No. 5 Men's Tennis Closes out Louisville in ITA Kick-Off Finale
WACO, Texas – No. 5 Baylor men's tennis (5-0) rallied past Louisville (5-1) for a 4-1 win in the ITA Kick-Off championship match on Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
Baylor improved to 20-0 all-time in ITA Kick-Off matches and booked a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Madison, Wis.
Sophomore Finn Bass and freshman Sebastian Nothhaft opened doubles play with a quick 6-0 victory over David Mizrahi and Alex Wesbrooks on court three. Then, 20th-ranked Constantin Frantzen and Sven Lah clinched the opening point with a 6-3 victory at the top of the lineup.
The Cardinals rallied early in singles play, taking four of six opening sets from the Bears. However, Baylor got its first singles point on the board when 19th-ranked Lah posted a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sergio Hernandez on court two, and then Bass rallied for a 6-0, 7-5 victory over David Mizrahi at the No. 4 spot.
Despite coming back from a late 5-1 deficit, No. 111 Ryan Dickerson dropped his first match of the spring season with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Fabian Salle on court three for the Cardinals’ lone point of the match.
Dropping the first set, Nothhaft didn’t flinch and came back for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 6 spot to clinch the match for the Bears.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor improved to 20-0 in ITA Kick-Off matches, advancing to its 10th ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
• Baylor has won 36 of its last 37 home matches dating back to 2017, including 21 in a row.
• Baylor is 5-0 in the doubles point and 5-0 when winning the doubles point this season.
• Finn Bass and Sven Lah improved to 5-0 in spring singles action.
• Lah and Constantin Frantzen improved to 5-0 in spring doubles play.
• Baylor leads the all-time series against Louisville, 2-1.
STAT OF THE MATCH
0 – the number of Baylor losses at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
TOP QUOTE
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win and Sebastian Nothhaft…
“Louisville is a highly competitive team, and they came ready to compete. It was a hard-fought match which we expected. I’m really pleased to have Sebastian Nothhaft finish a match like that as a freshman. Those are the experiences we want him to have and to embrace that pressure situation. What I loved about it is that he played to win. He didn’t back off. He took it to (his opponent) and played really aggressive. He used his strengths all the way to the end, and I’m proud of him.”
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears clinched a spot in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships field, held Feb. 14-17 in Madison, Wis.
Baylor hits the road for the first time this season and will take on Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. on Saturday. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT.