Feb. 22, 2005

WACO, Texas - Top-ranked men's tennis took four spots in singles rankings and had three doubles pairs rank in the top 45 as the Bears retained their No. 1 ranking Tuesday in the ITA rankings.

Seniors Benedikt Dorsch and Benjamin Becker received their first rankings after sitting out during the fall. Lars Poerschke and Matija Zgaga slightly slide from their previous rankings.

Dorsch, who finish the 2003-04 season ranked No. 1, currently ranks ninth. His most notable win this spring came against Illinois' Ryan DeHeart, who is currently the No. 1 singles player in the country. Dorsch is 9-0 this fall overall, 5-0 against ranked opponents.

As for Becker, he lands in the No. 44 spot after going 9-2 since returning to action in January. Becker, who won the 2004 NCAA Tournament title, is 3-1 against ranked opponents this spring.

Poerschke fell to No. 19 after spending time at the No. 11 spot. The true-freshman is 20-7 in 2004-05 and is 8-5 against ranked opponents. Zgaga dropped to No. 93 after a slow- spring start. Zgaga 1-3, but since then has won four straight.

In doubles play, Poerschke and Zgaga earned rankings in two different pairings. Together, the young duo ranks No. 6 nationally. The duo has not played together since late January.

Dorsch and Zgaga tied for the No. 44 spot with Luben Pampoulov and Benjamin Kohlloeffel of UCLA. The Baylor duo finished the 2003-04 season with a No. 8 ranking after advancing to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

For complete rankings, go to: http://www.itatennis.com/

Singles Rankings
No. 9 Benedikt Dorsch
No. 19 Lars Poerschke
No. 44 Benjamin Becker
No. 93 Matija Zgaga

Doubles Rankings
No. 6 Zgaga/Poerschke
No. 43 Kokta/Poerschke
t-No. 44 Dorsch/Zgaga