The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor *
No. 7 Men's Tennis preview: at No. 6 Baylor [April 16]
04.15.2014 | Men's Tennis
Texas has a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title on Wednesday in Waco.
#7 Texas at #6 Baylor
Wednesday - 6 p.m. CT
Waco, Texas | Hurd Tennis Center
Live Scoring
Season Stats: HTML | PDF
No. 7 Texas Men's Tennis (19-3, 3-0 Big 12) has a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular season title on Wednesday against No. 6 Baylor (20-5, 3-1 Big 12) at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas.
The Longhorns are seeking their seventh Big 12 regular season title and first since 2010. Head coach Michael Center, whose 50th birthday is Tuesday, April 15, has coached UT to three regular season titles and four top-10 finishes in his previous 13 years on the Forty Acres.
The Longhorns will be playing their first match in over 10 days after completing an undefeated (11-0) regular season at home, including Big 12 wins against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU.
SERIES
Texas holds a 79-19-1 lead in the all-time series against Baylor. The Bears have won six of the last seven with the Longhorns entering Wednesday's match. 18 of BU's 19 wins in the series have come during the Big 12 era (9-18).
TOP 10 MATCH-UPS
Texas has a 7-3 record against top-25 opponents this season, including a 2-1 mark against top-10 opponents. Most recently, the Longhorns defeated preseason Big 12 Conference favorite and third-ranked Oklahoma, 4-3, on March 28 in Austin. Texas had back-to-back top-10 matches at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Houston, defeating No. 4 Georgia, 4-3, on Feb. 14 and losing to current-No. 1 (then-No. 5) Ohio State, 4-2, on Feb. 15.
INDIVIDUAL BIG 12 TITLES ON THE LINE
Wednesday's match has major implications for individual Big 12 regular season titles, in addition to the team title. Both Texas and Baylor are undefeated at singes position Nos. 1, 5 and 6 during conference play.
Big 12 individual leaders from Texas and Baylor | PDF
No. 1 Singles - Søren Hess-Olesen (UT, 3-0); Patrick Pradella (BU, 2-0); Julien Lenz (BU, 2-0)
No. 5 Singles - Mate Zisga (BU, 4-0); Nick Naumann (UT, 3-0)
No. 6 Singles - Michel Dornbusch (BU, 4-0); Clement Homs (UT, 3-0)
No. 3 Doubles - Michel Dornbusch/Julian Lenz (BU, 4-0), David Holiner/Jacoby Lewis (UT, 2-1)
SINGLES SUMMARY
During dual match play this season, Texas holds a combined 89-31 (.742) record in singles competition. The Longhorns boast three ranked players and five players with 10 or more wins during dual match play.
No. 21 Søren Hess-Olesen leads the Longhorns at the No. 1 singles position in the lineup. Hess-Olesen has a 14-2 record at No. 1 singles this season and 10 wins over nationally ranked opponents. Junior Clement Homs boasts a 12-0 record in dual match play, including a 10-0 mark at No. 6 singles. Homs has won his last 13 singles matches dating back to the fall season.
Junior Adrien Berkowicz leads the team in overall singles wins (25-7, 15-4 dual) and sophomore Nick Naumann (23-7, 17-3 dual) leads the team in wins during dual match play.
DOUBLES SUMMARY
Texas has won the doubles point in 15 of 22 dual matches this season, holding a 13-2 team record when earning the team doubles point. The Longhorns enter the weekend with a combined 32-22 (.593) doubles record in the spring.
No. 13 Lloyd Glasspool and Søren Hess-Olesen (21-11, 10-9 dual) account for nine of UT's 11 wins over nationally ranked doubles teams. Adrien Berkowicz and George Goldhoff (7-2, 7-1 dual) have won eight of their last nine matches as a team and are slated in the No. 2 doubles position.
IN THE ITA RANKINGS
Texas is ranked No. 7 in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll released on April 15, 2014. The Longhorns have been in the national top-10 in eight of the last nine ITA polls. The Big 12 Conference has three teams ranked in the top-10 (No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 6 Baylor, No. 7 Texas). The Longhorns are 7-3 against top-25 opponents this season.
Texas and Baylor in the ITA Rankings
Team
6. Baylor
7. Texas
Singles
3. Julian Lenz
12. Patrick Pradella
19. Søren Hess-Olesen (Texas)
28. Diego Galeano
38. Lloyd Glasspool (Texas)
91. George Goldhoff (Texas)
113. Michel Dornbusch
Doubles
11. Lloyd Glasspool / Søren Hess-Olesen (Texas)
