Jan. 6, 2009

LUBBOCK, Texas - After reaching the NCAA Championships the past two seasons, the Texas Tech men's tennis team will begin its trek for its third-consecutive berth ranked No. 21 in the nation, as selected in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason poll released Tuesday.

The Red Raiders finished the 2008 season ranked No. 20 following a season-ending loss to Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Championships.

Freshman Raony Carvalho and senior Christian Rojmar were tabbed the highest-ranked doubles pair in the Big 12, entering the season as the No. 7 duo in the country. The pair was one of 16 teams to advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships last fall.

Carvalho was also Tech's lone selection in the singles poll as he was slotted at No. 19, the third-highest ranking for any freshman in the country. In only his first semester on campus last fall, Carvalho advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Regional Championships, one round short of qualifying for the singles portion of the ITA National Indoor Championships.

In the regional rankings, four Red Raiders - senior James Wilson (No. 19), Rojmar (No. 23), senior Michael Breler (No. 26) and senior Sinisa Markovic (No. 28) - were among the 30 singles players selected from the south central region.

The Red Raiders begin the 2009 campaign Jan. 31, in Tulsa, Okla., against No. 19 LSU before facing either No. 13 Tulsa or No. 30 Notre Dame the following day.