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June 4, 2003
WACO, Texas -
Baylor head coach Matt Knoll continues to take his Baylor tennis program to new heights. In the past two seasons alone his teams have posted the best record in the nation. The Bears were 27-2 in 2002 and finished the 2003 campaign at 28-2, giving the program a 55-4 record over two seasons for a .932 winning percentage. Baylor's two losses this season came at the hands of the two teams that met in the finals of the NCAA Championships, Illinois and Vanderbilt. The Bears finished the 2003 season with the program's highest final ranking, No. 4. Baylor reeled off their fourth 20-win season in the last five years and won a school-record 19 straight matches. Knoll's crew won their second consecutive Big 12 Championship and third in the program's history. For the second straight season the Bears won both the Big 12 regular season and tournament titles. Knoll also guided the Bears to a sweep of Big 12 postseason honors. Knoll garnered his third Big 12 Coach of the Year honor, Benedikt Dorsch was named both Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year and Ivor Lovrak was the league's Freshman of the Year. A Baylor player has won freshman of the year honors five straight seasons.
The Bears achieved several 'firsts' this season. They were awarded the program's highest NCAA Tournament seed when they received the No. 2 seed this season. Sophomore Benedikt Dorsch won the program's first national title (Omni Indoor National) and advanced to the semifinals of the ITA All-American and the NCAA Singles Championships. Dorsch also received the first No. 1 national ranking for a Baylor player, a position he held for five rankings. In addition, Dorsch became the program's first double All-American, earning the honor in both singles and doubles. Also, the sophomore won a school-record 49 singles matches.
Baylor Quick Notes...
* The Bears held their highest ranking, No. 3 for eight rankings this season.
* A record four Baylor players were selected to participate in the NCAA Tennis Singles and Doubles championships. Benedikt Dorsch, the tournament's No. 2 seed, was joined by teammates Benjamin Becker, Zoltan Papp and Matias Marin. In addition, Dorsch and Reiner Neurohr were selected for the doubles draw. Papp and Becker were third alternates.
* Baylor's No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament is the program's highest tournament seed yet.
* The 2003 Bears won a record 19 straight matches.
* The Bears are 55-4 over the past two seasons, 27-2 in 2002 and 28-2 this year.
* With 49 singles wins this season, Benedikt Dorsch has the most singles wins in a season in the program's history. Ivor Lovrak is No. 4 with his 38 wins.
* Ivor Lovrak is the only Bear to complete dual match play undefeated with a record of 20-0.
* Six Bears finished the season ranked among the nation's top 125; No. 3 Benedikt Dorsch, No. 31 Benjamin Becker, No. 50 Matias Marin, No. 53 Zoltan Papp, freshman Ivor Lovrak checks in at No. 109 and junior Reiner Neurohr is No. 121.
* Zoltan Papp moved into first on the Baylor's all-time career singles wins list with 99, Matias Marin is No. 4 with 81.
* Three players finished Big 12 play undefeated. Benjamin Becker and Matias Marin were 7-0 and Ivor Lovrak completed league play at 5-0.
* Freshman Ivor Lovrak won 20 straight match this season, his last loss came on Nov. 11 against No. 97 Francis Huot of Virginia Tech, 7-5, 6-3.
* Prior to this season, the last time the Bears were ranked at the No. 3 position was on March 23, 1999.
* The Bears' No. 3 preseason ranking is the team's highest preseason ranking ever.
Baylor Places Record Number of Individuals in NCAAs...
For the first time in the program's history four Baylor men's tennis players were selected to the singles draw of the NCAA Tennis Championships. In addition, the team qualified a doubles team.
Sophomores Benedikt Dorsch, the tournament's No. 2 seed, and sophomore Benjamin Becker, senior Zoltan Papp and junior Matias Marin all were selected for singles and Dorsch and junior Reiner Neurohr enter the 32-draw doubles tournament. Becker and Papp are alternates for the doubles. It was is just the third time in the program's history that Baylor has sent more than one singles player to the tournament.
Head Coach Matt Knoll...
Head coach Matt Knoll completed his seventh season at the Bears' helm. He has a career record of 150-62 in eight seasons as a head coach and is 142-46 in his seven years at Baylor. Knoll owns a .755 winning percentage in his tenure at Baylor. He has guided the Bears to three Big 12 championships (2000, 2002 & 2003) and was second in 2001. Under his guidance the Bears have made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
