WACO, Texas - The Baylor's men's tennis team fared well in the final ITA rankings of the 2009-10 season that were released recently. Two singles players and three doubles tandems were listed in the rankings and as a team the Bears ended the season ranked No. 7.
Baylor, at 24-7 on the year, earned a spot in the final rankings among the nation's top eight teams for the ninth straight year and the top 10 for the 11th time in the last 12 years. Since 2003, the Bears have advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships and claimed the national championship in 2004, advanced to the finals in '05 and the semifinals in '06 and '07. The Bears' No. 7 ranking keeps BU as the top collegiate men's tennis program over the last nine years with an average ranking during that time of 4.89.
Individually, senior Denes Lukacs was in the singles rankings for a third straight year, while junior Jordan Rux made the singles list for the second consecutive season.
Lukacs was Baylor's highest ranked player, finishing the season at No. 15. On the year, Lukacs was 25-8 overall and 19-6 playing at No. 1 for the Bears in dual matches. He has ranked no lower than 22nd since the Feb. 18 poll. In addition, Lukacs earned All-American status in singles for a third straight time, which places him among former Baylor standouts Lars Poerschke, Benjamin Becker and Benedikt Dorsch as the only Bears to earn ITA All-America honors in singles three times.
Rux capped his junior campaign ranked No. 38. The Kerrville, Texas, native, was 31-15 on the season and 17-8 in dual match competition with all of his matches coming at the No. 2 spot in the Bears' lineup. Rux ranked as high as No. 11 in the January 5 poll and stayed inside the top 40 players all year long. Rux was also selected to be a part of the NCAA Championships' singles bracket.
In doubles Lukacs teamed with freshman Roberto Maytin to be listed as the 22nd-ranked duo, after going 15-8 on the year and 15-7 in dual match play. Lukacs is also ranked with sophomore Maros Horny for a second straight year as the tandem polled as the 58th best duo. The pair was only 6-3 on the year and 5-2 in dual match play. In the final listings Horny was also listed with Rux at No. 69. The two were 9-6 on the year, but only 4-5 in dual match play.
ATHENS, Ga. - After two straight wins at the NCAA Singles Championship, Baylor senior Denes Lukacs was eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to 19th-ranked Austen Childs of Louisville on Friday afternoon at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The loss completes the senior campaign of Lukacs and drops his season record to 25-8. He finishes his career with a 5-3 mark in NCAA Singles Championship play, after reaching the quarterfinals in 2008 and losing in the first round in 2009.
"The opponent played more of a defensive style," head coach Matt Knoll said. "Denes did not do a great job of executing when he understood what the game plan needed to be and things just kind of got away from him, but Childs played well."
Lukacs had gotten the better of Childs, 6-3, 6-2, earlier in the year when Baylor met Louisville on Feb. 13 in the National Team Indoor Championship in Charlottesville, Va.
The loss ends Lukacs' Baylor career with an all-time singles record of 135-36, a .789 winning percentage, 89 career dual match wins and a 22-2 mark in Big 12 Conference play. The 135 wins leave him in second place on BU's all-time wins list trailing Benjamin Becker's 141 wins. The winning percentage is fourth on Baylor's career list, while the dual match wins are third and the conference wins are seventh.
"Denes had an incredible career," Knoll said. "He started off playing six for us and now finishes as a three-time All-American. He did a lot of fantastic things for the program. He will be a guy that will be missed and he will be hard to replace."
During his time at Baylor, the program was 103-28 overall and 21-3 in conference play. Lukacs helped Baylor win three conference regular season titles, three Big 12 Championship titles and make one NCAA Championship semifinal appearance and three quarterfinals appearances.
Lukacs has earned All-American status in singles three times during his Baylor career, which places him among former Baylor standouts Lars Poerschke, Becker and Benedikt Dorsch as the only Bears to earn ITA All-America honors in singles three times.
Lukacs is also a four-time All-Big 12 singles honoree, joining Johann Jooste, Becker and Poerschke as the only Bears to be named all-conference each of their four years at Baylor.
He also has the second most singles wins for a single season at Baylor with 47 in 2007-08 and is tied for third and seventh for the most dual match singles wins in a single season with 25 in 2007 and 24 in 2008.
For his career Lukacs was ranked as high as No. 2 in the ITA singles rankings on Sept. 4, 2008.
NCAA Singles Round of 16
May 28, 2010
#19 Austen Childs (UL) def. #15 Denes Lukacs (BU) 6-4, 6-4
ATHENS, Ga. - Baylor men's tennis senior Denes Lukacs cruised into the round of 16 on the second day of the 2010 NCAA Singles Championship as he breezed past 30th-ranked Marek Michalicka of Wisconsin, 6-2, 6-3, on Thursday morning at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
With the win Lukacs raised his record to 25-7 on the year and moved his all-time record in NCAA individual action to 5-2. The senior's advancement to the round of 16 marks the deepest that a Baylor player has gone in the singles tournament since Lukacs himself made the quarterfinals of the 2008 Championship.
The Eger, Hungary, native, opened his third attempt at a NCAA individual title by surviving a three-set thriller on Wednesday when he defeated No. 41 John Peers of Middle Tennessee State 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-4 in the first round. Lukacs entered the 64-man singles bracket ranked No. 15 in the nation and seeded in the 9-16 range.
