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May 9, 2002
WACO, Texas -
#4 Baylor (25-1) Travels to Harvard for NCAAs
Bears to take on Hartford in first round
at NCAA Tournament - First and Second Rounds
May 11-12 - at Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Saturday, May 11 - #4 Baylor vs. Hartford - 9 a.m. (CST) #33 Harvard vs. Marist - 1 p.m.
Sunday - Saturday's winners play - 11 a.m.
Baylor, currently ranked No. 4 nationally and boasting a 25-1 overall record will travel to Cambridge, Mass., for first round NCAA Tournament action. The Bears will bring a school-record 16-match winning streak in to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Competition will be held at Harvard's Robert M. Beren Tennis Center. Joining the Bears will be the University of Hartford, Harvard and Marist College.
The University of Hartford, Baylor's first round opponent, earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by winning the American East Conference tournament. The Hawks defeated Stony Brook University, 4-1, to earn the automatic bid. The Hawks are 14-3 on the season and making their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Harvard, ranked No. 33, earned an at-large selection to the tournament and will take on Marist College, winners of the Metro Atlantic Conference.
Sixteen sites around the country were selected to host four teams for the first two rounds of the 64-team tournament, with each site winner advancing to the Sweet 16 which are being hosted by Texas A&M, in College Station, Texas, May 18-22.
The Finals
The 16 winners of second round matches will travel to College Station, Texas where Texas A&M will host the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the NCAA Tournament. Team competition will be held from May 18-21 and singles and doubles competition will be held from May 22-27.
The Bears
Matt Knoll's Bears have a 16-match winning streak going, besting the school-record 13 straight wins set in 1999. Their lone loss of the season came on March 8 at then-No. 9 Pepperdine, 5-2. Baylor achieved its highest team ranking of the season on May 1 when they moved up to No. 4 nationally.
The Bears come into the NCAA Tournament, with three players ranked nationally in singles and three doubles teams among the nation's best.
In the national rankings for the Bears are freshman Benjamin Becker at No. 9, junior Zoltan Papp at No. 45 and sophomore Markus Hornung at No. 65. In doubles Hornung and Nathan McGregor rank highest for the Bears at No. 34, while Hornung and Reiner Neurohr are No. 39 and Becker and Hornung are No. 50.
Bears in the NCAAs
The Baylor men had two individuals selected for the NCAA Men's Singles Tournament and one team picked for the NCAA Men's Doubles Tournament. Junior Zoltan Papp, ranked 45th nationally, and freshman Benjamin Becker, ranked ninth, will each make their first NCAA Singles Tournament appearance, while the 34th-ranked team of Markus Hornung and Nathan McGregor was chosen for the first time for the doubles tourney.
Second Conference Championship
With their victory at the University of Oklahoma on Sunday, April 14, the Bears claimed their second Big 12 Championship in three years. They claimed sole possession of the title by defeating Texas A&M, 4-3, in College Station, and remaining undefeated in league play. Baylor also won the title in 2000 with a perfect 8-0 conference record.
First Big 12 Tournament Championship
The Bears claimed their first Big 12 Tournament championship when they defeated Texas A&M, 4-2, in College Station, the site of the 2002 Big 12 Tournament. Baylor had lost twice before in the tournament finals (1999 & 2000) before claiming victory in 2002.
Head Coach Matt Knoll
Head coach Matt Knoll is in his sixth season at the Bears' helm. He has a career record of 118-59 in seven seasons as a head coach and is 112-43 in his six years at Baylor. He has guided the Bears to two Big 12 championships (2000 & 2002) and was second in 2001. Under his guidance the Bears have made five straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
20-Win Seasons
At 25-1, the Bears have now posted the program's third 20-win season, all of which have come under head coach Matt Knoll. Knoll guided the Bears to their first-ever 20-win season in 1999 when they were 24-3 and finished second in the Big 12. In 2000 Baylor claimed the Big 12 Championship with a 23-6 record.
