Huskers to begin Postseason play

Lincoln - The No. 66 Nebraska men's tennis team (9-11 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12 Conference) begins post-season play Friday, April 30 when it travels to College Station, Texas and the Varsity Tennis Center for the 1999 Big 12 Championships. The $4.2 million tennis center was dedicated Oct. 23, 1998.

The Huskers earned a No. 4 seed and will play 32nd-ranked Texas Tech, the No. 5 seed, at 8:30 a.m. If NU defeats Tech in the single-elimination tournament, it will advance to Saturday's quarterfinals to play either No. 1 seed and seventh-ranked Texas or Colorado or Oklahoma at 12 p.m. The Big 12 championship match is Sunday, May 2 at 2 p.m.

The Huskers and Texas Tech finished league competition with identical records. Nebraska earned the tournament's No. 4 seed because it defeated Tech 4-3 in Lincoln Feb. 21. The win marked the first time since 1995 that the Huskers had defeated a conference team other than Missouri. The win proved to be a sign of things to come, as NU followed with wins over Colorado, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and finished fourth in the league. NU's finish was its best in seven years. The Huskers' 4-4 conference record marked the first time since 1993 that they have finished at or about .500 in league play.

Scouting No. 32 Texas Tech
The Red Raiders finished regular season play with a 15-8 overall mark and a 4-4 Big 12 record, earning the nation's No. 32 ranking. Texas Tech defeated two currently ranked teams, No. 50 Kansas and No. 61 University of Texas-Arlington. Tech posted league home wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and KU, as well as a conference road victory at Colorado. Every player in the Red Raiders' top six owns a winning record. Borut Marinecevic leads Tech from the No. 1 spot with an 11-8 mark.

Big 12 Tournament Information
The Big 12 Tournament will bring several of the nation's top teams and players together for four days. Six of the eight teams competing are ranked in the the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Top 100, including two teams, Texas and Baylor, that boast top-10 rankings. Eight Big 12 doubles teams are ranked in the ITA Top 50, including No. 1 ranked Dumitru Caradima and Shuon Madden of Texas A&M. Nine league singles players own top-100 rankings.

The Texas A&M website will offer coverage for media and fans, including live updates, pictures and press releases. Background information will be available for each team along with a history of the Big 12 Championships. All information can be accessed at sports.tamu.edu/big12tennis/.

Nebraska Notes.....
Five Huskers earned all-conference academic honors. Senior Dinko Verzi, and juniors Andrew Wiese and Ryan Haith were named to the first team, while sophomores Jorge Abos Sanchez and Kai Rieke earned honorable-mention honors....The Huskers returned to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings last week, checking in at No. 66. Nebraska has been ranked every week but two this season....Verzi owns the nation's No. 98 ranking...Abos Sanchez has the best record of any No. 3 singles player in the Big 12...This weekend marks the 10th weekend in 11 weeks that Nebraska will face a ranked team....Fourteen of NU's 21 opponents are currently ranked.