April 4, 2000

LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech men's tennis team (7-9, 1-3) will face another tough challenge Friday morning when they take on the Texas A&M Aggies (10-5, 2-1) at 10 a.m. at the Lubbock High School tennis courts. The Aggies come into the match with a national ranking of No. 13 while Texas Tech was ranked No. 56.

Tech is on a two-match loosing skid after falling to Kansas 5-2 on March 25 and then dropping a close 4-3 match to No. 8 Baylor on March 27.

Tech's men are led by junior Borut Martincevic. Martincevic has split time at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles position this year and has a record of 7-5, 2-2 in the Big 12. At the No. 3 position Jevgenij Cariov has been a stalwart all season long, winning a team high 10 matches. His overall record is 10-2 (3-1 Big 12).

A&M is coming off of the biggest win in Aggie program history. They defeated the No. 2 Pepperdine Waves on March 31. Individually the Aggies are led by Shuon Madden, a junior ranked as the nation's No. 2 singles player. The Aggies also get a big contribution from Cody Hubbell, a junior ranked No. 87 in the nation.

The Red Raiders have lost their last three meetings against the Aggies. The last red Raider win in the series came in 1997 when the Tech won a 4-2 contest in College Station.