic and professional levels and also as a coach in collegiate and the professional ranks.

The Bears swing into regular-season action Jan. 6 at the University of Hawai'i, just before competing in the Sherwood Classic in Los Angeles, Calif. Tennis fans will get to watch some outstanding matches as the always-powerful UCLA, Stanford and defending NCAA champion Pepperdine take on the Bears in Waco. Baylor will kick-off Big 12 Conference play March 23 at Nebraska.

Post-season action starts April 27 with the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. The NCAA Tournament begins May 11 with the team championships beginning May 17 in Athens, Ga.

Five letterwinners return from last season's 25-7 squad. Seniors Michal Kokta and Matija Zgaga are back in action this season. Kokta, ranked No. 23 in the preseason, finished the season ranked No. 34, led the team in victories with a 38-9 mark and was perfect at No. 4 with a 13-0 mark. Zgaga finished the season ranked No. 62 in singles and played at No. 1 and 2 for the 2006 Bears. Two-time All-American Lars Poerschke enters his junior year as Baylor's highest ranked player, finishing No. 4 last season, and debuting at No. 4 this season. Kokta and Poerschke teamed up and ranked No. 1 in doubles on the team, finishing 16-2 on the season. Sophomores David Galic, who saw most of this action in doubles last season, and Matt Brown, who finished 27-9 overall, are also returning this year. Brown, with a No. 82 preseason ranking, was one of the four Bears to post 20 or more dual match singles wins.

Freshmen Denes Lukacs, and Dominik Mueller enjoyed successful fall seasons and will both bolster this season's lineup. Lukacs, a 5-9 right-hander from Eger, Hungary, ranks No. 110 in the first listings of the season and Mueller, a 5-9 right-hander of Frankfurt, Germany, ranks No. 121.

BAYLOR MEN'S TENNIS 2007 SCHEDULE