The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
Men’s Tennis preview: Big 12 Championship [April 26-27, 2014]
04.24.2014 | Men's Tennis
Longhorns begin postseason play on Saturday at noon in Fort Worth.
Big 12 Men's Tennis Championship
Semifinals: #2 seed Texas vs. [#3 seed Oklahoma or #6 seed TCU]
Saturday - 12 p.m. CT
Fort Worth, Texas | Friedman Tennis Center
Big 12 Championship Central | Bracket
Live Scoring: Purple Court | Green Court
Season Stats: HTML | PDF
Texas at a Glance
• Texas (20-4, 4-1 Big 12) won a share of its first Big 12 regular season title since 2010 with a 4-1 record in conference play this season.
• The Longhorns hold an all-time record of 23-13 in the Big 12 Championship, including four titles.
• Texas has won 12 of its last 14 matches entering the postseason.
• Texas has been among the top-10 in the ITA Rankings in 10 of the last 11 polls. For the last three weeks, UT has been ranked No. 7.
• Søren Hess-Olesen (No. 1 singles) and Nick Naumann (No. 5 singles) both went undefeated (5-0) during Big 12 Conference singles play this season.
• Texas features three ranked singles players (No. 15 Søren Hess-Olesen, No. 40 Lloyd Glasspool, No. 94 George Goldhoff) and one ranked doubles team (No. 15 Lloyd Glasspool / Søren Hess-Olesen).
• The Longhorns advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in February.
• Two current Longhorns are ITA All-Americans -- Søren Hess-Olesen (2013 NCAA Singles quarterfinalist) and David Holiner (2013 NCAA Doubles finalist).
Texas in the Big 12 Championship
• UT is a No. 2 seed for the fourth time in Big 12 Championship history, which began in 1997. The Longhorns are 5-2 as a No. 2 seed in the Championship, including a title run in 2006. Texas has an all-time record of 23-13 in the Big 12 Championship.
• Texas has reached the finals of the Big 12 Championship on seven occasions, including five of the last eight years.
• The Longhorns have claimed four Big 12 Championship titles (1997, 1999, 2006, 2010). Texas was the No. 1 seed in 1997, 1999, 2010 and the No. 2 seed in 2006.
• Last season, Texas defeated Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals and lost to Oklahoma in the semifinals as a No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship in Norman.
Four honored on Academic All-Big 12 team
• Senior Sudanwa Sitaram, junior Søren Hess-Olesen, junior Jacoby Lewis and sophomore Nick Naumann were named First Team Academic All-Big 12 on Tuesday, April 22.
• Sitaram earns first-team honors for the third consecutive year and Hess-Olesen repeats as a first-team honoree. It is the first Academic All-Big 12 honor for both Lewis and Naumann.
• First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 GPA or better. A total of 17 Big 12 Men's Tennis student-athletes earned first-team recognition.
Hess-Olesen and Naumann pick up individual Big 12 titles
• Junior Søren Hess-Olesen (No. 1 singles) and sophomore Nick Naumann (No. 5 singles) both went undefeated as individuals during conference play to capture Big 12 regular season titles at their respective singles positions. The final Big 12 individual standings were released by the conference on April 22.
• No. 15 Hess-Olesen held a 5-0 mark at No. 1 singles during Big 12 play -- all against nationally ranked opponents. Hess-Olesen is 16-2 during dual match play and has won seven consecutive contests. The Denmark native is a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week this season.
• Hess-Olesen is the first Longhorn to win a Big 12 regular season title at No. 1 singles.
• Naumann finished the regular season with a 5-0 record at No. 5 singles. The Woodland, Texas native has a team-high 19 wins during dual match play and is riding an eight-match winning streak into the postseason. Naumann is the fifth Longhorn to win the Big 12 title at No. 5 singles and the first since Josh Zavala in 2010.
• Lloyd Glasspool earned the Big 12 title at No. 2 singles last season and Sudanwa Sitaram was the best at his No. 3 singles position in 2012.
Singles summary
• During dual match play this season, Texas holds a combined 96-36 (.727) record in singles competition. The Longhorns boast three nationally ranked players and five players with 10 or more wins during dual match play.
• No. 15 Søren Hess-Olesen leads the Big 12 at the No. 1 singles position with a 5-0 record against league opponents. Hess-Olesen is 16-2 during dual match play with 12 wins over nationally ranked opponents.
• Sophomore Nick Naumann (25-7, 19-3 dual) leads the team in wins during dual match play. Naumann is 5-0 against Big 12 opponents at No. 5 singles.
• Junior Clement Homs boasts a 12-2 record in dual match play, including a 10-2 mark at No. 6 singles. Homs maintained a 13-match singles winning streak from Oct. 27, 2013 to April 5, 2014.
• Junior Adrien Berkowicz leads the team in overall singles wins (26-8, 16-5 dual).
Doubles summary
• When Texas wins the doubles point in a dual match, the Longhorns are 13-2. The Longhorns enter the weekend with a combined 32-25 (.561) doubles record this spring.
• No. 11 Lloyd Glasspool and Søren Hess-Olesen (21-12, 10-10 dual) account for nine of UT's 11 wins over nationally-ranked doubles teams.
• Adrien Berkowicz and George Goldhoff (7-3, 7-2 dual) have won eight of their last 10 matches as a team and are slated in the No. 2 doubles position.
Head Coach Michael Center mini bio
• Michael Center is in his 14th season at Texas (281-100 record) and 22nd season overall as a tennis head coach (440-168 record).
• Center has guided Texas to three appearances in the NCAA Final Four (2006, 2008, 2009) and one appearance in the NCAA Championship title match (2008).
• Center has held head coaching positions at TCU (1998-2000) and his alma mater Kansas (1989-96).
• Awards: USPTA National Coach of the Year (2007); Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year (2002, 2006, 2010); ITA Regional Coach of the Year (2006, 2010)
Up Next: NCAA Championship
• No. 7 Texas is on pace for its 23rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship.
• The NCAA Men's Tennis Championship selection show is on Tuesday, April 29th at 4 p.m. CT on NCAA.com.
• The top 16 seeds in the NCAA Championship host First and Second Rounds on their home courts. The regional rounds are held in Athens, Ga., on the campus of the University of Georgia.
• Texas has made six Final Four appearances (1955, 1957, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2009).
