Baylor Men’s Tennis Tabbed Preseason Favorite in Big 12 Poll

IRVING, Texas – Baylor men’s tennis has been selected as the preseason favorite in the Big 12 Men’s Tennis Preseason Coaches’ Poll, announced by the conference office Tuesday afternoon.

The Bears are picked first in the preseason rankings for the first time in program history. The Big 12 preseason poll began at the start of the 2012 season.

Baylor and Texas split all six first-place votes after garnering three each while the Bears edged out the Longhorns in overall points. TCU was tabbed third with 18 points, followed by Oklahoma State in fourth with 13 points. Oklahoma and Texas Tech rounded out the poll in the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.

The Bears finished tied for second a season ago with a 3-2 conference record, knocking off No. 2 Texas to win its ninth Big 12 postseason crown. BU has finished third or better in Big 12 play in 20 of 23 seasons since the league’s inception in 1997.

Baylor welcomes back four letterwinners from last season’s NCAA quarterfinalist squad and adds newcomers Finn Bass, Ryan Dickerson, Rahul Dhokia, Christopher Frantzen, Alex Garcia, Joseph Chen and Jenson Brooksby for the 2020 spring season.

BU opens the spring schedule with a doubleheader against Boise State and UT Arlington on Saturday, Jan. 18 at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. The matches are slated for 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. starts, respectively.

For the latest information on Baylor men's tennis, follow the team on social media: @BaylorMTennis.

2020 BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
1.            BAYLOR (3)                         23 pts.
2.            Texas (3)                              22 pts.
3.            TCU                                        18 pts.
4.            Oklahoma State                 13 pts.
5.            Oklahoma                            8 pts.
6.            Texas Tech                          6 pts.

(First place votes)