May 7, 2015 SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
No. 29 LSU (17-8) vs. No. 59 UTSA(17-8) - 3 p.m.
No. 2 Baylor (21-5) vs. Bryant (8-11) - 6 p.m.
SATURDAY
Winner of match 1 vs. Winner of match 2 - 5 p.m.
WACO, Texas - The second-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis team will open the 2015 NCAA Team Championships by hosting first and second round action at the Hurd Tennis Center for the 11th time in the last 13 years.
The Bears start their journey for a second NCAA?Championship by facing Bryant Friday at 6 p.m. The winner of the Bears and Bulldogs match will then face the victor of the LSU-UTSA match on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Bears enter NCAA play with a 21-5 record, after falling to No. 1 Oklahoma in the finale of the 2015 Big 12 Championships on April 26 in Waco.
Live scoring, a live blog and live video for all the matches can be accessed on BaylorBears.com.
Tickets for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships are available on the day of the match at the Baylor Baseball ticket office. Tickets are only $5 per day.
Championship Quick Hits
BAYLOR IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY: Baylor has amassed an impressive 48-16 (.750) all-time NCAA Championship record. The Bears have been selected to compete in postseason play for 18 straight seasons including this year and have hosted the first two rounds of action 12 times. The Bears have reached the round of 16 15 times, including 13 straight trips.
WHEN PLAYING?AS THE NO. 2 SEED: Baylor earned its highest seed since being No. 1 in the 2005 NCAA?Championships. The Bears have been a No. 2 seed once before as they went 3-1 in 2003.
WHEN HOSTING?THE?FIRST?TWO?ROUNDS: Baylor is a perfect 22-0 at home in NCAA Championship play. BU has recorded 15 shutouts when hosting the opening rounds and has surrendered only 12 points in those 22 matches.
LAST YEAR IN THE?NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: Baylor received an automatic bid for the 2014 NCAA Championships 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?quarterfinals 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 nine of his last 10 matches. Zsiga has played predominantly in the five spot this season and has recorded an 11-3 record in dual-match play. Felipe Rios has also been a strong force for the Bears at the bottom of the lineup, winning seven of his last eight matches to boast a 17-3 dual-match mark, which leads the Bears. Diego Galeano has won his last four decisions, after starting the dual-match season only 7-4.
BEARS DOMINATING THE DOUBLES POINT: BU?is enjoying perhaps its most successful doubles season in school history. The Bears are 23-2 in the opening point in 2015, having gone on to win 20 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 21-2 in doubles matches. The No. 1 tandem for the Bears, Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz, have also been impressive, racking up a 19-1 record with 16 straight wins.
TEAM STREAKS & TRENDS: Baylor enters the NCAA?Championship winning seven of its last nine matches. The Bears recorded a season high eight-match win streak that stretched from Feb. 20-March 21. BU?lost its season-opener against then No. 11 Illinois and has since only lost to current No. 1 Oklahoma.
LOOKING AHEAD: A victory against Bryant would advance the Bears into the second round of the NCAA?Championship to face the winner of No. 29 LSU and 59th-ranked UTSA at 5 p.m. Saturday.
RANKED BEARS: Baylor currently has four singles competitors ranked in the latest ITA?rankings including No. 2 Julian Lenz, No. 35 Tony Lupieri, 58th-ranked Max Tchoutakian and 116th-ranked Mate Zsiga. BU?has 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.
LAST?MATCH?OUT: Baylor came up just short to No. 1 Oklahoma in the finale of the Big 12 Championships. The Bears lost the doubles point for only the second time in 2015 and then dropped the first two singles contests to fall down 3-0. BU?used victories from Diego Galeano, Max Tchoutakian and Mate Zsiga to tie the score 3-3. In the last match, Felipe Rios dropped a 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 decision to Florin Bragusi at the No. 6 spot to give OU the deciding point.
Scouting the Opposition
SCOUTING?BRYANT: The Bulldogs earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships after winning the Northeast Conference title for a second-straight year. The Black and Gold currently own an 8-11 record, following eighth wins in their last 11 matches. Bryant defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-3, in last match out to claim the conference tournament title
? Baylor and Bryant will be meeting for the first time Friday.
Quotes from the Coach
"I think we are a really competitive group and I think we have focused more on what we haven't done than what we have done, in a way, to our detriment. I think it will be good for us to get a win and create some momentum in the first round. From there, we will continue to build and get better and better." - head coach Matt Knoll on his team
"Well we didn't win the Big 12 Championship and that is the last match we played. It might setup exactly right. We have a team that is certainly not overconfident or full of itself or relaxed. I think we are edgy. We are a little upset and that is a great way to go into a tournament." - Knoll on his team's attitude
Check out BaylorBears.com for schedule and ticket information. Stay up to date with men's tennis by following us on Twitter @BaylorMTennis.