Victory Record
At 25-1, the Bears have broken the program's record for most victories in a season. The previous mark was set in the 1999 season with 24 wins.
Records Watch
Newcomer Markus Hornung needs only one more doubles victory to tie David Hodge for most doubles wins in a season for an individual. He currently has 31 while Hodge sits at the top with 32 in the 1999-2000 season. Sophomore Matias Marin needs one more dual match singles win to tie Jorge Aldrete for No. 1 in duals match singles wins in a season. Marin has 23, while Aldrete set the mark of 24 in the 1998-99 season.
Bears on Fire
Junior Zoltan Papp, sophomore Matias Marin and freshman Benjamin Becker are three of the Bears' hottest player so far. In dual match competition, Papp, a native of Budapest, Hungary, is 21-1 in singles. He is 1-0 at No. 1 singles, 13-1 at No. 2 and 7-0 at No. 3 and is 36-8 on the season. In addition, Papp is victorious in 27 of his last 29 matches. He had an 11 match winning streak snapped against Kentucky but currently has won 10 in a row. Marin, a native of Rosario, Argentina, is 23-3 in dual match competition. He had a seven match win streak halted against #4 Kentucky but has won 17 of his last 19 and 23 of his last 26 matches. Marin is 34-11 in singles on the season.
After losing his first two dual matches, freshman Benjamin Becker has reeled off wins in 21 of his last 22 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, Duke's No. 14 Phillip King and No. 13 Jean Simon of Texas. The Orscholz, Germany native is 35-7 so far this season and has a 14-match winning streak going.
Baylor in the Rankings
According to the latest Omni Hotels Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) team rankings released Wed., May 1, the Baylor men's tennis team moved up two spots, to No. 4 from No. 6 in the country. The No. 4 ranking is Baylor's highest team ranking of the season. This is the program's second highest team ranking. They were ranked No. 3 in March 1999, No. 4 on successive weeks in April 2000 and No. 5 twice during the 2000 season (see sidebar on later page for complete Baylor Top 10 team national rankings).
In the ITA Top 100 individual rankings released on May 1, three Bears received rankings. Freshman Benjamin Becker dropped two spots to No.9, junior Zoltan Papp moved from No. 40 to No. 45 and newcomer Markus Hornung jumped three spots to No. 65. In doubles, three teams made the top 60 rankings. Hornung and Nathan McGregor are No. 34, Hornung/Neurohr are No. 39 and Becker/Hornung are No. 50.
30 Match Winners
The Bears have four players with 30 or more victories under their belts this season. Zoltan Papp leads the way for the Bears with 36 matches, Benjamin Becker has 35, Matias Marin has 34 and Markus Hornung has 31. In dual match competition, Marin leads the way with 23 victories. He is followed closely by Benjamin Becker and Zoltan Papp, each with 21.
Doubles Streaks
The doubles duo of Zoltan Papp and Benjamin Becker has won 13 straight matches. They are undefeated in dual match competition at 13-0 and finished Big 12 play at 4-0.
Baylor in the NCAA Tournament
The Bears are 5-4 in NCAA Tournament play. Their highest finish was in 1999 when they reached the quarterfinals but were eliminated, 4-3, by host Georgia.
Here's the Bears' NCAA Tournament breakdown:
First round - 2-2
Second round - 2-0
Round of 16 - 1-1
Quarterfinals - 0-1
Semifinals - 0-0
Finals - 0-0
1998
First round - Lost to #44 TCU, 4-2
1999
First round - Defeated #67 Indiana State, 4-1
Second round - Defeated #20 Harvard, 4-1
Round of 16 - Defeated #5 Stanford, 4-3
Quarterfinals - Lost to #6 Georgia, 4-3
2000 - 5th seed
First round - Defeated Marist College, 4-0
Second round - Defeated #24 Mississippi State, 4-2
Round of 16 - Lost to #11 TCU, 4-1
2001
First round - Lost to #40 Tulane, 4-2
2002 - 6th seed
First round - vs. Hartford
