May 1, 2007
IRVING, Texas -
Junior Lars Poerschke was named Big 12 Player of the Year the conference announced Tuesday. Poerschke and senior Michal Kokta were also named to the All-Big 12 first-team in both singles and doubles, while senior Matija Zgaga and sophomore David Galic were awarded with All-Big 12 doubles selection. Baylor head coach Matt Knoll was also named co-winner of the Big 12 Coach of the Year award.
Poerschke marks the third Bear to be named Big 12 Player of the Year. Benedikt Dorsch was a three-time winner (2003, '04, '05) while Johann Jooste won in 1999. Poerschke is ranked No. 11 nationally in the latest ITA/Fila individual rankings. He owns a 25-8 overall record and finished 5-1 in conference action during regular-season play. Poerschke has won 15 of his last 17 singles matches.
Head coach Knoll led the fourth-ranked Bears to an undefeated season in conference action. The Bears claimed both the Big 12 Championship crown and the conference regular-season title for the fifth time. This marks Knoll's fifth time to receive the Big 12 Coach of the Year award.
Poerschke and Kokta were named to the All-Big 12 team in both singles and doubles action. This marks Poerschkes second time to receive this honor, and Kokta's second time in singles. Kokta, ranked No. 19, owns a 25-10 overall record, 5-2 in Big 12 action.
In doubles, Kokta and Poerschke, ranked at the No. 60 spot, teamed together to make a 7-1 overall mark, 4-0 in conference play. In addition, they have registered 48 wins as a team, which ranked tied for No. 1 on Baylor career doubles team victory list.
Baylor's duo of Matija Zgaga and David Galic also earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Team in doubles action with a 9-6 overall record, 3-4 in league action.
The All-Big 12 honors are selected by the league's head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players. Five men's singles players, including Poerschke, and two doubles teams, were unanimously honored.
2007 ALL-BIG 12 TENNIS AWARDS
MEN'S TENNIS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Lars Poerschke, Baylor, Jr.
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Oleksandr Nedovyesov, Oklahoma State, Fr.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Oleksandr Nedovyesov, Oklahoma State, Fr.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Matt Knoll, Baylor
James Wadley, Oklahoma State
ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Singles
Michal Kokta, Baylor, Sr.
Lars Poerschke, Baylor, Jr.*
Adrian Szatmary, Nebraska, Sr.
Vaclav Kucera, Oklahoma, Fr.
Oleksandr Nedovyesov, Oklahoma State, Fr.*
Ivan Puchkarov, Oklahoma State, Jr.*
Luis Diaz Barriga, Texas, Jr.
Dimitar Kutrovsky, Texas, Fr.
Conor Pollock, Texas A&M, So.*
Sinisa Markovic, Texas Tech, So.
Dimitrio Martinez, Texas Tech, Sr.*
Bojan Szumanski, Texas Tech, Jr.
Doubles
Lars Poerschke/Michal Kokta, Baylor
Matija Zgaga/David Galic, Baylor
Federico Chavarria/Andrei Daescu, Oklahoma
Oleksandr Nedovyesov/ Daniel Byrnes, Oklahoma State*
Josh Zavala/Dimitar Kutrovsky, Texas*
Bojan Szumanski/Christian Rojmar, Texas Tech
