April 28, 2005

WACO, Texas - The top-ranked Baylor men's tennis team heads to the Big 12 Tournament this weekend in Austin as the Bears go for their fourth-straight Big 12 Tournament Championship. Baylor won the 2005 Big 12 regular-season championship April 19.

The men's tennis team enters the tournament as the top-seeded team after going 7-0 during conference play this season. The Bears will face eighth-seeded Nebraska Friday at 6 p.m. at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center. The match marks the fourth time the Bears and the Cornhuskers have faced each other in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament; Baylor has won the all-three previous matches. Baylor defeated Nebraska earlier this season 7-0, January 28, in Lincoln, Neb.

Baylor has won the Big 12 regular season every year since 2002, and has won the past-three Big 12 Tournaments. Last year Baylor defeated then-ranked No. 22 Texas A&M, 4-0, to win the Big 12 tournament.

Seniors Benjamin Becker and Benedikt Dorsch lead the Bears into postseason play. Becker ranks 18th nationally, his highest ranking this season; while Dorsch ranks second after six weeks at the No. 1 spot.

Two underclassmen join Becker and Dorsch in the rankings list. Freshman Lars Poerschke ranks 43rd, while sophomore transfer Michal Kokta ranks 100th.

The Baylor men's tennis team went 25-0 during the regular season and holds a 49-match winning streak heading into the weekend. The Bears have ranked first in all-14 ITA rankings this season. Baylor won the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February.

Live updates will be available at: http://texassports.com/live/tn/index.html