Jan. 11, 2006

WACO, Texas - The Baylor tennis program joined an elite group yesterday becoming one of three teams in the nation to hold top 10 rankings in both the men's and women's preseason ranks. The Baylor men came in at No. 7 and the women held the No. 9 spot in the Fila collegiate tennis rankings released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Baylor joins Florida and Georgia as the only programs in the nation with top 10 men's and women's teams. The Florida men and women both received No. 2 rankings while Georgia's men came in at No. 3 and the women at No. 7.

The Baylor tennis program has gained stamina and success over the past several years winning Baylor its first national championship title in the men's division. The men and women's programs also boast three NCAA singles champions in the last two years, Benjamin Becker in 2004 and Benedikt Dorsch and Zuzana Zemenova in 2005.

"We are in a sport like many other collegiate sports where you have your traditional powers. Stanford, USC, Florida and Georgia have always had strong programs. As a program that basically started from scratch around 10 years ago, a lot of people have really contributed and worked hard to get us where we are today. It's very gratifying to see all that work pay off," men's head coach Matt Knoll said.

Not only were the teams ranked, four women and three men also posted individual singles rankings, including a No. 1 ranking for sophomore Lars Poerschke while junior Zuzana Cerna cracked the women's top ten list at No. 9.

The men will kick-off fall action sending representatives to the Sherwood Classic in Los Angeles, Calif. this weekend, and women's action will begin Saturday, Jan. 21 when they host SMU.