April 10, 2012
WACO, Texas - Baylor's 28th-ranked men's tennis team takes a short break from Big 12 Conference play on Wednesday then hits the road for two league matches.
Baylor hosts the 26th-ranked Tulsa Hurricane at its Hurd Tennis Center on Wednesday, April 11 at 6 p.m. The Bears will honor their two seniors, Julian Bley and Kike Grangeiro, during the match. Next, Baylor hits the road for matches in Oklahoma. The Bears will face 13th-ranked Oklahoma on Friday, April 13 at 6 p.m., then play at Oklahoma State on Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m.
Baylor enters the contest 13-8 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 action after defeating league-favorite Texas, 5-2, last week.
Baylor is led on the season by reigning Big 12 Player of the Week, 21st-ranked freshman Mate Zsiga's 29-5 season mark; he is 15-2 in dual match play. Junior Roberto Maytin, BU's other ranked singles player at No. 87, owns the team's second-best singles record at 19-13. Maytin and freshman Marko Krickovic are ranked No. 42 in doubles with a 5-2 record, but haven't played dual match competition together yet.
Tulsa, 12-8 on the year, is led by three ranked singles players and one ranked doubles duo. Japie DeKlerk, Ashley Watling and Clifford Marsland are rated No. 83, 89 and 93, respectively. Watling and Marsland combine to form the nation's No. 4 ranked doubles tandem. Tulsa, members of Conference USA, has faced four Big 12 teams this season and is 3-1 with wins over Texas Tech (5-2), Texas A&M (6-1) and Oklahoma State (6-1) and a loss to Oklahoma (5-2).
The Oklahoma Sooners sit atop the Big 12 standings with Texas Tech with a 2-0 league mark and are 13-3 overall. The Sooners' three losses have come vs. Ole Miss (4-0), Pepperdine (4-3) and Virginia (6-1), they have posted Big 12 wins at Texas (5-2) and at Texas A&M (5-2). Oklahoma, winners of seven straight matches, has four ranked singles players and two rated doubles teams. Costin Paval is ranked No. 17 while Peerakit Siributwong is No. 82, Guillermo Alcorta checks in at No. 90 and Dane Webb is ranked No. 94. Paval and Webb combine to sit at No. 13 in the doubles ratings while Tsvetan Mihov and Siributwong are ranked No. 71.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys, 7-10 on the season and 0-2 in league play, will host Texas Tech on Friday, April 13 prior to hosting the Bears on Sunday.
