March 6, 2006

FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 23 TCU men's tennis team returns to the friendly confines of the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center on Tuesday when it hosts rival and No. 9 Baylor in a regional clash. Match time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Baylor comes into Tuesday's contest after a 5-1 upset victory over No. 7 Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif., which gave the Cardinal their first loss of the season. Lars Poerscke (No. 4), Michal Kokta (No. 53) and Matija Zgaga (No. 56) highlight a Bears' lineup that boasts three top 60 players in the current ITA singles polls.

TCU comes into the match at 6-3 on the season and fell in its last match to No. 34 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The Frogs have played a tough opening schedule in which they have faced four higher-ranked opponents.

Senior Rafael Abreu garners a ranking of No. 75 and is the lone Horned Frog ranked in the top 100. Jacopo Tezza has posted an 8-0 start to his 2006 campaign and is the reigning Mountain West Conference Player of the Week.

The Bears and Frogs met twice a year ago with Baylor sweeping the season series. As the home team, Baylor posted a 7-0 victory on March 29 and completed the sweep with a 5-2 victory in Fort Worth on April 6.

With two wins last season, Baylor upped its current win streak to six in the series which is the second-longest in the storied rivalry between the two programs. The Frogs posted 30-straight victories from 1975-1998.