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Baylor MT Heads To ITA National Team Indoor Championships

February 14, 2019
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WACO, Texas – The 10th-seeded Baylor men's tennis team will compete for the sixth consecutive season in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships Friday through Monday at the Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, Ill.

BU (8-0) will face seventh-seeded North Carolina Friday at 9 a.m. CT in the opening round of action.

The Bears, ranked No. 9 in the latest ITA team rankings, will be taking part in the event for the sixth-straight year and the 16th time overall. BU’s best finish at the championships came in 2005 when the Bears knocked off four ranked teams to win the indoor championship title. BU's all-time record at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships is 23-22.

Last season, a 12th-seeded Baylor squad went 1-2 at the event hosted in Seattle, dropping its first match against fifth-seeded Stanford and falling to No. 14 seed Columbia in the consolation round. The team topped host and No. 16 seed Washington in its final contest of the event.

Baylor is led by a duo of ranked players on the singles side. Redshirt senior Will Little leads with a No. 28 national ranking, followed by senior Johannes Schretter with a No. 29 ranking. Little is 6-0 this spring while Schretter is 3-2 against dual-match opponents. 

The Bears have the second-ranked doubles tandem in the country in senior Jimmy Bendeck and sophomore Sven Lah. The pair is 14-1 this season and 3-0 in dual-match play together. 

BU's matchup with the Tar Heels will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two teams and the first since North Carolina won a 4-3 decision in 2008. UNC leads the all-time series, 3-0.

North Carolina, No. 8 in the ITA team rankings, enters the weekend with a 5-1 record on the season with two wins over ranked opponents, including No. 46 Utah and No. 30 Duke to advance to the national event.

The Tar Heels have four singles players ranked, including Joshua Peck at No. 36, William Blumberg at No. 52, Brian Cernoch at No. 77 and Mac Kiger at No. 84.

The field of this year's ITA Indoor Championships consists of three teams from the Big 12 with Texas, Baylor and TCU claiming the fifth, 10th and 15th seeds, respectively.

Baylor is guaranteed to play three matches in the event with a fourth contest coming on Monday for the title if BU wins the first three. If the Bears win Friday's match, they will face the winner of No. 2 Mississippi State and No. 15 seed TCU in the quarterfinal round scheduled for Saturday.

The Bears advanced to this weekend's event by besting then-No. 12 Georgia, 4-2, on Jan. 26 and then downing host and No. 24 Michigan, 4-1, on Jan. 27 in the finals of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich. 

Live streaming and live scoring will be available for matches at the Midtown Athletic Club this weekend.

For the latest information on the Baylor men's tennis team and live updates from this weekend, follow the team on social media: @BaylorMTennis.

Tags: Tennis, Baylor
 
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