Jan. 18, 2016 Complete Results
THE RUNDOWN
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Baylor men's tennis senior
Julian Lenz captured the 2016 Sherwood Collegiate Cup singles title with a straight-set victory over UCLA junior Gage Brymer at the Sherwood Country Club Monday.
Lenz, the 32-man singles draw's No. 1 seed, raced out to a 6-1 win in the first set and then finished off Brymer with a 6-3 triumph in the second set. To claim the crown, Lenz beat a total of five opponents all in straight sets over the last four days in California.
Lenz joins Matija Zgaga (2006) and Lars Poerschke (2008) as Baylor players to have won the Sherwood singles crown.
Last season, Lenz advanced to the singles semifinals, while making the quarterfinals in 2014 and not competing at the event as a freshman.
After winning three-straight doubles contests Jimmy Bendeck and Will Little came up short against UCLA's Joseph Di Giulio and Karue Sell, 6-3, in the Sherwood doubles title match. The match was delayed nearly an hour due to rain in the area with the score tied 1-1.
The young BU duo, Benedeck is a true freshman and Little is a redshirt freshman, own a 5-3 overall record for the season, including a 7-5 upset over No. 42 Nolan Paige and Maciek Romanowicz of Stanford to reach the event finale.
NOTABLES
- Lenz, a native of Giessen, Germany, is now 5-2 overall, after dropping two matches in fall play and then suffering an injury.
- Lenz was the first Bear to play in the singles final since 2010 when Denes Lukacs fell in straight sets.
- It was the first time a Baylor doubles tandem had made the Sherwood final since 2011 (Roberto Maytin and John Peers).
- Baylor last won the doubles title at the event in 2008 when Attila Bucko and Lukacs took home trophy.
TOP QUOTE #1
"I am happy for Julian. He played really well all weekend. This was a significant step for him. He was hurt in the fall and to come out with the focus and professionalism and the hunger that he did was a great sign for him for the spring." - head coach Matt Knoll on Lenz
TOP QUOTE #2
"Julian has done a super job since he came back from the holiday of having the right mindset in practice. He has focused on the things he wants to work on and I think that is what set him up to play so well. It is amazing how when you apply yourself in practice that carries over to the matches." - Knoll on Lenz's preparation that led to success
TOP QUOTE #3
"Jimmy and Will were a blast. They were the stars of the tournament in terms of their energy and enthusiasm. They came out and competed hard. They brought the team aspect to doubles, which I think some people take for granted. They pumped each other up and brought out the best in each other. It was a really highlight of the tournament for us." - Knoll on the doubles duo of Jimmy Bendeck and Will Little
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will now begin its 2016 dual-match season Saturday by hosting UC Irvine at 12 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center.
That match is part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, which will also bring Oregon and Old Dominion to Waco to play on Saturday as part of a four-team tournament. The winners of Saturday's matches will come back the following day on Sunday, Jan. 24 to play for a berth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. Baylor is one of 15 men's host sites around the country for the Kick-Off Weekend.
Follow the official Twitter and Instagram accounts of the team: @BaylorMTennis for an inside look with results, photos and stories.
