Men's Tennis starts #13 this year. I believe they finished 18 last year.

Should be a good year for the guys. Got lots of guys back, and the signing of Pollock was big.

Cass has also signed Tarnasky from Highland Park. Tyler is one of the best from Texas. HP dominates Tennis, they often beat the 5A state champs 10-0 as of recent.

Ladies start #29.

Good stuff!

I thought Jerry Makowski would be ranked higher after his performance last year.

team will be about 20-25 at the end..women will stink as long as old man kleinecke is at the helm..

jerry was ranked 5 all fall...he dropped a little because he didn't play many tournaments last semester.

Considering the talent on this team: Makowski, Joelson, Wooten, Dakki, Bain, Pollock, and the new player Zivkovic, I find it hard to believe this team will not challenge Baylor for the Big 12 Title.

With that said, Cass has not had a team finish below 20 in the rankings except in 1999. So I find it hard to believe his team would finish 20-25 like you say.

Quit being bitter every season. You'll feel better about life with a positive attitude!

The women are very young. 3 juniors make up the oldest members. Still they bring a lot of people back and it will be interesting to see how things turn out.

They did win a Big 12 championship in '04 (I think it was). So he's not all that bad.

Don't forget about John Nallon in the rotation. John is playing excellent tennis at the present time, and he will surely get some court time in the early going.

The Raven is always correct and a fine individual as well.
I hear John Nallon is playing extremely well after using a redshirt season last year.

Thanks Raven for the reminder.

Raven,

What do you think our lineup looks like at this point in time? I don't know much about the new guys, so it's hard for me to guess.

Singles: I would think would consist of Jerry at #1, followed by Pollock, Wooten, and Joelson in some order, and rounded out by Bain, Nallon, and maybe Zivkovic.

Doubles: Brett-Wooten at #1?, then I have no clue...seems Bain, Pollock, and Jerry will get into the lineup, but I'm unsure who the 6th guy will be and what the other pairings are going to look like.

Just wondering yours or anyone elses' thoughts at this time.

Women will be lucky to finish in the top 25 oh and that big 12 title was shared with a freaking baylor who I think beat us last year. Kleiencke is a not a good coach. If you like winning a conf champ every 5 years then hey his good.

after jerry you've a solid players but near the lineup your going to need to make a serious run..so I will agree with a twenties type ranking.

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hear John Nallon is playing extremely well after using a redshirt season last year

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avg player at best if you redshirt in tennis that is not good unless your injured.

he was injured, and that's why he redshirted.

he is playing very well right now.

I hope yall are right about Nallon. Played against him in high school. He was great, State 5A champion, singles/doubles.

I for one think he's overrated, and have heard that he wasn't really injured, just claimed it, got surgery, so he could redshirt.

I hope this is wrong info, but it's from a close source to the team.

I think he'll contribute at the #6 spot the most, and some at the #3 doubles team. I know his attitude in HS was crap, and it seemed that way his first couple of years.

With all that said, i hope i'm wrong about Nallon, and i want him to contribute all that he can. Would be cool, just cause i played him in HS.

yeah, lots of guys fake injuries so they can have surgery and get a redshirt.

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I for one think he's overrated, and have heard that he wasn't really injured, just claimed it, got surgery, so he could redshirt.

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Bwaaaaaaaaaahahahahahha!!!!

Overrated? The guy is like 5'4" TOPS. It's amazing to me that he can even play competitive D1 tennis, much less be a good player. The guy has the heart of a lion.

More importantly, anyone that would claim that someone FAKED surgery to get a redshirt year probably needs a little surgery performed on their frontal lobe.

I agree, I think they'll be anywhere from 15-25. Dakki is like 27 years old -- he's done (both physically and mentally). Cass should have let him walk after his first year instead of weaseling the NCAA for two more years. Wooten and Joelson have become very solid players and will do well. Bain is coming along nicely and will contribute. Curious to see how well Pollock does - he's got a lot of talent. The Serb is a total bust -- trust me on this one. Big bomb of a serve and nothing else. Hopefully not too many injuries, as they are not deep.

They are solid, but unspectacular, and depending on how well the new guys play, 2007 will probably be their year to make a run, as they only lose Dakki who, like I said, is done.

Sorry for being late getting back to the board on this thread. John was not faking the injury, but it is possible he could have gone last year, but the call was made to have surgery and let him sit. He is playing very well right now, and has a great attitude. While I did not know him prior to his arrival at A & M, it is hard for me to imagine a more team driven, hard working young man than John. I hope he has a great year.

With regards to the lineup, we are looking for a number two. Jerry can clearly hold down the top spot, and we have a number of players who could lay claim to 3-6, but a real number two looks like a stretch at this point. Everyone hope that Filip could come in and lay claim to that spot with a big serve and solid ground strokes, but after one week of practice on his part, the jury is still out. I don't know how anyone could call him a bust at this point in his week long career, especially in view of his record prior to coming to Aggieland, but he will have to show it on the court in the next couple of weeks in order to make everyone feel better.

