Sept. 17, 2015

WACO, Texas -- Baylor men's tennis players Julian Lenz and Max Tchoutakian will begin the fall season by participating in the inaugural 2015 Oracle/ITA Masters tournament from Sept. 18-20, which will take place in Malibu, Calif.

The event will be played at the Malibu Racquet Club and will serve as the first national collegiate championship of the 2015-16 tennis season.

Sixteen of the top returning Division I men's and women's singles players will compete, along with eight men's and women's doubles teams. Each participant is guaranteed two matches in the tournament draw.

Lenz, a senior from Giessen, Germany, is one of sixteen men competing in the singles draw. Lenz debuted at No. 4 in the latest ITA preseason rankings released on Sept. 15. He ended the season with an appearance in the NCAA Singles Round of 16 and the team's first-ever NCAA Doubles semifinals. Lenz went 26-9 overall and 17-8 against ranked opponents in the 2014-15 season.

Lenz, the event's No. 3 overall seed, will face Duke's Nicolas Alvarez, ranked No. 7, at 12 p.m. CT in the first round. Meanwhile, Tchoutakian takes on 10th-ranked Dominik Koepfer of Tulane at 12 p.m. CT.

Tchoutakian received Oracle's wildcard berth into the tournament. Tchoutakian enters the tournament ranked No. 31 in the ITA preseason rankings. The Marseille, France native was 18-12 overall and 7-8 against ranked opponents in his first year in Waco.

The BU duo will also pair together for the first time to play in the doubles draw. They will face seventh-ranked Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez of Florida State at 4 p.m. in the first round.

Lenz ended the year ranked No. 1 in doubles with partner Diego Galeano. Overall, Lenz was 28-4 in doubles. Meanwhile, Tchoutakian was 6-0 in doubles matches last season with three different partners.

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