Lukacs will now face No. 19 Austen Childs of Louisville on Fri., May 28 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex at 11:30 a.m. (CDT). Childs beat the three-seed John Patrick Smith of Tennessee in the first round 6-1, 6-1, before getting past No. 46 Drew Courtney of Virginia 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(7).
The only Baylor doubles tandem in the NCAA Championship, Denes Lukacs and Roberto Maytin, was knocked out of the NCAA Doubles Championship in first round action on Thursday afternoon when the Bears lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to No. 19 Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy of North Carolina at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The 28th-ranked Baylor duo finishes the season with a 15-8 record and a 6-6 mark versus nationally ranked opponents. The loss concludes Lukacs' doubles career at Baylor, but not before he racked up a 79-50 career doubles record, which places him in a tie for eighth-place on the Baylor career doubles win list with Michal Kokta, David Hodge and Matias Marin.
Live scoring of the match can be found here.
NCAA Singles Round of 32
May 27, 2010
#15 Denes Lukacs (BU) def. #30 Marek Michalicka (Wis) 6-2, 6-3
ATHENS, Ga. - Baylor men's tennis senior Denes Lukacs opened his quest for a NCAA individual singles title with a 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-4 win over No. 41 John Peers of Middle Tennessee State in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Wednesday morning at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Lukacs, who is seeded in the 9-16 range of the 64-man singles bracket, upped his record to 24-7 on the year, which gives him 134 singles victories for his career at Baylor.
The 15th-ranked Eger, Hungary, native, also improves to 4-2 all-time in NCAA individual play after going 3-1 in his sophomore campaign and 0-1 in his junior year.
Lukacs will now play No. 30 Marek Michalicka of Wisconsin on Thurs., May 27 at 10 a.m. (CDT). Michalicka beat 17th-ranked Raony Carvalho of Texas Tech on Wednesday 6-2, 6-3 to advance to the second round.
Meanwhile later in the evening, junior Jordan Rux was eliminated from the 2010 NCAA Championship with a 6-3, 6-2 first round loss to ninth-ranked Robert Farah of USC on Wednesday evening at Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Rux, who is ranked No. 35, falls to 31-15 on the year, including an 8-12 record against ranked opponents. The 31 wins are the most for Rux in a year after tallying 30 in his freshman campaign and 25 last year. The Kerrville, Texas, product, drops to 0-2 all-time in NCAA Championship individual singles play after being taken out of last year's tournament in the first round by Alex Clayton of Stanford.
Lukacs and Roberto Maytin will begin doubles action on Thurs., May 27 at 3 p.m. (CDT). The 28th-ranked tandem of Lukacs and Maytin will put their 15-7 season mark on the line when they take on 19th-ranked Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy of North Carolina. The Baylor tandem enters tournament play with back-to-back impressive victories. In the team portion of the NCAA Championships, Lukacs and Maytin defeated third-ranked Davey Sandgren and John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee, 7-6, and upset fifth-ranked Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek of Texas A&M, 9-8 (7-4).
Live scoring of the matches can be found here.
NCAA Singles Round of 64
May 26, 2010
#15 Denes Lukacs (BU) def. #41 John Peers (MTST) 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 6-4
#9 Robert Farah (USC) def. #35 Jordan Rux (BU) 6-3, 6-2
NCAA Singles Round of 32
May 27, 2010
#15 Denes Lukacs (BU) vs. #30 Marek Michalicka (Wis) 10 a.m. (CDT)
NCAA Doubles Round of 32
#19 Donato/Hardy (UNC) vs. #28 Lukacs/Maytin (BU) 3 p.m. (CDT)
ATHENS, Ga. - Denes Lukacs and Jordan Rux will begin play in the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships on Wednesday, May 26 and Lukacs and Roberto Maytin will begin doubles action on Thursday, May 27. The singles players are part of a 64-player field selected for the competition while 32 doubles teams were chosen to compete. All matches will be played at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Lukacs, ranked No. 15, is seeded in the 9-16 range which, along with the prestige of receiving a top seeding in the tournament, players who are seeded automatically obtain All-America status. This marks Lukacs' third appearance at the NCAA Tournament and his third time to earn All-American honors in singles. Rux, ranked No. 35, is making his second appearance in the tournament.
In round of 64 action, Lukacs will take on Middle Tennessee State's John Peers who is ranked No. 41 at 9:30 a.m. (CDT). The winner of the Lukacs/Peers match will play the winner between 17th-ranked Raony Carvalho of Texas Tech and No. 30 Marek Michalicka of Wisconsin. Rux's first round match, which is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. (CDT), will be against ninth-ranked Robert Farah of USC. The winner of that match will face off against Georgia's Javier Garrapiz, ranked No 22, or No. 28 Andrei Daescu of Oklahoma.
Lukacs is the team's highest ranked singles player with a record this season of 23-7. The senior from Eger, Hungary, is 10-7 versus ranked opponents this season.
Rux, a junior from Kerrville, Texas, is a team-leading 31-14 on the season including an 8-11 record against ranked opponents. He is 17-8 in dual matches.
The 19th-ranked tandem of Lukacs and Maytin will put their 15-7 season mark on the line when they take on 19th-ranked Clay Donato and Stefan Hardy of North Carolina. The Baylor tandem enters tournament play with back-to-back impressive victories. In the team portion of the NCAA Championships, Lukacs and Maytin defeated third-ranked Davey Sandgren and John-Patrick Smith of Tennessee, 7-6, and upset fifth-ranked Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek of Texas A&M, 9-8 (7-4).
