Eagle Staff Writer
WACO -- After looking at results against common opponents, Texas A&M men's tennis coach Steve Denton said his team would have to be at its best to get past SMU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
That's exactly what Denton got Saturday at the Baylor Tennis Center as the 25th-ranked Aggies advanced with a 4-1 victory over the Mustangs.
A&M (13-11) will face No. 10 Baylor (23-8) at 2 p.m. Sunday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in Tulsa, Okla.
"I felt like that was the most complete match we've played this year from top to bottom," Denton said. "We got off to a really good start in the doubles, really energetic, gained the momentum there and then made them have to play uphill all day. And when it's hot and humid, it's hard to come back."
The Aggies jumped out quickly in the doubles, winning the first four games on every line. A&M clinched the point with a 8-2 victory by Matt Bain and Chris Chirco on the third line and an 8-3 victory by Conor Pollock and Austin Krajicek on the first line.
Bain continued his quick work in singles, disposing of Adolfo Solares 6-2, 6-0 in 50 minutes at No. 5.
"I just had a little fire underneath me," said Bain, who had to miss commencement ceremonies Saturday. "I'm excited to be playing in the NCAA Tournament. It's the best time of the year, and I'm enjoying playing with all these guys. I missed graduation this morning but I'd definitely rather be sticking it to SMU."
Krajicek wasn't far behind Bain, winning 6-3, 6-0 at No. 2 to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead.
Krajicek had played at No. 3 in nine of the Aggies' last 10 matches before Saturday, but he flip-flopped with Wil Spencer.
"I felt like Austin kind of earned that spot," said Denton. "He's been playing well, and Wil has been struggling a little bit, so it was a good time to make that change because we felt we needed shot in the arm there."
When Krajicek won, A&M's prospects for a clinching fourth point didn't look great.
The Aggies had lost first sets at Nos. 3, 4 and 6, and Pollock was down a break at No. 1 against David Kuczer. Pollock rebounded, however, and broke Kuczer twice to win the first set 7-5. He then cruised to win the second set 6-2 to clinch the team victory.
The Aggies' lone loss came at No. 6, where Mike Beatty, who has played doubles for a majority of the season, saw his first action at singles.
"I feel like he's been playing well in practice, and I think he acquitted himself well out there," Denton said. "I thought, realistically, to put him out there in his first match today, that the deck was stacked against him a little bit. But looking down the road here, I think he has as good or better chance tomorrow against Baylor than Kayvon [Karimi] does, so we rolled the dice a little bit and put a senior out there."
Baylor defeated A&M 6-1 earlier in the season. The Bears also knocked out the Aggies 4-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
"We are all peaking right now, which is a great thing because we have big match tomorrow and we're looking forward to getting some revenge," Bain said. "It's always fun to play them. It's a great match to get up for."
NOTES -- A&M improved to 23-15 in NCAA Tournament matches. The Aggies have won 14 of 15 first-round matches. ... Baylor defeated Oral Roberts 4-0 in its opening match.
TEXAS A&M 4, SMU 1
Saturday at the Baylor Tennis Center, Waco.
SINGLES
(ITA rankings in parentheses)
1. (25) Conor Pollock (A&M) def. David Kuczer, 7-5, 6-2; 2. Austin Krajicek (A&M) def. Alex Skrypko, 6-3, 6-0; 3. Wil Spencer (A&M) vs. Robin Fahgen, DNF; 4. Chris Chirico (A&M) vs. Oivind Alver, DNF; 5. Matt Bain (A&M) def. Adolfo Solares, 6-2, 6-0; 6. Chris Hooshyar (SMU) def. Mike Beatty, 6-0, 7-6 (6).
DOUBLES
1. (20) Krajicek-Pollock (A&M) def. Kuczer-Fahgen, 8-3; 2. Beatty-Spencer (A&M) vs. Alver-Hooshyar, DNF; 3. Bain-Chirico (A&M) def. Skrypko-Solares, 8-2.
ORDER OF FINISH: D3, D1, S5, S2, S6, S1* (*clinched the point)
ITA TEAM RANKINGS: No. 25 A&M, No. 40 SMU
• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.
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