Men's Tennis Rolls Red Raiders, 7-0

Men's Tennis 4/14/2009 12:00:00 AM

April 14, 2009

Waco, TX- The fifth-ranked Baylor men's tennis team earned a share of its eighth straight Big 12 regular season title Tuesday evening with a 7-0 victory over No. 34 Texas Tech at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock.

"We are getting better. I thought it was a big step for us," Baylor head coach Matt Knoll said. "I am proud of the guys this is not an easy place to win and certainly to win handily was a great effort from us and a real sign of growth for our team."

The Bears hold a 20-5 dual match record and have also won 14 of their last 16 matches overall. Baylor is now 5-4 away from the Baylor Tennis Center this season and on a three match win streak on the road. Currently, Baylor is on a nine-match win streak, overall.

This is the eighth straight season the Bears have recorded at least 20 wins and the 10th time they have accomplished the feat during Matt Knoll's 13 years at Baylor. Before Knoll took over Baylor had never won more than 12 matches in a season.

The Bears have now won nine of the last 10 Big 12 Conference regular season titles, including eight straight. The Bears are 81-13 in 12-plus seasons of Big 12 play and over the past seven-plus seasons, Baylor has posted a 50-2 league record.

The Bears have now blanked seven opponents this season.

In doubles play the No. 3 team of Dominik Mueller and Julian Bley won for just the third time in its last six matches by defeating David Gonzalez and Milos Kustudija, 8-2. The pairing is now 8-4. The quick win allowed the 28th-ranked No. 1 duo of Jordan Rux and David Galic to close out the Baylor win with an 8-6 victory over No. 12 Raony Carvalho and Christian Rojmar. The Baylor pair is now 10-4, after winning 10 of its last 11 matches. After the point was decided Baylor's No. 2 doubles team of Maros Horny and Denes Lukacs, 10-6 this spring, fell for just the fourth time in its last 10 matches, 8-6 to Sinisa Markovic and Michael Breler. The Bears have now won the doubles point in eight of the last nine matches and improved to 14-1 in matches when they claim the point.

"We were struggling at No. 2, but those guys at No. 3 got us on the board," Knoll said. "They played with a lot of enthusiasm again and I am real proud of them. They have struggled a little bit but it is a credit to Dominik and Julian that they have dug down and fought back and played better today."

The Bears kept rolling in singles play as Mueller quickly dispatched of Rojmar, 6-2, 6-0. Next, sixth-ranked Lukacs downed No. 41 Carvalho, 6-3, 7-5. The junior is 18-3 and riding a 12-match win streak. Horny then clinched the match for the Bears with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Kustudija. From there the Bears would go on to sweep the remaining matches as Bley took care of Gonzalez 7-6(2), 7-6(3), No. 43 Rux put away No. 109 Markovic 6-2, 6-7(2), 1-0(8), and Attila Bucko brought down Breler 7-6(4), 7-6(5).

"We had several guys, who just did a super job of finding a way to win," Knoll said. "(We) were not playing our best tennis, but we just managed the situation and competed real hard. That is how you get to seven: just everybody getting out there and fighting."

The Bears dropped the Red Raiders to a 12-9 record this spring and a 1-3 record in Big 12 Conference action. It was also the first loss for Texas Tech at home this season after starting 3-0.

"Like I said before we came, it is not an easy place to play, but it was a good day for the Bears," Knoll said.

The Bears are 19-25 all-time versus the Red Raiders, but since Matt Knoll took over as head coach in 1997 Baylor is a perfect 15-0 against Tech.

In Big 12 play so far this season Baylor is 5-0, after cruising by No. 48 Oklahoma, 6-1 on March 4 in Waco, dominating No. 11 Texas, 6-1, in Austin on April 2, edging Nebraska, 4-3, in Lincoln on April 4, and taking out Texas A&M, 5-2 on April 8, before downing Tech. Baylor has won the doubles point in all five of those matches with its No. 1 doubles pairing of Galic and Rux sporting a 5-0 mark. In singles' play Lukacs has recorded a perfect 5-0 record while playing at the No. 1 position. Baylor will close out conference play by hosting Oklahoma State on April 19. The Bears are also the only unbeaten team remaining in Big 12 conference action with one match left.

Print Friendly Version