May 7, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

UPCOMING MATCH:
The sixth-ranked and sixth-seeded Baylor men's tennis team, will travel to Tulsa, Okla., and the Michael D. Case Tennis Center for first and second round action of the 2009 NCAA Tennis Championships. The Bears will take on UMKC at 1 p.m. on Friday, May 8 while in other first-round action, TCU and host Tulsa will face off at 4 p.m. The two winners will meet in the second round on Saturday, May 9 at 4 p.m.

The winner of the second round match will advance to the NCAA Tennis Championships at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas, hosted by Texas A&M. Competition in College Station is May 14-19.

THE FIELD IN TULSA:
Baylor, UMKC and Tulsa all received automatic bids to the NCAA Tennis Championships by winning conference tournaments. UMKC won the Summit Conference's automatic bid and is currently 14-6 on the season while Tulsa, 21-9 and ranked No. 30, won the Conference USA Tournament. TCU, currently ranked No. 38, enters NCAA play at 12-11.

Schedule of competition:
Friday, May 8
1 p.m. - Baylor vs. UMKC
4 p.m. - TCU vs. Tulsa

Saturday, May 9
4 p.m. - First round winners

Live scoring and updates will be available at:
www.tulsahurricane.com and www.ncaasports.com

BEARS HAVE HISTORY IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS:
For the first time since 2002 Baylor's men's tennis team will hit the road for NCAA Championship first and second round action, traveling to Tulsa, Okla.

The sixth-seeded Bears will be making their 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Baylor, currently 23-5 on the season and ranked No. 6 nationally, have been to four of the last five NCAA Final Fours, including a national title in 2004 and runner-up finish in 2005.

The 2009 NCAA Championships marks just the fifth time in Baylor's 12 NCAA postseason appearances that the Bears have traveled for first-round action. In 1998, its first year of playing in the NCAA Tournament, Baylor played in Austin, Texas, followed by a trip to Terre Haute, Ind., in 1999. After earning their first hosting stint in 2000, the Bears were at TCU in 2001 and were hosted by of Harvard in Boston, Mass., in 2002.

CURRENT STREAKS AND TRENDS:
The Bears, 23-5 on the year, will be looking to extend a season long 12-match win streak. Baylor has won 18 of 20 matches, while posting a 16-1 record at home, a 4-2 record on the road and a 3-2 record at neutral sites. The Bears have won the doubles point in 11 of the last 12 matches and are 18-1 in matches when they claim the point. Baylor is 18-5 against national ranked teams this season and 2-3 versus top-10 ranked squads.

NCAA SINGLES SELECTIONS:
Denes Lukacs and Jordan Rux have been selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament singles bracket and Rux and senior David Galic will play in doubles. Lukacs, ranked No. 4, is seeded in the 1-8 range, players who are seeded automatically obtain All-America status. This marks Lukacs' second appearance at the NCAA Tournament and his second time to earn All-American in singles. The talented junior becomes Baylor's fifth two-time singles All-American joining Benjamin Becker (2002, `04, `05), Benedikt Dorsch (2003, `04, `05), Johann Jooste (1999, `00) and Lars Poerschke (2006, `07, `08) in the elite club.

Lukacs leads the Bears this season with a team-best 29-8 season record. An All-Big 12 selection, Lukacs sports a 19-5 dual match record and was a perfect 6-0 in Big 12 Conference play.

Rux, currently ranked No. 45, was named the Big 12 Championships' most outstanding player after helping lead the Bears to the tournament title and sports a 25-11 season mark.

Galic and Rux, currently ranked No. 18, are one of 32 doubles teams selected to the NCAA Championships. The selections marks Galic's second trip to the doubles tournament, he and former partner Matija Zgaga fell in the round of 32 in 2007.

Baylor in the NCAA Tournament: The Bears are 32-10 in NCAA Championship play. Prior to winning the 2004 NCAA national championship, their highest finishes were in 1999 and 2003 when they reached the quarterfinals. The Bears were 2005 runners-up after losing to UCLA 4-3 in the championship match, lost to top-seeded Georgia in the 2006 semifinals, dropped a 4-3 semifinal thriller to Illinois in 2007 and lost in the quarterfinals to top-ranked and undefeated Virginia 4-2 in 2008.

Baylor's NCAA Championship Record Breakdown:
First round - 9-2
Second round - 9-0
Round of 16 - 7-2
Quarterfinals - 4-3
Semifinals - 2-2
Finals - 1-1