“Ante is another guy who had solid fall for us. He earned All-American last year with Lester and together they have stepped up on the national scene. Beside being a top singles player, Ante is also a leader for us off the court.” —Coach Tim Cass
The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year as a freshman who earned All-America honors as a sophomore … The Big 12 No. 3 Singles Champion who earned All-Big 12 honors in singles and doubles … Is a five-time Croatian National Champion.
2003 (JUNIOR/FALL): Teamed with Lester Cook to win the ITA All-American Championship in doubles … Started the season ranked No. 2 nationally … The duo beat the No. 1-ranked tandem in the nation from Rice in William Barker and Richard Barker, 8-6 in the ITA All-American finals… Earned the top seed at the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships … Was 6-1 with Cook … In singles, was 9-4 overall … Was 2-1 at the AUDI/Napa Valley Classic … Reached the finals at the ITA Regional after upsetting No. 1 seeded Robert Searle of Rice in the semifinals.
2002-03 (SOPHOMORE): Earned All-America accolades in doubles … All-Big 12 Conference in singles and doubles … The Big 12 No. 3 Singles Champion …Finished ranked No. 58 nationally in singles and was ranked as high as No. 48 … Finished ranked No. 8 in doubles with Lester Cook after being ranked as high as No. 3 … Selected to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships … Was seeded Nos. 5-8 with Cook at the NCAAs … The duo spent six weeks ranked No. 3 and two weeks ranked No. 5 … Was the team leader in dual match singles wins with a 22-6 record … Posted an impressive 18-5 mark at No. 3 and a perfect 4-0 record at No. 2 … Was 5-1 in the Big 12 … Won a career-best 15 straight dual matches in the heart of the season … Won 16 of his last 19 matches … Best win came over Mississippi’s No. 18-ranked Paul Ciorascu in straight sets … Had six ranked wins … Was the team leader in doubles wins at 31-14 … Reached the round of 16 at the NCAAs in doubles … When teamed with Cook, the duo was 17-10 overall and 7-5 in dual play … Reached the semifinals of the ITA All-American in October … Had wins over the Nos. 2, 3, 3, 9, 24, and 30-ranked opponents at the time of the match … Clinched the team win against TCU … Earned First Team Academic All-Big 12 with a perfect 4.0 grade point average … After a stellar debut as a freshman, he started second season in Aggieland by making waves nationally in doubles … Teaming with Cook for the first time, the duo became the first Aggies to reach the semifinals at the ITA All-American … In first round action, they beat Alabama’s No. 30-ranked Maxim Belski and Stephen Mitchell, 8-3 … In the round of 16, the A&M duo tallied the win of the day as they ousted the second-seeded and No. 3-ranked tandem from San Diego State of Oliver Maiberger and Ryan Redondo, 9-8 (3) … In the round of 8, A&M topped Washington’s No. 27-ranked tandem of Ari Strasberg and Alex Vlaski, 8-4 … A month later, the A&M duo reached the quarterfinals at the ITA National Indoors … Also, reached the semifinals in singles at Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in Midland, Texas.
2001-02 (FRESHMAN): The Big 12 Newcomer of the Year who joined the team in January of 2002 and helped to anchor the middle of the Aggies’ singles lineup … Broke into the national singles rankings at No. 92 … Ranked No. 1 on the team in dual match singles wins at 21-4 … Was 24-6 overall in singles to rank No. 3 … Built a 6-1 mark in Big 12 play … Won 17 of his last 20 singles matches of the season … Played just six three-set matches and three accounted for losses … Had an eight-match winning streak at one-point in the season and then a seven match winning streak … Best wins were over Texas’ Rodrigo Echagaray and Miami’s Jose Lieberman … Was 21-12 overall in doubles with Derrick Bauer, Khaled El Dorry, Keith From and Jarin Skube.
HIGH SCHOOL/JUNIORS: The defending Croatian national champion, who has won the title on five occasions … A member of the Croatian National Team that finished as the world runner up for the 16 and under division … Was ranked the No. 25 junior singles player in the world last year and has been ranked as high as No. 50 in doubles … Has played in numerous international events including the junior portion of the French Open and events in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia.
PERSONAL: Ante Matijevic (pronounced ON-tay muh-TEE-uh-vick) is the son of Mijo and Mirjana Matijevic of Split, Croatia … Born August 4, 1983 in Split, Croatia… A finance major… Earned First Team Academic All-Big 12 as a sophomore with a perfect 4.0 … Lists his favorite professional athlete as Goran Ivanisevic … Says his most memorable moment at A&M was “playing the NCAA tournament in front of 2,500 Aggies” … The toughest person he has ever faced was Andy Roddick.
ANTE UP CLOSE …
Who is your sports-related role model? Goran Ivanisevic
Favorite movie? Braveheart
I can’t believe I watch this TV show? MTV’s The Real World
Pre-match superstition? Listening to music, making my hair, and many other things I can’t tell.
Ultimate goal at Texas A&M? Win the Big 12 and get the ring
What is the best part about playing tennis at Texas A&M? The crowd and the pride you feel
Something about you that most people don’t know? That’s my secret
Historical figure you would like to meet? Drazen Petrovic
Your favorite childhood toy? Legos
What do you like most about Coach Cass? He understands the game and has a great personality