I think we have a lot of options at doubles, and am confident that the doubles lineup will be the best it has been in several years. Time will tell, but I think this team has a lot of potential. Whether we are top ten or top twenty will be determined on the Court. We play, as always, a very competitive schedule, and we will have every opportunity to improve on our 13 ranking.

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The Serb is a total bust -- trust me on this one.

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a total bust? did you recruit him? are you a coach?

he hasn't even played a match yet, but you're calling him a bust?

right.

[This message has been edited by txag731 (edited 1/16/2006 9:59a).]

I think Nailon has worked hard to become a more competitive player at this level. Hope to see him become a solid #5 or 6 player.

Has the kid played any tournaments since he got here? Help me find the results if he did. The AD site does not have any results.

I think we'll all know about this team based on their results over the first six or seven matches which are all on the road and many against top 10 opponents. Long before that late February first match at home.

He got into town a week ago Friday and worked out with the team for the first time early last week (it may have been Tuesday). I saw him play some doubles and he has some skill in that area. I really don't know where he will fit in our lineup at the present time. I agree that the early indoor schedule will be a real test. I like the team chemistry at this point, and hope that the tough non-conference schedule will help us be ready for league play. Hopefully it will be a fun year.

Well he might not of faked it, but i was told that he could easily of played. Good to hear he is doing well, but what does his height have to do with anything? I know he's short, but he competed in HS very well, #1 in Tx 5A, singlel/doubles. And ranked nationally. So why did we recruit him in the 1st place?

That being said, i think he'll be a solid #6. I know he's a determined kid, but we'll see if he's got the mentality. He would get behind early in a set last season, then just give up, or so it seemed.

Hope he proves me wrong, and i wish him well.

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does his height have to do with anything

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in tennis everything taller you're the better usually you're

who was better...

lester cook or ante matijevic?

khaled el dorry or cameron fenner?

shuon madden or keith from?

height means nothing in college tennis.

i know height is better in tennis. I'm 6'4, i was a bad ass, just not good enough to play for the good guys.

By what your saying, we shouldn't expect him to be as good as taller players, but why then did we sign him? We obviously wanted him to develop and contribute to our team.

I know what your saying about taller players, but your not making any sense about it. I guess we shouldn't recruit anyone who's shorter than 6 feet tall.

My point is, we recruited him for a reason, and I just hope he contributes. Being on this team for 4 years, and not really helping would suck.

While I can't recite his exact record, John contributed greatly to the team as a freshman and sophmore. I can remember several imortant matches that he was the last or next to last man standing. The fact that he was redshirted last year should not have any bearing on his value to the team. As I previously said, he is playing very well right now, and if he is kept out of the major rotation, it is because someone else is playing very well. In that case John will be in the stands yelling for his teammates.

tx you know jack squat. Madden was better than form. and ante had more a pro game than cook...All those are not going to **** as pro's...I wasn't just saying college tennis but in general the taller you're the better chance you've at being better. I would most guys in the top 10 are six feet your taller. Nalon is a below avg tennis player to think otherwise is foolish.

I am not sure I want to jump into this debate. In general taller is better without question. However, Shuon is shorter than Keith, Lester is shorter than Ante (although some might want to make an argument on who was better) Khaled was better than nearly everyone playing at his level, and the argument could go on and on. John's height is clearly an issue, but not so much as to keep him from being a 5A state champion, and not so much as to keep him from contributing during his career at A & M. Everyone associated with Aggie tennis believes that John is now playing the best tennis in his life. How that will translate between February and when we go to Standford (hopefully) is anyones guess. Lets hope for the best.

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tx you know jack squat. Madden was better than form. and ante had more a pro game than cook...All those are not going to **** as pro's...I wasn't just saying college tennis but in general the taller you're the better chance you've at being better. I would most guys in the top 10 are six feet your taller. Nalon is a below avg tennis player to think otherwise is foolish.

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uh, in case you don't remember, you know me...and i know plenty about college tennis.

pay attention...in all three of those comparisons i was saying that the shorter players (lester, khaled, and shuon) were better...illustrating my point that taller isn't always better. yes, if i had to design my prototypical tennis player, i would make him 6'2'' rather than 5'8''. however, being tall does not always equate to an advantage, especially if you lack speed, footwork, and determination.

and if you think ante has a better game than lester, put down the pipe.

and if you think nallon is a below average tennis player, put down the pipe.

and FYI, in the current top 10, there are only 2 guys taller than 6'0''. not exactly giants.

Nice little stat there about the top 10, but nallon is a below avg tennis player. He's only going to be #6, or #5 at best in his JrRS season. I'm not saying he can't contribute, cause i think and hope he will. And again that's great that he's playing the best tennis of his life.

i wouldn't call someone who is top 6 on a top 15 team below average, but ok.

point taken 731, but people are making excuses about him being #6 because of his height.

Do we recruit players saying, "oh well he can just be our #6 guy"??

he will be just fine this year, whether he's short or tall, IMO.

now let's get back on topic.

what are the 5 most important matches on the schedule this year?