May 2, 2002

WACO, Texas - Baylor head coach Matt Knoll and freshman sensation Benjamin Becker have each been honored by Big 12 coaches it was announced by the conference office.

Knoll and Texas's Matt Center share 2002 Men's Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, while Becker was named the league's Freshman of the Year.

So far this season Knoll has guided the Bears to a school record 25-1 mark and 16 straight victories, also a school record. The Bears also won the Big 12 championships, the second under Knoll, and were Big 12 Tournament champions as well. In the latest Omni Hotels ITA national team rankings, Baylor is ranked fourth. . Baylor rolled through the Big 12 race undefeated at 7-0 and lost only to Top 10-rated Pepperdine 5-2 in Malibu, Calif., during the course of the 2002 current campaign. In his six seasons at Baylor, Knoll possesses a record of 112-43 and also earned league Coach of the Years honors in 1998. Center's Longhorns finished second in the Big 12 and were defeated in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament by Texas A&M. They are currently 21-3 on the season.

Becker, a freshman from Orscholz, Germany, continues to impress not only at the league level but on a national basis as well. Becker is the No. 9 player nationally. He cruised through league play with a perfect 6-0 mark at No. 1 singles. In fact, only two Big 12 players (Texas' Jean Simon and OSU's Matt Prentice) pushed him to three sets before they fell in defeat. Becker is 21-3 in dual match competition and 35-7 overall and has a 14-match win streak going.

This is the third straight year a Baylor player has claimed Freshman of the Year honors. Zoltan Papp won in 2000 and Reiner Neurohr was honored in 2001.

2002 Big 12 Men's Tennis Awards
Coach of the Year - Matt Knoll, Baylor and Matt Center, Texas
Player of the Year - Jean Simon, Texas
Newcomer of the Year - Ante Matijevic, Texas A&M
Freshman of the Year - Benjamin Becker, Baylor