No. 8 MT Set For Big 12 Championship

Saturday, April 20

Lawrence, Kan.

12:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

Oklahoma State (Semifinals)

No. 8 MT Set For Big 12 Championship

4/18/2019 12:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Bears facing sixth-seeded OSU in Saturday's semifinals

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Two weeks after shutting out Oklahoma State, 7-0, on Senior Day, the eighth-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis team (20-4) will face the Cowboys (15-10) again at noon Saturday in the Big 12 Championship semifinals in Lawrence, Kan.
            Seeded sixth and ranked 32^nd, OSU avenged a 4-1 loss to TCU by knocking off the seventh-ranked and third-seeded Horned Frogs, 4-2, Friday in the tournament quarterfinals at the University of Kansas.
            "Every team in the Big 12 is so competitive," Baylor coach Brian Boland said, "that on any given day if you're not ready to compete, that's going to be a big challenge. We have to be ready to go (Saturday). Oklahoma State is a great team, and we're looking forward to the match."
            Considering the outcome of the first meeting, at least at first glance, it would look like a mismatch. But, that's where the 7-0 final score is extremely deceiving. Five of the six singles matches went to three sets, including a Court 4 battle between Baylor senior Will Little and OSU's Mathieu Scaglia that was decided by a super tiebreaker after they split tiebreakers in the first two sets.
            Sophomore Matej Vocel is the Cowboys' only ranked singles player at No. 48, but he upset third-ranked Alex Rybakov, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, in the pivotal match in Friday's win over TCU.
            Baylor's top four singles players are all ranked, with seniors Johannes Schretter and Little at 27^thand 76^th, respectively, sophomore Matias Soto at 49^thand freshman Adrian Boitan checking in at No. 111. Additionally, senior Jimmy Bendeck and sophomore Sven Lah have been ranked No. 1 in doubles for the last five weeks.
            "Both teams are highly competitive in doubles, so certainly I think that will be important for us to come out with a lot of energy and play well in doubles," Boland said. "We've been playing our best tennis of the season right now, so I'm really pleased with where we are. We've prepared well, and we just need to go out and leave it on the court."
            The Bears fell two spots in the ITA rankings after last Sunday's 4-3 loss at Texas Tech, where the two teams split in four three-set singles matches and it was ultimately decided by Baylor losing the doubles point for just the fifth time this year.
            "Texas Tech is certainly one of the most challenging places in the country to play, in terms of the conditions," Boland said. "But, to give Tech credit, they played a good match. I was pleased with our overall performance, we just came up a little bit short. It's tough to play on the road, but we've continued to improve and I'm really pleased with where are at this point of the season. It's our goal to play our best tennis now, and I believe that's what is happening."
            With the NCAA tournament format changed this year, sending only eight teams to the final site in Orlando, Fla., Baylor is "right at the bubble" for a top-8 seed that would allow the Bears to host the first three rounds.
            A win over a lower-ranked OSU team might not help the computer rankings, but Baylor could potentially face top-seeded and second-ranked Texas (22-2) in Sunday's 1 p.m. final at the Jayhawk Tennis Center. The Longhorns play 25^th-ranked and fourth-seeded Oklahoma (15-9) in Saturday's other semifinal.
            "I think it can only help to get some quality wins," Boland said. "But, more important than that, we just want to give it everything we have and compete at the highest level and leave it on the court. They're all good teams, and we're going to have to play great."
            Baylor is trying to make the Big 12 Championship final for the 16^thtime in the 23-year history of the league. Last year, the fifth-seeded Bears upset 17^th-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 7 TCU before losing to Texas, 4-1, in the championship match on the Longhorns' new courts in Austin.
            Live scoring and video streaming for the matches are available at big12sports.com.

WACO, Texas -- The eighth-ranked and No. 2 seed Baylor men's tennis team will open its 2019 Big 12 Championship run Saturday afternoon at the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kan.

