Colorado University Athletics
Men's Tennis Upsets No. 19 Texas A&M; Buffs 4-0 in the Big 12
The match originally scheduled at 1 p.m. was pushed back to a 4 p.m. start due to inclement weather in the
Not only have the Buffs won six straight matches, they are atop the Big 12 Conference standings with a 4-0 record after knocking the Aggies, an opponent they have not beaten since April 10, 1998 (10 consecutive matches).
“The guys wanted this one badly,” said CU head coach Sam Winterbotham of his No. 28 nationally ranked team. “They worked and competed very hard; I’m so proud of their effort today.”
The Buffs also remained unbeaten at home this season improving their record to 7-0; they also won their fourth-straight conference match to begin a season, a first since 1992-93; and the win over A&M was a CU first over a top-20 team since knocking off then-No. 15 Harvard back on March 11, 2005.
In addition, the men’s tennis program is No. 28 nationally, their highest national ranking in their history.
Against the Aggies, the match went back and forth through the first four matches with each school winning two each until Bjork and Tsuda put the wraps on CU’s 15th team win, the most since winning 20 matches back in 1997.
Eric Molnar put CU ahead on the scoreboard first with a straight-set victory, upsetting No. 8 Jerry Makowski 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 1 singles slot. It was Molnar’s fourth straight triumph and 21st win of the season.
After the Aggies evened the match, the Buffs went ahead with Marko Bundalo taking a straight-set winner at No. 4 over John Nallon, 7-5, 6-1. Bundalo won his fourth in row and 16th of the year.
Again, the lead was short-lived as the Aggies evened the match at two with a singles win at No. 6 setting up Bjork’s 6-3, 6-3 winner over Bryan Wooten at No. 2, and Tsuda’s clinching 6-2, 6-2 winner over Brett Joelson 6-3, 7-6(4) at No. 5.
Bjork won his team-leading 14th dual and 24th match of the year, while Tsuda inched closer to 20-wins with his 19th for the season and 12th of the dual season.
Texas A&M heads to
The Buffaloes look to continue their winning formula this Sunday, April 9 against No. 3 Texas (14-1, 2-0 Big 12) at the South Campus Tennis Courts beginning at 1 p.m. The Longhorns have never lost to CU in tennis, sporting a 12-0 head-to-head record.
No. 28
CU (15-5, 4-0 Big 12), A&M (12-7, 1-2 Big 12)
April 9, South Campus Tennis Courts
1s) Eric Molnar (CU) def. (8) Jerry Makowski 6-1, 6-1
2s) Peter Bjork (CU) def. Bryan Wooten 6-3, 6-3
3s) Conor Pollock (A&M) def. Jan Zelezny 6-3, 6-3
4s) Marko Bundalo (CU) def. John Nallon 7-5, 6-1
5s)
6s) (t117) Matt Bain (A&M) def. Marek Dvorak 6-2, 6-2
Doubles were not played
Other notes:
- Chad Tsuda won his 19th win on Friday, while Marko Bundalo has 16 singles victories for the season The Buffaloes have never had five student-athletes with 20 or more wins in a season. Tsuda can join fellow teammates Peter Bjork, Marek Dvorak, Eric Molnar and Jan Zelezny with 20 singles wins in a season on Sunday.
As of today, four student-athletes, Peter Bjork, Marek Dvorak, Eric Molnar and Jan Zelezny each have 20 victories. That ties the 1975-76 school record with four in the same season.
- CU has defeated seven nationally ranked schools this season
- CU has played 15 nationally ranked opponents this season