Colorado University Athletics
Men's Tennis to Play No. 2 Seed Texas A&M at Big 12 Tournament
BOULDER ? The University of Colorado men’s tennis team looks for its sixth victory of the season over a nationally ranked opponent, Friday, April 29 (8 a.m.) when they take on No. 2 seed and No. 10 ranked Texas A&M at the Penick-Alison Tennis Center in Austin, Texas.
The Buffaloes (9-14, 2-5 Big 12), ranked No. 56 nationally also played the Aggies last season in the first round of the conference tournament. Texas A&M (14-7, 5-2) was also the No. 2 seed last year and subsequently lost to top seeded and national champion Baylor in the conference final.
The winner of the CU/Texas A&M match will play Saturday, 10 a.m. against No. 3 Oklahoma State (16) or No. 6 Oklahoma (56).
With 19 nationally ranked schools on the CU schedule, five of those opponents were upset by the Buffs, including No. 15 Harvard back on March 11. The Buffaloes narrowly upset No. 11 Oklahoma State (Mar. 22) and No. 35 Louisville (Mar. 12) after holding 3-1 advantages.
CU is led by 20-match winner Marko Bundalo. Bundalo entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) top-125 for the first time in his career last week, won a pair of singles matches including the clinching match in CU’s upset over No. 47 Oklahoma. Bundalo also upset Texas Tech’s Bojan Szumanksi, the then-No. 40th ranked player in straight sets (6-2, 6-3). This week the junior has moved up to No. 97 by the ITA and has won five of his last six matches with a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents.
Bundalo is not the lone CU student-athlete racking up wins. Five other student-athletes have at least 12 or more victories this year, a first for the men’s team with double-digit wins since the 1994-95 season. Sophomore Marcos Digliodo has 19 victories, followed by sophomore Marek Dvorak (18), junior Chad Tsuda (16), sophomore Peter Bjork (14), and sophomore Jan Zelezny (12).
In doubles, the No. 3 slot remains strong with Dvorak and Zelezny with 11 triumphs in 17 outings, including a season-best four straight wins during the middle of March. Bundalo and Bjork have teamed up with nine victories at the No. 2 slot.
With its No. 56 nationally team ranking, the Buffaloes have been ranked in the ITA poll the entire spring season getting as high as No. 43.