BU (20-4, 3-2 Big 12) will play its semifinal match against tNo. 6 seed Oklahoma State (15-10, 1-4) at noon CT. Top-seeded and second-ranked Texas (22-2, 5-0) faces fifth-seeded and 25th-ranked Oklahoma (15-9, 1-4) in Saturday's other semifinal.

Live scoring of the matches will be available for via links on BaylorBears.com. Each match will have a live video stream on Big12Sports.com.

BAYLOR IN BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY
The Bears have produced a 38-14 record overall in Big 12 Championship play. Baylor has been at the top of the championship podium eight times. BU has won the event four out of the last 12 years and earned four straight titles from 2002-05. The Bears have made the finals 15 times, including in five of the last seven seasons. They are 8-7 in title matches.

LAST YEAR AT THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
The 23rd-ranked and No. 5 seed Bears entered the 2018 Big 12 Championship and blew past No. 4 seed Oklahoma State, 4-0, in quarterfinal action. Then, the Bears upended top-seeded TCU, 4-2, in the semifinals to advance to the championship final for the 15^th time. The Bears fell to second-seeded and host Texas, 4-1, despite a singles win from Johannes Schretter.

WHEN BEING THE NO. 2 SEED
The Bears have been the event's No. 2 seed on four other occasions: 1999, 2001, 2008 and 2015. In those years, Baylor has gone a combined 7-3, while winning the title in 2008 in College Station, Texas.

INDIVIDUAL STREAKS & TRENDS
Redshirt senior Will Little leads the team with a five-match winning streak in singles action, followed by sophomore Matias Soto with three consecutive singles matches won. The doubles tandem of senior Johannes Schretter and junior Constantin Frantzen head into the championship on a seven-match winning streak while senior Jimmy Bendeck and sophomore Sven Lah and are 8-2 in their last 10 matches.

TEAM STREAKS & TRENDS
Baylor is 19-5 in doubles points this season. BU is 17-2 when winning and 2-3 when dropping the opening point in 2019.

BU heads into the weekend with a 5-2 neutral site record with its last win over then-No. 16 USC in a 4-2 decision in Indian Wells, Calif. on March 17. Baylor is 12-4 against ranked opponents this season with its highest ranked win coming on Feb. 16 against then-No. 3 Mississippi State at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago, Ill.

LOOKING AHEAD
A Baylor victory in the semifinal round of the conference championship will advance the Bears to the finals for the 16th time in the event's 23rd year. BU would then face either No. 1 Texas or No. 4 Oklahoma.

RANKED BEARS
Senior Johannes Schretter leads the Bears in the latest ITA singles rankings at No. 27, and sophomore Matias Soto checks in at No. 49. Redshirt senior Will Little is No. 76, and freshman Adrian Boitan checks in at No. 111. Senior Jimmy Bendeck and sophomore Sven Lah are the top-ranked doubles team in the country for the fifth-straight week.

LAST MATCH OUT
Baylor ended its regular season with a 4-3 loss to then-No. 23 Texas Tech in Lubbock, snapping an undefeated doubles season in conference play and pushing the Bears to 0-2 in Big 12 road action. BU got off to a slow start in both doubles, and three Bears prevailed in singles action before the Red Raiders closed out the match.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
The Bears swept then-No. 34 Oklahoma State, 7-0, on Senior Day in Waco.

• Baylor is 9-0 against Oklahoma State at the Big 12 Championship. Last time these two teams met in the tournament, BU took a 4-0 decision over the Cowboys in 2018.
• Baylor leads the all-time series against Oklahoma State, 28-11.
• The Bears are 4-3 against the Cowboys since 2015.

FOLLOW ALONG
A full recap and results will be posted after the conclusion of the match on www.BaylorBears.com. Live scoring and a live video stream links are available for the match on the schedule page at BaylorBears.com.

Fans can also follow the team's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account for live coverage: @BaylorMTennis.