Feb. 12, 2008
WACO, Texas - After hosting six straight home matches, a big week, which includes four road matches against ranked opponents, faces the fourth-ranked Baylor men's tennis team. The Bears will travel to California to compete against Stanford in the second annual HP Cup and then move north to participate in the ITA National Team Indoor Tournament in Seattle.
The Bears, 6-0 on the season, will put their 7-0 series record against the 40th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, 2-4 on the season, on the line when the two squads meet on the court on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 3:30 p.m. (Central) at Stanford, Calif. Baylor blanked the Cardinal last season, 7-0 in Waco, in the first-ever HP Cup. Several Baylor and Stanford players have met previously this season as both squads participated in Sherwood Collegiate Cup in January.
"Stanford has the greatest tradition in men's tennis, it's a big deal to play them. We have a lot of respect for Stanford, and we know that they have some great players. They have been injured a lot this year so far, but if they all come out and play, they are going to be tough for us. I think it will be good preparation for us. We are very excited that we have this great relationship with Hewlett-Packard. It's real important to us certainly in the development of our team over the season, but it is really special that Mark Hurd, a Baylor graduate, is going to be a part of it with his company," said head coach Matt Knoll.
After the Stanford match, the Bears will travel to Seattle, to compete in this weekend's prestigious 16-team ITA National Team Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Washington. Play will begin Friday, Feb. 16 and continue through Monday, Feb. 18 at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and Seattle Tennis Club in Seattle.
This weekend will mark the Bears' seventh appearance, and sixth straight, at the National Team Indoor Championships. Baylor won the championship in 2005 and has a 14-5 record at the Team Indoors. Fourth-seeded Baylor is joined by the No. 1 seed Virginia, No. 2 seed and defending champion Georgia, No. 3 seed Ohio State, No. 5 seed Mississippi, No. 6 seed USC, No. 7 seed Texas, No. 8 seed UCLA, No. 9 seed Notre Dame, No. 10 seed Alabama, No. 11 seed Illinois, No. 12 seed North Carolina, No. 13 seed Oklahoma State, No. 14 seed Boise State, No. 15 seed Washington and No. 16 seed Penn State.
"The draw didn't do us any favors; Oklahoma State has a lot of talent. We had a war down here with them last year when we beat them to win the Big 12 championship. We have a very tough match for a team that is a top four seed out of the gate, but I think that will help us. We know we are going to have to get ourselves ready to play and we won't be able to be sloppy. I think it will help us play well the rest of the tournament. The event is so special because you get all the best teams together early in the season so you get a chance to see were everybody stands, see what you need to work on and what your strengths and weaknesses are. It gives the guys a lot of confidence to get in there and mix it up with everybody. We are excited; it's a fun event to be a part of," said Knoll.
Baylor's first round of action will be Friday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m. (Central) when the Bears take on No. 13th-ranked and Big 12 foe Oklahoma State. In second round action the Bears will face either No. 5 Mississippi or 15th-ranked North Carolina on Saturday. Baylor leads the series with Oklahoma State 13-2, including 13 straight and are 0-2 against both Mississippi and North Carolina.
Along with 16 top-ranked schools, there are 33 of the top 20 individuals in the ITA national singles ranking competing in the tournament including Baylor's No. 10 Denes Lukacs. In addition to Lukacs, the tournament features 12 of the top 20 players in the country: No. 1 Somdev Devvarman, Virginia; No. 3 Dominic Inglot, Virginia; No. 4 Travis Helgeson, Georgia; No. 5 Matthias Wellermann, Mississippi; No. 9 Robert Farah, USC; No. 11 Treat Huey, Virginia; No. 15 Ryan Rowe, Illinois; No. 17 Nate Schnugg, Georgia and No. 19 Clancy Shields, Boise State.
Daily Baylor results will be posted at www.baylorbears.com.
Live statistics of the Baylor/Stanford match can be accessed at:
Complete ITA Indoor results, live scoring, results and recaps of each match will be posted at: http://gohuskies.cstv.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/08-ita-indoors.html
