Texas Tech University Athletics
1999 Preview and 1998 Review
June 21, 1999 | Men's Tennis
January 12, 1999
Tradition. It is something each athletic program strives for. It is something that has quickly developed for the men's tennis team during the Tim Siegel era at Texas Tech; a tradition of excellence. In four of the past five years, the men's team has been selected to compete in the NCAA tournament.
"I think we've built a good base here over the last six years," Siegel said.
"We've made it to the NCAA Tournament four of the last five years and we've been ranked as high as No. 30 in the nation. Tech never made it to the NCAAs before I came here, but I'm not striving to be mediocre. For us to just make the NCAA Tournament and to be ranked is not good enough. We've got to advance past the first round, finish in the top of the Big 12 every year and be ranked higher every year. Those are my goals and I'm going to try to do everything in my power to get our program where it needs to be."
Ahead of the Red Raiders lies a schedule of Texas area teams, two dual-match tournaments at the University of California-Santa Barbara Invitational and the Corpus Christi Invitational and the tough Big 12 conference which sent eight teams to the NCAA tournament in 1998. Despite a tough road ahead, Siegel feels confident that the challenging schedule will benefit his team when the postseason comes.
"They only way our team is going to succeed is to play the best," Siegel said. "Both tournaments will offer us a chance to play eight quality non-conference opponents. The Big 12 is one of the three toughest conferences in the nation. In order to be successful in the conference, you have to come to play every match."
Last season was a struggle for the Red Raiders as top recruit Borut Martincevic, who was slated to play at the top position, was ruled ineligible for the year and unable to join the team. As a result, Texas Tech struggled with its depth having to play four freshman or sophomores mainly in its top six positions.
However, the Red Raiders still managed to gain enough national attention to merit a third consecutive NCAA invitation. But, the team fell in the first round to Southern Methodist University 4-0.
"I think we did well considering our situation especially with what we had on our roster," Siegel said. "We had a couple of big wins and played very competitively all year."
In 1998-99, with six returning veterans and two newcomers that Siegel believes will make and immediate impact, expectations are high as the team is looking to reach the goals Siegel has set for them.
"I think this year's team is as talented as we've had top to bottom." Siegel said. "I think we can do a lot of things with our lineup. We have a very strong No. 1 player in Borut. I also like our experience; we only have one freshman. I feel this could be a very strong team . Our guys believe they have a good team, now it is just a question of how hard they are going to work to get there."
"This year we have no apparent weaknesses. There are no weak spots in the lineup. I like our four, five and six positions. Whoever plays those for us will be very tough. The key is that we will be much improved in doubles. Over the past two years, it has been our Achilles heel and it will be the difference in this year's team."
Leading the way for Texas Tech will be Borut Martincevic. The sophomore, who was forced to sit out last season, will take over the No. 1 duties for the team. This fall, he recorded a perfect 9-0 record and only lost one set. He was the singles champion of the Red Raider Open and advanced to the qualifying round of the national clay court championships before being forced to withdraw with an appendicitis.
His presence will allow Petar Danolic to drop down to a lower number of singles play. In 1998, Danolic had his worst season at Texas Tech recording a 7-16 overall record and 2-7 record in the Big 12. However, Siegel feels confident that his work ethic and new playing position will allow the senior to achieve the success he had earlier in has career.
Another boost for the Red Raiders will be the return of juniors Adam Baranowski and Carey Biorkman. The duo finished with the two best individual records on the team and had winning marks in conference play. Baranowski was a team best 16-7 overall and 7-2 against the Big 12 last year. Biorkman was second on the team with a 15-6 overall record and 4-2 in the conference. With added experience, both will be called on to again make major contributions to the team.
There will also be some new faces on the court this year as well as the return of an old one. Two newcomers Dustin Hawk and Jevgenij Cariov, as well as, the return of Thomas Wheat will give Texas Tech and influx of top notch talent.
Hawk joins the team after playing No. 1 singles for Abilene Christian for three years. Although this will be his first and only year with the team, his experience should help him to make an immediate impact.
Cariov will be the team's only freshman for the year. He comes to Texas Tech as a talented and experienced player in international player. Characterized by Siegel as a tough, strong and aggressive player, he should earn the team many points during the season.
Wheat, a former transfer from Nebraska who sat out last season, will return to the courts for his final season. He will be called on chiefly to play in the doubles position where the Red Raiders have struggled the past two years.
Texas Tech will also have a new assistant coach this year in Matt Jackson. Jackson returns to his alma mater after serving last year as a volunteer coach at the University of New Mexico. At Tech, Jackson played No. 1 singles his sophomore, junior and senior years. His play earned him a national top-50 ranking and an all-Southwest Conference selection. He was also the only singles player from Texas Tech to be selected to play in the NCAA singles championship.
"The players respect Matt as a coach and a player," Siegel said. "His experience and knowledge at Tech give him a great opportunity to reach the players. He is a great addition to our program."
With everything set for the new tennis center and unprecedented support from the school and local communities, the future of Texas Tech men's tennis in 1998 and beyond is very bright indeed.
1998 REVIEW
1998 was a year of both struggle and success for the men's team.
After an up and down regular season, the men finished the season on a strong note winning their last two Big 12 matches against Missouri and Nebraska. In the Big 12 tournament, they defeated Nebraska 4-0 before falling to Texas in the second round
Despite ending the season 11-14, the Red Raiders still earned their fourth NCAA appearance in five years. The Red Raiders faced off with Southern Methodist University in the first round. Earlier in the season the men had defeated the Mustangs 4-3. However, this time SMU claimed revenge defeating Texas Tech 4-0.
