vs.

#11 Illinois (0-0) vs. #6 Baylor (0-0)
Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015 | 2 p.m. CT
Waco, Texas | Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center

Live Scoring | Live Blog

WACO, Texas - The sixth-ranked Baylor's men's tennis team opens its 2015 dual-match season by hosting No. 11 Illinois Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.

The first 300 fans in attendance at the match will receive free Baylor Tennis t-shirts, while free hot chocolate will also be served.

"We had the best preseason we have ever had," head coach Matt Knoll said. "I really like where we as a group and the synergy we are going to have. We are going to have some real experience and that is part of the reason we scheduled this match against Illinois - we felt like we are up for it. I think it is going to be a lot of fun."

The team ranking of No. 6 is the same ranking that the Bears earned to end the 2014 campaign and their highest ranking to start a season since being No. 5 in 2012. Last year, Baylor posted a 26-6 record and made the NCAA quarterfinals to continue a string of 13-straight years of ending the season in the NCAA round of 16 or better.

The Bears bring back six letterwinners from last year's squad and have three student-athletes in the ITA singles top-125, including the country's No. 5 ranked player in junior Julian Lenz. Senior Tony Lupieri is 26th, while junior Felipe Rios is No. 121. Meanwhile in doubles, Rios and Lupieri team together to form the country's 13th-ranked tandem. To last year's group, the Bears have added freshman Juan Benitez and transfer Max Tchoutakian.

Seven BU players competed individually at last weekend's Sherwood Collegiate Cup as the Bears racked up a combined 15-8 record in singles.

Baylor's opponent for Wednesday, Illinois, will also be playing its first dual-match of the season. In 2014, the Illini produced a 24-9 record, were ranked as high as sixth in the nation and reached the NCAA Tournament for the 19th straight year. The 2015 Illini return everyone from last season's team and add a heralded group of freshmen. Illinois currently has four ranked singles player in No. 31 Jared Hiltzik, 40th-ranked Tim Kopinski, Aleks Vukic at No. 44 and No. 62 Aron Hiltzik. In doubles, Kopinski and Ross Guigon team up to form the nation's No. 3 ranked duo.

The Bears currently lead the Illini, 5-4, in the all-time series between the two teams. Last year, Baylor beat Illinois twice by identical 4-0 scores. BU first recorded a 4-0 sweep of the Illini on March 16 in Indian Wells, Calif. as part of the Oracle Collegiate Cup and then blanked them again on May 16 in the NCAA Championships round of 16. This will be Illinois' first-ever trip to Waco.

For the match, Baylor and Illinois will play by newly adopted ITA rules, which will govern all non-conferences matches. The rules adjustments are below:

? No-ad scoring in singles and doubles.
? Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tiebreak at 6-all. o Once the doubles point has been clinched, the remaining doubles match shall be stopped.
? Followed (after a five-minute intermission) by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tiebreaks at 6-all.
o Singles matches will be played to completion.
? No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles)

Live results for the match will be available at BaylorBears.com with a live blog available as well.

Following the match against Illinois, Baylor will host No. 62 Tulane on Saturday, Jan. 24, at noon as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.

For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team follow its official Twitter account: @BaylorMTennis.