Nov. 5, 2014

Championship Central | Live Chat

WACO, Texas - The Baylor men's tennis team will close out its fall season with Julian Lenz playing at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships in Flushing, N.Y., while Felipe Rios and Vince Schneider will be in action at the Jack Kramer Club Intercollegiate in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.

Playing at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the No. 1 ranked Lenz will open the event versus ninth-ranked Gonzales Austin of Vanderbilt on Thursday at 8 a.m. CT.

"Julian has been pretty successful this fall," head coach Matt Knoll said. "It will be a good test for him to play against this elite field. I know he is ready to get started. In a tournament like this, you are going to have to be a Challenger-level player to win. Julian is going to have to play really, really well to do well. It is also a great experience for him to play be able to play at the US Open venue."

Hosted by Columbia University, this event serves as the culmination of the fall college tennis season and will feature a 32-player singles draw.

With a record of 3-1 in fall play, Lenz was an automatic selection to the event, because of his quarterfinal showing at the ITA All-American Championships. That is the only other collegiate tournament that Lenz has played this fall.

A year ago, Lenz made the second round of the event with a win over seventh-ranked Nik Scholtz of Mississippi and then a loss at the hands of the 85th-ranked Axel Alvarez of Oklahoma.

In California, Rios and Schneider will begin their run at the Jack Kramer Tennis Club on Thursday. Draws for that event have yet to be announced.

"It is a different tournament for both of those guys, because Felipe has had some success this fall and Vince has been battling an injury and has only played one event," Knoll said. "Vince really needs the matches, while Felipe has the chance to put a capstone on a good fall."

Rios is 5-2 on the fall season, having won two matches at both the Rice Fall Invitational and the ITA All-American Championships.

Schneider is 1-1 in fall action, after playing just two matches at the Rice Fall Invitational.

Rios and Schneider will play doubles together at the event. It is the first time that the two have been paired together in tournament play.

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