April 14, 2011

vs.

No. 7 Baylor (16-3, 3-0) vs. Oklahoma(13-4, 2-1) April 15, 2011 | 6 p.m. CST vs. Oklahoma State (5-10, 0-4) April 17, 2011 | 1 p.m. CST Waco, Texas | Baylor Tennis Center (1,600) Live Scoring/Blog: BaylorBears.com

Gametracker | In-Match Blog | Match Notes

Baylor (16-3, 3-0) has won 14 of its last 15 matches, including eight straight. As the home team this season Baylor is 12-2 with an 11-2 mark at the Baylor Tennis Center. Halfway through Big 12 play the Bears have been perfect with a trio of road victories.

The matches versus Oklahoma (13-4, 2-1) and Oklahoma State (5-10, 0-4) are part of a five-match homestand for Baylor that will close out its regular season.

The Bears have had success against both schools since the formation of the Big 12 Conference. BU is 16-1 versus the Sooners and 13-3 against Oklahoma State in that time.

Live scoring and a live blog for both matches will be available on BaylorBears.com, the official web site of Baylor Athletics.

LAST TIME OUT: Baylor racked up two shutout wins on Saturday as the Bears downed Seminole State College and then UT €ˆArlington at the Baylor Tennis Center. The only loss for Baylor on the day happened at No. 3 doubles in the first match, but in total the Bears captured all 12 singles matches in straight sets and won both doubles points to push their win streak in that category to 17 matches. Freshmen Robert Verzaal and Dennis Lengsfeld each enjoyed 4-0 days as both players won their doubles and singles match in the two contests.

LOOKING AHEAD: After Sunday's match with Oklahoma State, the Bears will host No. 6 Texas A&M €ˆon Wed., April 20 at 6 p.m. The contest will be the 51st match between the two schools with Texas A&M €ˆholding a 32-17-1 advantage in the series, but the Bears hold a 16-7 lead since 1997.

RANKED BEARS: In the latest ITA €ˆteam rankings released on April 12, the Bears jumped six spots from No. 13 to No. 7, after defeating No. 8 Texas in Austin. The No. 7 ranking is the highest the Bears have been ranked since the first poll of the spring. Individually, Baylor has five singles players ranked in the ITA €ˆtop 125 as senior John Peers is ranked No. 19 with a 15-3 record in dual-match play. Senior Sergio Ramirez broke into the latest rankings at No. 73, while freshman Dennis Lengsfeld fell from No. 81 to No. 87. Sophomore Roberto Maytin, who has a 14-2 mark in dual-match play, is ranked 91st and junior Kike Grangeiro (14-3) is now ranked No. 95. The Bears also have two doubles team listed in the rankings with Peers and Maytin partnering together to be ranked fifth, after posting a 13-2 record. Ramirez and Jordan Rux, who are 11-3 on the season are ranked No. 78.

BAYLOR AGAINST BIG 12 CONFERENCE COMPETITION: Since the founding of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, the Bears have produced an 89-15 mark in league play, including a 59-4 record over the last nine years. In the 14 years of league play, Baylor has won nine Big 12 regular season titles and seven Big 12 Championship titles. During that span, the Bears have finished with a perfect league record seven times. In the five times that they did not win the conference regular season crown, the Bears finished second three times, third once and eighth once.

HOME SWEET HOME: The friendly confines of the Baylor Tennis Center having been very kind to the Bears. Over the 10 years of its existence Baylor is 141-9 in matches played in Waco. Under Knoll the Bears are 191-24 when playing at home including matches played at the Streich Courts, the Baylor Tennis Center and various indoor courts in the area. From Jan. 26, 2002 until Jan. 29, 2006, the Bears did not lose at home contest racking up a 72-match win streak. This season, Baylor is 12-2 in home matches with an 11-2 mark at the Baylor Tennis Center.

BAYLOR €ˆAT €ˆHOME €ˆIN €ˆBIG €ˆ12: In Big 12 conference regular season matches played in Waco, the Bears are 40-9 since the formation of the conference in 1997 and over the last eight seasons the Bears are 27-2 in such matches.

SINGLES STREAKS & TRENDS: Senior John Peers has won five straight matches for the Bears at the top of the lineup including four wins over ranked foes. Now Peers is 15-3 in 17 matches at No. 1 and one match at No. 2. The rest of Baylor's singles lineup has been influx throughout the year. As part of the changes Roberto Maytin has played at three different positions, but has recorded a 14-2 mark with 12 wins in his last 13 matches. Kike Grangeiro has also played well for the Bears with an 14-3 record competing at the three, four, five and six spots.

