May 23, 2006

PALO ALTO, Calif. - Four Baylor tennis players, Lars Poerschke, Michal Kokta, Zuzana Zemenova and Zuzana Cerna, will begin action in the 64 player NCAA Singles Championships on Wednesday at the Taube Tennis Center on the campus of Stanford University.

Baylor two women's players who gained All-America status by being a top 16 seed, Zuzana Zemenova and Zuzana Cerna, will take on a pair of California seniors to begin play. Zemenova, a sophomore, the reigning NCAA champion and the tournament's No. 4 seed, will take on 47th-ranked Luana Magnani of USC beginning at noon (CDT). In other action, Cerna, also a sophomore and seeded 9-16, will play 21st-ranked Laura Gordon of UCLA at 2 p.m. (CDT).

On the men's side, fourth-ranked and fourth-seeded Lars Poerschke, a sophomore, has drawn Pepperdine senior Pedro Rico, ranked No. 31. In the ITA All-American Tournament in October, Poerschke posted a 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 win over then-No. 10 Rico in the round of 64. Junior Michal Kokta will take on fifth-seeded and fifth-ranked Ludovic Walter a senior from Duke. Kokta has not faced Walter this season but Poerschke lost to then-No. 2 Walter, 6-2, 6-4, in the round of 16 of the ITA Indoors. Kokta's match begins at 2 p.m. and Poerschke's is slated to start at 6 p.m., both Central time.