April 29, 2006

WACO, Texas - For the fifth straight year, the Baylor men's tennis team advanced to the finals of the Big 12 Championships. The Bears defeated Oklahoma State, 4-2, on Saturday evening at the Baylor Tennis Center to gain a spot in the finals.

Baylor, 21-5 on the season and the championship's No. 1 seed, will face the University of Texas, seeded No. 2 at 6 p.m. CDT at the Baylor Tennis Center. Texas, 21-3 overall, advanced to the championship with a 4-0 victory over Colorado.

Baylor won the doubles point when Lars Poerschke and Michal Kokta posted an 8-3 win over brothers Daniel and Nathan Byrnes at No. 1. Although they trailed 2-3, Will Ward and David Galic won four straight games at No. 3 to go up 6-3 before prevailing over OSU's Ivan Puchkarov and Alex Kotsiuk, 8-5.

BU's sixth-ranked Lars Poerschke gained the Bears their second point when, after the first set, No. 14 Daniel Byrnes retired due to injury. Ward, playing at No. 4 singles for the Bears, earned Baylor's third point with a straight-sets, 7-6(3), 6-2 win. OSU tightened the match, gaining two points with wins by Nathan Byrne and Ivan Puchkarov at No. 6 and No. 2, respectively. After losing the first set, 7-6(7), Michal Kokta clinched the win for the Bears by winning the last two sets at the No. 3 spot, 7-6(5), 6-2. Baylor's Matt Brown, playing at No. 5 was on the verge of closing out his match, leading 5-1, when Kokta claimed his win.

"That was fantastic tennis tonight. All the matches were tight and that only helps us get better," said Baylor head coach Matt Knoll. "Every day in the Big 12 is another challenge. Texas is a great team, our match with him will be another chance for us to get better."