2008 saw Baylor tennis further entrenched on the national stage

If you’re a tennis fan, now is a great time to be a Baylor Bear.

After once again sweeping through the Big 12, Baylor’s men’s and women’s teams have each proven themselves to be serious national title contenders, year in and year out. This year, the men advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, their sixth straight year to reach that far, before losing to top seed Virginia 4-2. Meanwhile, the Lady Bears put together the best season in program history, making their way to the NCAA Tournament semifinals before suffering only their third defeat of the year, a 4-3 loss to California.

The NCAA’s individual tournaments begin Wednesday for the men and Thursday for the women. All-Big 12 selections Denes Lukacs and Lars Poerschke will represent the Baylor men in singles, while Big 12 Player of the Year Zuzana Zemenova, Big 12 Freshman of the Year Taylor Ormond and All-Big 12 honoree Lenka Broosova will all participate on the women’s side. Zemenova and Broosova will also team up in the doubles tournament.

To top off the programs’ excellent year, Poerschke was named the 2008 national recipient of the ITA/Arthur Ashe Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship, given to the player who has best “exhibited outstanding sportsmanship and leadership as well as scholastic, extracurricular and tennis achievements.”

Sic ’em, Baylor tennis!