DOUBLES STREAKS & TRENDS: BU has gotten consistent play throughout the dual-match season from all three of its doubles teams. At the top of the lineup, Roberto Maytin and John Peers are 13-2, at the No. 2 spot Sergio Ramirez and Jordan Rux are 11-3, while at the bottom of the lineup Julian Bley and Kike Grangeiro have a 14-2 mark. Overall, Baylor has won 17 straight doubles points and has swept doubles 10 times this year.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA: The Sooners (13-4, 2-1) enter Friday's match having won 11 of their last 13 matches. In their last match out, Oklahoma downed No. 39 Rice, 6-1, on Sunday in Norman. The Sooners best win of the year came at home against No. 4 Texas on March 25. Oklahoma is 6-2 away from home this season, but the Sooners haven't played a road match since March 13. The four losses by Oklahoma have all come against teams ranked inside the top 32. The Sooners are coached by John Roddick, who has a roster that features one senior, three sophomores and six freshmen.

SOONERS TO WATCH: Oklahoma has two ranked singles players in senior Ionut Beleleu (10-7), who is ranked No. 34 and sophomore Costin Paval (12-4) at No. 74. In doubles, Paval teams with Peerakit Sirbutwong to be ranked No. 68.

SERIES HISTORY: The Bears hold a 17-14 edge over the Sooners in the all-time series. Baylor has dominated the matchup since the formation of the Big 12 and since the hiring of Matt Knoll with a 16-1 record against Oklahoma. The Bears currently own a 16-match win streak in the series with the only loss came in 1997 when the Bears lost in Waco to the Sooners, 4-3. Before Knoll's arrival the program was 1-14 against OU.

LAST TIME AGAINST OKLAHOMA: In a match that was moved indoors, the 11th-ranked Bears recorded a 5-2 victory over No. 20 Oklahoma on April 16, 2010, in Norman, Okla. Attila Bucko and Jordan Rux had to pull out a 9-8(9) win at No. 2 doubles to earn that point for BU, before Julian Bley, Dominik Mueller, Attila Bucko and Denes Lukacs would secure the match with singles wins.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA €ˆSTATE: Before traveling to Waco on Sunday, the Cowboys (5-10, 0-4) will host Nebraska on Friday. In their last match out, Oklahoma State beat Seminole State College, 6-1. The match against Baylor will be the Cowboys final Big 12 contest of the season. €ˆIn road matches this year OSU €ˆis 3-6. Head coach James Wadley is in 39th-season in Stillwater and has roster that features one senior, one junior, two sophomores and four freshmen.

COWBOYS TO WATCH: Oklahoma State's only ranked play is freshman Maniel Bains at No. 77. In doubles, Aleksey Bessonov and Rifat Biktyakov are ranked No. 20, while Bains teams with Eric West to be ranked No. 54.

SERIES HISTORY: Baylor is 17-8 against the Cowboys since the series started in 1978. Since the Big 12 was formed the Bears are 13-3 against Oklahoma State. The Bears own a five-match win streak over the Cowboys with the last loss coming on February 15, 2008, in the first round of the National Team Indoor Championship in Seattle, Wash.

LAST TIME AGAINST OKLAHOMA €ˆSTATE: A 11th-ranked Baylor squad raced past the 54th-ranked Cowboys on April 18, 2010 in a match that was moved indoors to Tulsa, Okla. Baylor got the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and 3 doubles and then only suffered a loss at No. 1 singles to take the win.

PRE-MATCH QUOTES - Head Coach Matt Knoll

On this weekend's matches:
"We are going to try to play just better and better. We feel like we have made some good improvements, but we know we've got some things we have got to continue to improve as far as our execution and focusing. We feel like we are going to have some really good competition this weekend that will push us and give us a chance to improve."

On Oklahoma:
"They have done a great job the last couple of years. That is a program that is absolutely on the rise and we have a ton of respect for their coaches and for their players. We know that we are going to have to be at our best if we are going to have a chance to win."

On Oklahoma State:
"We know how good Oklahoma State's doubles teams are. The guys that they have out there this year are guys that have competed well against us in the past. They have a great tradition with Coach Wadley there and they have a lot of experience. We know that they are playing their best tennis of the season."