Complete Results | Postgame

ATHENS, Ga. -- The 35th-ranked Baylor men's tennis team upset No. 22 Florida State, 4-3, in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Championships Saturday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

The win advanced Baylor (16-13) to the second round of the national tournament for the 15th-straight season and 17th-time overall in program history.

Senior Felipe Rios provided the match-clinching point at the No. 3 singles position as he shook off a close loss in a first-set tiebreaker to force a third set. Rios rolled to a big second-set win, 6-2, and took a 4-0 lead in the third set.

After a late run by Florida State's Michael Rinaldi to close the gap, Rios took the next two games to win, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3, and sent BU to the second round.

Prior to the dramatic finish, Baylor got off to a slow start in doubles play. Senior Julian Lenz and junior Tyler Stayer dropped a 6-0 loss to Jose Gracia and Terrance Whitehurst on court three to give FSU an early advantage.

Junior Max Tchoutakian and freshman Tommy Podvinski were in the midst of a tiebreaker on court one, trailing 6-2, before FSU's Aziz Dougaz and Rinaldi took a 6-4 win over senior Felipe Rios and freshman Jimmy Bendeck on court two.

With Florida State (18-9) leading 1-0 early, No. 91 Max Tchoutakian tied up the score with a 6-1, 6-4 upset victory over No. 76 Marco Nunez at the No. 2 position.

The Seminoles took a 2-1 lead when Stayer fell 6-1, 6-4 to Whitehurst on court six, but BU would tie it up again with No. 12 Lenz's 6-2, 7-6(4) upset win over No. 11 Benjamin Lock at the top of the lineup.

The Bears took the 3-2 lead after Bendeck shook off a 7-6(1) first-set loss and rolled to a 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Dougaz on court four.

Florida State's Gracia downed Podvinski 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 on court five to determine the match at the No. 3 spot and tie the team score at 3-3.

NOTABLES
- Baylor advances to the NCAA second round for the 15th-straight season and 17th-time overall under head coach Matt Knoll.
- Baylor now leads Florida State 3-1 in the all-time series, including 3-0 mark under Knoll with wins in 2006, 2012 and 2016.
- Julian Lenz's upset victory gave him his 14th win over a ranked opponent this season, stretching his singles win streak to nine matches.
- Baylor is now 3-8 this season after dropping the doubles point.
- Felipe Rios improves his singles record to 17-11 and 14-8 in dual-match play.

TOP QUOTE #1
"They really knocked us back on our heels (in doubles), but I thought the guys responded well. We fought for everything that we could get. I'm really proud of the effort. Felipe lost a first set, but came back and really turned it around. He did a great job clinching. Jimmy was great on four court. Florida State has a heck of a team and fought us really hard. We were lucky to win." --head coach Matt Knoll on the victory

TOP QUOTE #2
"It was a tough match and I knew it was going to be tough. The coaches told me that the guy was tough and plays a game that I don't like that much. He plays very flat. I found a way even though I lost the first set." -- senior Felipe Rios on his three-set win

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will face the winner of No. 7 Georgia and South Carolina State Sunday at noon CT in Athens, Ga. for a spot in the NCAA Round of 16. The Bears are 16-0 in the NCAA second round.

Live scoring and live video for the match will be available on GeorgiaDogs.com, along with live updates on Baylor's official Twitter feed: @BaylorMTennis.

By Cody Soto
Baylor Bear Foundation

ATHENS, Ga. -- Senior Felipe Rios shined in the spotlight of adversity Saturday, giving a big-time boost for the 35th-ranked Baylor men's tennis team against Florida State.

But it wasn't the first time Rios had been in a match-clinching situation. He was the final match on in the team's matchups against then-No. 20 Ole Miss and then-No. 26 Tulsa, but he wasn't so fortunate in those contests. He ultimately fell in a third set during each contest.

This time, Rios scratched the record books as he helped Baylor (16-13) clinch a dramatic 4-3 win over the 22nd-ranked Seminoles in the first round of the NCAA Championships at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The win sends the Bears to the NCAA second round for the 15th-straight year and 17th-time overall under head coach Matt Knoll.

Ultimately, Rios used the support from the small-but-mighty Baylor crowd to clinch the victory. It was very important to him to hear the "Let's go Baylor" chants in Athens, he said.

"I think that's why I ended up winning because in that situation, you get a little nervous," Rios said. "You need that extra support, and they gave me that. It helped me out a lot."

It all ended on a wide FSU volley, showing how slim the margins were from winning and losing.

"We kind of felt like (Felipe) was just trying to be more consistent," Knoll said. "(Rinaldi) was taking a little more risks than Felipe, so he was a little more up and down. (Felipe) did a super job of staying the course."

Rios' 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 singles win put a dramatic end to a match that started out shaky for the Bears (16-13), making their 19th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

In doubles, senior Julian Lenz and junior Tyler Stayer were shut out by FSU's Jose Gracia and Terrance Whitehurst, 6-0, at the No. 3 spot, and the comeback for Rios and freshman Jimmy Bendeck fell short on court two as they fell 6-4 to give the Seminoles (18-9) a 1-0 lead.

Junior Max Tchoutakian and freshman Tommy Podvinski were in the midst of a tiebreaker battle before the match was suspended.

"We came out and got our butts kicked in the doubles," Knoll said. "They really knocked us back on our heels (in doubles), but I thought the guys responded well."

Showing how evenly matched the teams were, they split the first set on the six singles courts. The 94th-ranked Tchoutakian then rolled through his second set as he took a big 6-1, 6-4 upset win against No. 76 Marco Nunez on court two to put the Bears on the board.

"I think we all knew that we could win," Rios said. "Even though they have a better ranking than us, we knew we were better than them."

Stayer put up a big fight in his second set on court six, but ultimately dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision to Whitehurst to give the Seminoles the 2-1 lead with five singles matches remaining.

The 12th-ranked Lenz then held off a very gritty Benjamin Lock from a third set, earning a 6-2, 7-6(4) triumph over the 11th-ranked Seminole at No. 1 to tie up the match again, 2-2.

Bendeck put the Bears on the brink of victory, pulling out a 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2 over Aziz Dougaz on court four, but Podvinski's 7-5, 4-6, 2-6 loss at No. 5 knotted it back up at 3-3.

It was then all down to Rios, and he did not disappoint the BU hopeful this time.

"We have very tough players here at every spot, and (we) showed it today," Rios said. "We lost the doubles point, but we still won four singles (matches). We came and we beat them. We got the job done."

Baylor now faces No. 7 Georgia in the NCAA second round at noon CDT Sunday for a spot in the NCAA Round of 16 in Tulsa, Okla. While it's obviously a very big match, Knoll wasn't worried about the Bulldogs after the team's victory over the Seminoles.

"Right now, we're going to think about getting stretched out and getting some food," Knoll said. "We'll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow comes."