March 3, 2010

McAllen, Texas- Baylor men's tennis junior Jordan Rux earned a place in the round of 16 at the USA F7 Futures Tournament with an opening round victory over eighth-seeded Ti Chen in McAllen, Texas, Wednesday.

"It was a really good match for Jordan," men's assistant head coach Chris Brandi said. "He did a really good job today of sticking with his game plan and played like the guy he is capable of being and that we hope to see the rest of the year."

Rux will now take on Dayne Kelly of Australia on Thursday, after dispatching of Chen 7-5, 7-6 (4). The win raises Rux's all-time USTA Futures events record to 4-10.

The 26-year-old Chen has been ranked as high 255th in the world in singles, but currently is 435th in the world.

"The courts here are very similar to Waco," Brandi said. "They are really slow and the ball bounces really high, so honestly for Jordan it is not a big adjustment at all."

Kelly is currently ranked 432nd on the ATP tour and has a 52-52 record in Futures events. On Wednesday, he beat Javier Herrera-Eguiluz 6-3, 6-0 to advance to Thursday's match.

Rux, who is 8-1 in dual match play for the Bears this season, got a place in the tournament after receiving a wildcard selection from the USTA. The Kerrville, Texas, product is currently listed at No. 28 in the ITA singles rankings,

The tournament is being hosted by the McAllen Country Club and has $15,000 in prize money.

Tournament results can be viewed at this link.

As a team, Baylor is in the midst of a 10-day break, before returning to action March 9 when it hosts Laredo Community College at 2 p.m. at the Baylor Tennis Center.