Tuesday, 05/17/2011

The fifth-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team travels to the final site of the 2011 NCAA Team Championships for the 11th straight time and 12th overall.

After posting first- and second-round home wins, the Bears continue their journey for a second NCAA Championship by facing No. 11 UCLA on Thursday, May 19 at 5 p.m. (CST). The winner of the Bears and Bruins match will then face the victor of the Ohio State-Tulsa match on Saturday, May 21 at 6 p.m. (CST).

The Bears enter the match with a 21-4 record and are the tournament’s No. 5 seed.

BAYLOR IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY: This is Baylor’s 14th straight NCAA appearance under 15th-year head coach Matt Knoll. The Bears have racked up a 40-12 (.769) record in NCAA action, while claiming the university's first-ever team national championship in 2004. Before the title run, the Bears had reached the quarterfinals in both 1999 and 2003, the round of 16 in 2000 and 2002 and had tournament appearances in 1998 and 2001. After the championship, Baylor has continued to experience success clawing its way back to the title match in 2005, before losing to UCLA, 4-3. Following the championship match loss the Bears got back to the semifinals in 2006 and 2007, losing by 4-3 scores each year. For the past three years, the Bears have advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals.

LAST YEAR AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: An eighth-ranked and seventh-seeded Baylor squad rolled through first and second round action in Waco by shutting out both Oral Roberts and Rice. The Bears then made the trip to Athens, Ga. where they beat a 10th-ranked Texas A&M squad, 4-1.  Second-ranked Tennessee ended Baylor’s title run with a 4-0 sweep of the Bears in the quarterfinal round on May 23.

WHEN BEING A TOP FIVE NATIONAL SEED:  Baylor entered the 2011 tournament as the No. 5 national seed marking the seventh time that the Bears have been seeded among the nation’s top-five teams. Baylor was the No. 5 seed in 2000, the No. 2 in 2003, the No. 3 in 2004 and ‘07, the No. 4 seed in 2006 and the No. 1 seed in 2005. Overall, the Bears have now been seeded 11 out of the 14 years they have been selected for the NCAA Championships. Baylor was unseeded in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

AT STANFORD:  Baylor owns a 6-1 all-time record at Stanford, 5-0 vs. Stanford (2004, 2006 [twice], 2008,  2010) and 2-1 in NCAA Championship play. Stanford hosted the 2006 NCAA Championships where BU downed Washington in the round of 16 (4-1), Stanford in the quarterfinals (4-3) and lost to top-ranked Georgia in the semifinals (4-3).

NINE TEAMS:  Baylor is one of nine teams that have both their men’s and women’s teams competing in the 2011 NCAA Championships at Stanford. Joining Baylor with both teams there are California, Duke, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Stanford, UCLA and Virginia.

Team Notes

SINGLES STREAKS & TRENDS: Senior John Peers has dropped his last two completed matches, but he has been consistent at the top of the lineup this season.  Peers is now 17-5 in 21 matches at No. 1 and one match at No. 2. The rest of Baylor’s singles lineup has been in flux throughout the year. As part of the changes Roberto Maytin has played at three different positions, but has recorded a 16-5 mark with 15 wins in his last 18 matches. Kike Grangeiro has also played well for the Bears with an 19-4 record competing at the three, four, five and six spots. Senior Jordan Rux has come on strong for the Bears at the end of the season winning his last eight matches at the No. 3 spot.

DOUBLES STREAKS & TRENDS: In Baylor’s loss to Oklahoma (April 30), the Bears dropped the doubles point in their last match out for the first time since Jan. 23 at Florida to snap a streak of 20 straight doubles points won. Throughout the year, BU has gotten consistent play from all three of its doubles teams. Headlining that talent at the top of the lineup are Roberto Maytin and John Peers, who are 19-2 with nine straight wins. At the No. 2 spot Sergio Ramirez and Jordan Rux are 14-5, while at the bottom of the lineup Julian Bley and Kike Grangeiro have a 16-4 dual match mark.

