May 11, 2007
WACO, Texas - Baylor's men's tennis team raised its record in NCAA Championship matches to 26-8 with its 4-0 blanking of the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in NCAA first round action on Friday evening at the Baylor Tennis Center.
The Bears won their seventh consecutive match and have chalked up victories in 18 of their last 19 matches to raise their season record to 25-3. The fourth-ranked and third-seeded Bears will take on 35th-ranked Texas A&M in second round action at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.
Texas A&M, ranked No. 35, advanced to the regional final with a 4-2 triumph over the 30th-rated Rice Owls.
Against Oral Roberts, Baylor got on the scoreboard quickly with an 8-2 victory in doubles at court three by David Galic and Matt Brown. Playing their first match of the season together, Matija Zgaga and Denes Lukacs clinched the doubles point for Baylor with an impressive 8-3 win.
Singles was more of the same with Baylor limiting the Golden Eagles to no more than two games won in a set.
Sophomore Matt Brown moved up from his normal No. 3 position to play at No. 2 and responded with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Frank Kaehler. The win snapped a five-match losing streak for Brown. Next off the court for the Bears was 120th-ranked Matija Zgaga. The senior raised his record at the No. 3 slot to 5-1 with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph. Michal Kokta, ranked No. 19 and playing at No. 1, notched his 100th career singles win with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Alex Darges. Kokta's win clinched the victory for the Bears.
Baylor's three remaining singles players, Dominik Mueller, Denes Lukacs and Attila Bucko, playing at Nos. 4, 5 and 6, respectively, all won their first sets quite handily and were leading in the second set. In fact, Lukacs and Bucko were just one game away from closing out their matches when play was halted.
"We were a little rusty in the beginning of doubles play, we had a little trouble finding our legs, but once we got going playing in singles, it was ok," said Baylor head coach Matt Knoll. "I think our confidence continues to grow. I think our team is starting to think we're pretty good. It starts to pay off in these types of games and situations. We have a lot of confidence and like playing at home."
#4 Baylor 4, Oral Roberts 0
NCAA Championships - First Round
May 11, 2007 - 6 p.m.
Singles
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
1. #19 Michal Kokta (BU) def. Alex Dargel (ORU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Matt Brown (BU) def. Frank Kaehler (ORU) 6-0, 6-0
3. #120 Matija Zgaga (BU) def. Tyrone Hill (ORU) 6-1, 6-1
4. #113 Dominik Mueller (BU) vs. Cuan Farquharson (ORU) DNF
5. Denes Lukacs (BU) vs. Patrick Guiliod (ORU) DNF
6. Attila Bucko (BU) vs. Clemens Geercken (ORU) DNF
Doubles
Order of finish: 3, 2
1. #60 Lars Poerschke/Kokta (BU) vs. Dargel/Kaehler (ORU) DNF
2. Zgaga/Lukacs (BU) def. Hill/Farquharson (ORU) 8-3
3. David Galic/Brown (BU) def. Guiliod/Geercken (ORU) 8-2
Records:
Baylor - 25-3
Oral Roberts - 10-8
