Baylor MT Collects First Conference Win in 4-1 Defeat of Texas Tech
WACO, Texas – No. 27 Baylor men’s tennis defeated Texas Tech on Senior Night at the Hurd Tennis Center on Thursday, 4-1.
The Bears (17-7 (1-2 Big 12)) dropped the doubles point to the Red Raiders (8-11 (0-3 Big 12)) but got to work quickly in singles to win four straight and clinch their first conference win of the 2024 season.
THE RUNDOWN
The Bears started out hot, as No. 40 Paroulek and Zsombor Velcz earned a ranked win over the 41st-ranked Piotr Pawlak and Sebastian Abboud. The momentum swung to the Red Raiders, as Olle Wallin and Niksa Arsic defeated Christopher Frantzen and Oskar Brostrom Poulsen.
Coming down to a 6-6 breaker at the second doubles court, Reed Collier and Takeyasu Sekiguchi pushed their way to a victory with a 7-1 score that put them at 7-6 to clinch the doubles point.
BU had its way in singles play, sweeping all six first sets, including a comeback from being down 4-1 from Louis Bowden to take the set, 6-4.
It was a quick match on Court Two, as 74th-ranked Velcz took Reed Collier to a quick 6-3, 6-0 result to tie the match. Brostrom Poulsen was next to give BU the advantage, beating Abboud with a pair of 6-3 sets.
Momentum was rolling for Baylor as 88th-ranked Badenhorst completed his comeback that began in the first set, defeating Arsic, 7-6(4), 6-3. Bowden also continued to roll, as he clinched the match going 6-4, 6-3 over Pawlak at the fourth singles court.
QUOTABLE
Head coach Michael Woodson
On getting the first conference win of the season…
“It was great [to get the win]. We did not do what we wanted to do last weekend. It was difficult to not have Devin [Badenhorst] and even though he's young, he's such a big part of this program. I think that hurt us maybe more mentally than it did on the court. To get him back and to see him battling the way that he did, and to see us respond from losing the doubles, it was a tough way to lose the doubles point. To see our guys come out winning all six singles first sets is not an easy thing to do at all. They battled and it was really cool to see Zsombor [Velcz] on a very, very strong trajectory with a professional performance, and to see freshmen get the final two points was pretty special. We've got a bright future. I hope that the future is now, you know, as we look to get a little bit healthier and build our confidence, but we know this team can play and if we can continue to compete, like we did in moments in this match, then I think we've got some special things ahead of us.”
On the mentality of the team as they hit the road…
“That's not going to be easy. Tomorrow, it's going to be hard traveling to Provo with the altitude change and a difficult environment, it’s a tough place to play. But I think we're ready for the challenge. We need to get on the road, spend some time together as a group and work on our bond as a unit and our competitiveness. It's always easier without distractions so when we go on the road, it actually may help us a little bit. It’s not going to be easy to play in some of the places we're going but, I think we're up for the challenge and we're ready to see what we can do.”
UP NEXT
The Bears begin a hearty road trip against BYU in Provo, Utah, on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT, before heading to Oklahoma to face the Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys next Friday and Sunday.