IMPROVED DOUBLES PLAY: In its 25 matches this spring Baylor has won the doubles point 23 times and lost it twice. In those 23 contests, BU’s three doubles duos have a combined 60-14 record. The Bears have won all three doubles matches in 12 contests this season. Last season, the Bears were 20-11 in doubles point decisions and had a combined 57-33 mark at all three positions. In total, Baylor doubles teams have a 21-7 against nationally ranked opponents.

TEAM STREAKS & TRENDS: The Bears have won 19 of their last 21. During that stretch, Baylor’s loss came against No. 1 ranked Virginia (6-1) and No. 25 Oklahoma (4-3), while the Bears have recorded wins over then-No. 1 Tennessee, No. 28 Louisville, No. 8 Stanford, No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 39 Nebraska, No. 8 Texas, No. 26 Oklahoma, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 22 Texas Tech.

LOOKING AHEAD: If Baylor makes it through the round of 16, the Bears will face either fourth-seeded Ohio State or Tulsa. Ohio State, ranked No. 4, enters its contest vs. Tulsa with a 32-3 record after posting victories over Ball State (4-0) and Notre Dame (4-3). Tulsa, ranked No. 36, upset Oklahoma (4-2) and Texas (4-3) in Norman, Okla., to advance to the round of 16.

RANKED BEARS: In the latest ITA team rankings released on May 2, BU stayed at the No. 5 spot,  after the loss to Oklahoma. Individually, Baylor has five singles players ranked in the ITA top-125 as senior John Peers is ranked No. 19 with a 19-5 record in dual-match play. Senior Sergio Ramirez comes in at No. 68, while junior Kike Grangeiro (19-4) is now ranked No. 97. Freshman Dennis Lengsfeld is No. 98 and sophomore Roberto Maytin, who has a 17-4 mark in dual-match play, is ranked 102nd. The Bears also have two doubles team listed in the rankings with Peers and Maytin partnering together to be ranked fifth, after posting a 19-2 record. Ramirez and Jordan Rux, who are 14-5 on the season, are ranked No. 52.

20-WIN SEASONS: With their win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the Bears recorded the program’s 12th 20-win season. All of the Bears’ 20-win season have come under head coach Matt Knoll.

SCOUTING UCLA: UCLA is making its 35th appearance in the NCAA Championships and is the only team to compete in every NCAA Tournament since the team format was adopted in 1977. Head coach Billy Martin is 401-85 in his 18 seasons at UCLA. The 11th-ranked and 12th-seeded Bruins are 18-6 on the season and advanced to the round of 16 with wins over Binghamtom (4-0) and Ole Miss (4-3).

BRUINS TO WATCH: The Bruins are led by freshman Daniel Kosakowski, who has appeared at the No. 1 singles position in all 24 matches this season. He is currently ranked No. 37 nationally in singles, boasting a 20-12 overall record. Other UCLA players listed in the May 2 ITA Singles Rankings include: Amit Inbar (#58), Clay Thompson (#79) and Adrien Puget (#103). In addition, Alex Brigham and Puget are ranked No. 32 in doubles, followed by Warren Hardie and Inbar at No. 57.

SERIES HISTORY: Baylor owns a 6-3 series lead over UCLA, the two teams have played at least one each year beginning with the 2004 season.

VS. UCLA IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY: The Bears and Bruins have met twice in NCAA Championship play, both in the tournament finals. Baylor defeated UCLA, 4-3, in the championship match in 2004 in Tulsa, Okla., while in 2005 UCLA defeated Baylor for the national championship, 4-3, in College Station, Texas.

LAST TIME AGAINST UCLA: On Feb. 6 in Waco, ninth-ranked Baylor dropped its then-second match of the season as the sixth-ranked UCLA Bruins squeaked past the Bears, 4-3. Baylor swept doubles but singles wins by UCLA at Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6 gave the Bruins the win.