Lars Poerschke, No. 75 Dominik Mueller and No. 102 David Galic. Doubles rankings consist of: No. 49 Mueller/Attila Bucko, No. 50 Bucko/Poerschke and No. 54 Galic/Lukacs.
BAYLOR VS. USC:
USC ranks No. 7 nationally and is 9-2 overall. The Trojans will face crosstown rival UCLA on Thursday prior to hosting the Bears. USC's lone loss came at the hands of Texas, 4-1, in the ITA National Team Indoors. USC has five ranked singles players: No. 11 Robert Farah, No. 47 Gary Sacks, No. 58 Kaes Van't Hof, No. 90 Jaak Poldma and No. 95 Jason McNaughton, while Farah/Van't Hof rank No. 3 in doubles. When looking at common opponents this season, both teams defeated Stanford (USC 5-1, BU 5-2), Baylor lost to Ohio State (4-2), while the Trojans downed the Buckeyes (4-1).
BAYLOR VS. UCLA:
UCLA, currently ranked No. 6 with a 9-1 record, will host No. 7 USC prior to its match against Baylor. Three Bruins appear in the latest ITA singles rankings: No. 25 Manhieu Dehaine, No. 28 Holden Seguso and No. 44 Harel Srugo. One doubles tandem, Dehaine/Seguso is No. 47. The Bruins and Baylor have two common opponents thus far this season, both squads lost to Ohio State (UCLA 4-3, BU 4-2) and defeated Stanford (UCLA 5-2, BU 5-2).
BAYLOR VS. PEPPERDINE:
No. 22 Pepperdine, currently 3-5 on the season, will play at Washington (March 7) and at Boise State (March 9) prior to hosting the Bears on March 12. For the Waves, Andre Begemann ranks No. 19, Bassam Beidas is No. 25 and Omar Altmann is No. 97 in the latest single rankings, while Begemann/Altmann are listed at No. 26 in doubles. The Bears and the Waves have played two common opponents this season, both downed Florida (PU 4-3, BU 5-2) and lost to Ohio State (PU 5-2, BU 4-2).
SERIES RECORDS:
Baylor holds a 4-3 lead over USC, leads UCLA 4-1 and leads Pepperdine 6-3.
TOP BEARS:
After enjoying a very successful fall season, Denes Lukacs has continued to shine in dual match play. The sophomore owns the team's best singles record at 29-8 and is Baylor's highest-ranked player at No. 10. Senior Lars Poerschke sat out the fall portion of the season and is 13-3 on the season, including a 8-3 dual match record, all at No. 1. Sophomore Dominik Mueller owns the team's best dual match mark at 12-1.
BAYLOR TOPS:
Baylor, the most successful men's team over the past five seasons, has been ranked no lower than No. 4 in the final poll during that span. The Bears were ranked No. 1 after winning the 2004 NCAA Championship, No. 2 in the final poll in `05 and No. 4 in `03, '06 and '07.
In the past four years, Baylor is the only men's team to advance to the NCAA semifinals each year. During that span, the Bears have posted a 118-14 (.894) mark and in the past six years Knoll's teams are an impressive 173-17 (.906).
HEAD COACH Matt Knoll:
Throughout his 12 seasons at the helm of the Baylor tennis program, head coach Matt Knoll has produced phenomenal results. Since arriving at Baylor in 1997, Knoll has amassed a 271-65 (.807) record over 12 seasons. His teams have captured seven Big 12 Conference regular season titles and five Big 12 Tournament championships, including five in a row beginning in 2002, the 2004 NCAA championship, the 2005 National Team Indoor title, an NCAA runner-up finish in 2005 and NCAA semifinal appearances in 2006 and 2007. In addition, he was twice named National Coach of the Year (1999 & 2005).
POERSCHKE ON THE CAREER CHARTS:
Singles Wins, Career
1. Benjamin Becker 2001-05 - 141
2. Benedikt Dorsch 2002-05 - 119
3. Lars Poerschke 2005-present -112
Doubles Wins, Career
1. Benjamin Becker 2001-05 - 104
2. Matija Zgaga 2004-07 - 100
3. Reiner Neurohr 2000-04 - 99
4. Mark Williams 1998-01 - 94
5. Lars Poerschke 2005-present - 92
