This is a question coming from a casual observer. Keep in mind that I am not advocating change in any form or fashion as I think Cass is a top notch coach.

What direction is the men's tennis program at A&M heading? It seems that we shot out of the gates several years back but have allowed other Big XII teams to either catch up of pass us. Getting past UT was a great accomplishment a few years back but now we have Baylor to deal with and Tech is having a superb year. Hosting the NCAA's for the 2nd time in a few years is an honor and seems that is could be a great recruiting tool.

Some one please feel me in here and excuse my ignorance!

tech being top 10 does make them look like an up-and-coming powerhouse. problem is, they will be losing 4, if not 5, of their top 6 after this year. paulson, tanik, and innerebner are seniors, radek will go pro, and my guess is that bojan will, too.

NO ONE can reload after losing their top 5. not us, not baylor, not illinois...NO ONE. once this class of tech guys is gone, i predict they will be down for another couple of years, and then we will see if siegel goes "dark lord" on us and heads to the bundesliega. (keep in mind, if we beat t.u. saturday we will get our rematch with tech, and we may reclaim 2nd place in the conference outright anyway)

texas was supposed to have the #1 incoming class this year, and look where they are now. sure, they are young...but there is no excuse for texas tennis being in the low 30s and 40s. i predict they come back strong next year, and give us a good match this weekend.

in short, i still think we are the solid #2 program in the conference, and if cass keeps recruiting and developing the way he has been, baylor can't hold us off for much longer. again, keep in mind that this year we lost lester to the pros, marvin to grades, and yev to "anger management issues." with a full squad, we are talking a top 5 ranking IMO, not top 15. furthermore, with the exception of jerry, our recruiting class this year was sub-par (at least compared to what we have gotten in the recent past). next year's recruits might be some of the best we've seen in a long time.

[This message has been edited by txag731 (edited 4/20/2005 9:42a).]

Thanks!

731...that is a very balanced evaluation of the current situation. waco will come back to the pack next season however I will never put it past knoll to go out and sign more professionals. It is a good thing the new 19 year old rule takes effect this season. If a kid from anywhere turns 20 before he enrolls in college he will be inelegible. Good rule.

Concerning Texas, they have been on the short end of all their matches vs top ten schools this season. Bad lost to the dirt burglers...will be interesting to see how matchc goes this weekend, however the real fireworks will be in Austin for the Big 12s. They will be worth the price of admission....

I think you got a good basic analysis. Our program is just fine. Look for some announcements in the next week or so about some additions. Tim will have us in the hunt for the forseeable future. Baylor has had nice run for the last few years, and I don't see them going away anytime soon. They will continue to be the main competition in this state, but I think we have a real chance of being a top seven program instead of a top fifteen program. Time will tell.