May 15, 2015 pre>
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY - Round of 16
No. 2 Baylor def. No. 18 USF, 4-1
SATURDAY - Quarterfinals
No. 2 Baylor (24-5) vs. No. 8 USC (25-4) - 2 p.m.
MONDAY
NCAA Semifinals - 1 p.m.
TUESDAY
NCAA Team Championship Match - 1 p.m.
WACO, Texas -The second-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis team will play in the quarterfinals of the NCAA €ˆChampionships for a second-straight season Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
The Bears will face No. 8 USC at 2 p.m. to set up a possible matchup with the winner of No. 3 Virginia and No. 5 Texas A&M in the semifinal round held Monday at 1 p.m.
Baylor is making its 12th appearance at the NCAA quarterfinals, after blanking Bryant and No. 29 LSU in first and second round play and then beating No. 18 South Florida, 4-1, Thursday in the Round of 16 contest.
The Bears enter NCAA quarterfinals action with a 24-5 record, a 15-3 mark at home and a 20-5 mark against ranked foes.
Tickets for the NCAA Championships are available at BaylorBears.com or on the day of the match at the Baylor Baseball ticket office. Single-session tickets are $10 (adult) and $5 (children), while all-session passes can be purchased for $75 (adult) or $50 (children).
Championship Quick Hits
BAYLOR IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY: Baylor has amassed an impressive 51-16 (.761) all-time NCAA Championship record. The Bears have been selected to compete in postseason play for 18 straight seasons and have hosted the first two rounds of action 12 times. BU has reached the round of 16 16 times, including 14 straight trips and improved to 12-4 in those appearances with Thursday's win. The Bears have advanced to the NCAA €ˆquarterfinals on 12 occasions, holding a 4-7 record in its previous 11 trips. The program won Baylor's first-ever NCAA €ˆTeam Championship in 2004 and returned to the title match in 2005, along with semifinal trips in 2006 and 2007.
HOW €ˆTHEY €ˆGOT €ˆHERE: With the 4-1 triumph over No. 18 USF €ˆThursday, the Bears improved to 15-3 at home in the 2015 dual-match season and 25-0 at home in NCAA Championship play. The Bears slipped past USF €ˆin doubles with tiebreaker wins on court one and two. BU €ˆthen got singles wins from Julian Lenz, Diego Galeano and Felipe Rios to secure the match.
WHEN PLAYING €ˆAS THE NO. 2 SEED: Entering its 2015 run, Baylor earned its highest seed since being No. 1 in the 2005 NCAA €ˆChampionship. The Bears have been a No. 2 seed once before as they went 3-1 in 2003. With 2015's three victories, BU €ˆboasts a 6-1 mark win playing as the No. 2 seed.
WHEN HOSTING €ˆNCAA PLAY: Baylor is a perfect 25-0 at home in NCAA Championship play. BU has recorded 17 shutouts when hosting and has surrendered only 13 points in those 25 matches.
LAST YEAR IN THE €ˆNCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: Baylor received an automatic bid for the 2014 NCAA Championship and hosted first and second round action. The Bears defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi, in the first round, before securing a 4-1 victory over No. 43 Tulsa in the second round. The Bears then traveled to Athens, Ga., to compete in the Round of 16 where they met up with 12th-ranked Illinois. The Bears swept the Illini, 4-0, to advance to the NCAA €ˆquarterfinals for the first time since 2011. In the quarterfinals, the Bears were shutout by No. 4 Virginia, 4-0.
Team Notes
SINGLES STREAKS & TRENDS: Senior Mate Zsiga has won 11 of his last 12 decisions. He has played predominantly in the five spot this season and has recorded a 13-3 record in dual-match play. Felipe Rios has also been a strong force for the Bears at the bottom of the lineup, winning 10 of his last 11 matches to boast a 20-3 dual-match mark, which leads Baylor. Diego Galeano has won his last six decisions, after starting the dual-match season only 7-4.
BEARS DOMINATING THE DOUBLES POINT: BU €ˆis enjoying perhaps its most successful doubles season in school history. The Bears are 26-2 in the opening point in 2015, having gone on to win 23 of those matches. Baylor did not play doubles at Memphis due to the threat of inclement weather, but has won the doubles point in every other match, except on March 22 and April 26 against Oklahoma. BU's success comes from a strong third position as that spot has gone 23-4 in doubles matches. The No. 1 tandem for the Bears, Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz, has also been impressive, racking up a 21-2 record with 18 wins in last 19 matches.
TEAM STREAKS & TRENDS: Baylor enters the NCAA €ˆChampionship quarterfinals having won 10 of its last 12 matches. The Bears recorded a season-high eight-match win streak that stretched from Feb. 20-March 21. BU €ˆlost its season-opener against then-No. 11 Illinois and has since only lost to current No. 1 Oklahoma. Baylor is 20-5 against ranked foes in 2015.
LOOKING AHEAD: A victory against USC would advance the Bears into the semifinals of the NCAA €ˆChampionship for the first time since 2007 and the fifth-time in program history. BU would face the winner of No. 3 Virginia €ˆand No. 5 Texas A&M at 1 p.m. Monday.
RANKED BEARS: Baylor currently has four singles competitors ranked in the latest ITA €ˆrankings including No. 2 Julian Lenz, No. 35 Tony Lupieri, 58th-ranked Max Tchoutakian and 116th-ranked Mate Zsiga. BU €ˆhas three ranked doubles tandems with Diego Galeano and Lenz at No. 8, Lupieri and Felipe Rios at No. 60 and Lupieri teaming with Zsiga to be No. 79.
SCOUTING €ˆUSC: The eighth-ranked and seventh-seeded Trojans (25-4) will be making their ninth-straight NCAA €ˆquarterfinal appearance Saturday. USC knocked off 10th-ranked Duke 4-0 Thursday in the round of 16. USC €ˆhas won five of the last six NCAA €ˆChampionships. The Trojans have six ranked singles players, including No. 15 Yannick Hanfmann. He partners with Roberto Quiroz to make up the third-ranked doubles tandem.
Earlier this year, BU beat USC, 4-3, in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Collegiate Challenge, 4-3, on March 21. In that match, the Bears trailed 3-2, before Zsiga and Lenz claimed wins.
In that match earlier this year, the Bears snapped a five-match losing streak to USC and beat the Trojans for the first time since March 10, 2006. Baylor still trails 5-7 in the all-time series against USC.
Baylor is 1-2 against the Trojans in NCAA €ˆChampionship play - (loss in 2002 Round of 16, 4-2), (win in 2004 semifinals, 4-0), (loss in 2013 Round of 16, 4-1).
Live scoring, video and a blog will be available for each and every match of the NCAA Championships on BaylorBears.com.
Check out BaylorBears.com for schedule and ticket information. Stay up to date with men's tennis by following us on Twitter @BaylorMTennis.
