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April 9, 2002
WACO, Texas - #7 Baylor (18-1) vs.
#11 Texas - Wed, April 10, 6 p.m. , Waco
at #51 Oklahoma State - Sat., April 13, 2 p.m., Stillwater, Okla.
at Oklahoma - Sun., April 14, 10 a.m., Norman, Okla.
Baylor, currently ranked No. 7 nationally and boasting an 18-1 overall record and 3-0 Big 12 mark, hosts No. 11 Texas on Wednesday and will travel to Oklahoma to play #56 Oklahoma State on Saturday and the University of Oklahoma on Sunday. The Bears put a nine-match win streak on the line as they duel the Longhorns for conference bragging rights. Baylor, along with Texas and Texas A&M, are undefeated in league action so far this season.
The Texas Longhorns come into the Baylor Tennis Center with a record of 17-1 overall. The Longhorns lone loss of the season came in Austin when Pepperdine beat them 4-3. Pepperdine is the only team to beat Baylor this season as well, posting a 5-2 win in Malibu, Calif. The Longhorns are led by junior Jean Simon, ranked 13th nationally. Baylor and Texas split their two meetings last year. The Bears won in Austin, 5-2, then the Longhorns posted a 4-1 victory in the Big 12 Tournament.
The next match against will pit Oklahoma State, currently ranked No. 43, against the Bears. The Cowboys started the week at 8-4 and will play Oklahoma and Colorado, both matches in Stillwater at the Dubois Tennis Center, before hosting the Bears.
The Oklahoma Sooners will also play two matches before hosting the Bears on Sunday. They will play at Oklahoma State before hosting Colorado on Saturday. The Sooners will officially dedicate their new facility, the OU Headingon Family Tennis Center, prior to the Colorado match. Oklahoma is currently 11-6 overall.
The Bears...
Matt Knoll's Bears have a nine-match winning streak going. Their lone loss of the season came at then-No. 9 Pepperdine, 5-2. The Bears currently have three players ranked nationally. Freshman Benjamin Becker leads the way at No. 6, while Zoltan Papp is No. 45 and sophomore Markus Hornung is No. 56. In doubles Hornung and Nathan McGregor rank highest for the Bears at No. 10, while Hornung and Reiner Neurohr are No. 31 and Becker and Hornung are 42nd.
Bears on Fire...
Junior Zoltan Papp and sophomore Matias Marin are two of the Bears' hottest player so far. In dual match competition, Papp, a native of Budapest, Hungary, is 14-1 in singles. He is 7-1 at No. 2 singles and 7-0 at No. 3 and is 29-8 on the season. In addition, Papp is victorious in 20 of his last 22 matches. The Budapest, Hungary native had an 11 match winning streak snapped against Kentucky.
Marin, a native of Rosario, Argentina, is 16-2 in dual match competition. He had a seven match win streak halted against #4 Kentucky but has won 10 of his last 11 and 16 of his last 18 matches. Marin is 27-10 in singles on the season.
After losing his first two dual matches, freshman Benjamin Becker has reeled off wins in 15 of his last 16 matches. His lone loss in that stretch came to Pepperdine's Al Garland, ranked No. 3 nationally. He recently defeated No. 5 Jesse Witten of Kentucky in straight sets and Duke's No. 14 Phillip King. The Orscholz, Germany native is 29-7 so far this season and has an eight-match winning streak going.
Baylor in the Rankings...
According to the latest Omni Hotels Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team rankings released Wed., April 3, the Baylor men's tennis team moved up nine spots, to No. 7 from No. 16 in the country.
In the ITA Top 100 individual rankings released on April 3, three Bears received rankings. Freshman Benjamin Becker rose one spot to No. 6, junior Zoltan Papp dropped from No. 38 to No. 45 and newcomer Markus Hornung jumped from No. 74 to No. 56. In doubles, three teams made the top 60 rankings. Hornung and Nathan McGregor made their first appearance in the rankings, leaping in at No. 10. Hornung and Neurohr ranked No. 31 and Becker and Hornung are No. 42.
Protecting the Home Court...
The Bears have won all 15 of their home matches this season.
