By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer

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Things are looking up for the Texas A&M men's tennis team -- for this weekend and for the next few years.

Freshman Kayvon Karimi and sophomore Chris Chirico helped lift the Aggies to a gritty 4-3 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in quarterfinal action of the Big 12 men's tennis championships at the Mitchell Center on Friday.

A&M atoned for a 4-3 loss at Tech on March 23, advancing to play sixth-ranked Texas, the top seed in the tournament, at noon Saturday in the semifinals with another chance for payback. Texas pinned a 4-3 loss on A&M last Saturday when Luis Diaz Barriga claimed a three-set victory over Wil Spencer at No. 3 singles.

Friday it was A&M winning the pivotal three-set match.

Chirico, a sophomore transfer from St. Joseph's (Pa.), rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory over Tech's Ilya Babinciuc.

"I think it was perserevence and I wanted it more," Chirico said.

He certainly had incentive. He'd lost to Babinciuc in the previous two mettings -- 6-1, 6-2 at the Midland Racquet Collegiate Invitational in October and 7-5, 6-3 in Lubbock.

This time, Chirico gradually took the upper hand with steady groundstrokes, forcing Babinciuc into unforced errors.

"I knew I could run for another day-and-a-half," said the diminutive 5-foot-9, 148-pounder. "I knew I could outplay him."

Babinciuc, a senior transfer, squandered a 4-1 lead in the third set.

"We let this one get away from us," Tech head coach Tim Siegel said. "I give A&M all the credit."

Chirico wouldn't have been congratulated by teammates, family and friends for 5 to 10 minutes if it wasn't for Karimi's biggest victory as an Aggie.

Karimi, who entered the match with a 2-10 record in duals, grabbed a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Michael Breier at No. 6 singles. Karimi had dropped a three-set decision to Breier at Tech.

Austin Krajicek and Matt Bain, the lone senior to see action Friday for the Aggies, added straight set victories as A&M rallied after losing a hard-fought doubles point.

"You just have to tell your guys that they have to put their heads up and keep battling," A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "It's just one point, and there is a lot of tennis to be played."

Tech (19-5) won the doubles point by winning a pair of tiebreakers, with splashes of fantastic tennis by both teams.

Tech's Babinciuc and Lenoir Ramos defeated Bain and Chirico 9-8 (7-4) at No. 3 doubles to even the match, then 14th-ranked Christian Rojmar and Bojan Szumanski outlasted Krajicek and Conor Pollock 9-8 (9-7) at No. 1 doubles.

Tech jumped to a 3-0 lead in the No. 1 doubles tiebreaker, but A&M battled back for a 7-6 lead. Tech eventually won by breaking Krajicek's serve.

"We had won four doubles points in a row before this match against some really good teams," Denton said. "We had a great chance, but it didn't happen."

Still, Denton was confident his team could bounce back, especially playing at home.

"It's just a testament to their fight that we were able to somehow pull that match out," he said.

The Aggies (12-10) didn't have time to celebrate Friday night at Northgate.

"It was a great day for us," Denton said. "Obviously, we have to forget about this match and get ready for tomorrow. We have a really tough battle against Texas. It's going to require the same type of effort or more for us to beat one of the teams that, in my opinion, has a chance to win the NCAA championship."

NOTES -- A&M had lost to Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals the last two years. ... The attendance was 646. ... The courtyard at the Mitchell Tennis Center was named after former head coach David Kent while the singles were getting under way and the A&M women were warming up for their match against Oklahoma State. ... A&M senior quarterback Stephen McGee and women's basketball coach Gary Blair took in the match. ... Chirico got ready for Friday's match by running 2 1/2 miles in the morning. ... Texas (16-5) received a first-round bye. Baylor and Oklahoma State won Friday's other semifinal matches. No. 2 seed Baylor (19-8) defeated No. 7 Nebraska, 4-0. No. 3 OSU (15-8) defeated No. 9 Oklahoma, 4-1. ... Siegel said the loss to A&M probably cost Tech a chance to host a regional as one of the country's top 16 seeds.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

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