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By: Finn Bass

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. A fifth-year senior from Rock, Cornwall, United Kingdom, Finn Bass will graduate this month with a major in corporate communications and minor in business administration. With over 120 combined singles and doubles wins, Bass was part of the 2021 NCAA national runner-up team, has won three Big 12 championships and earned doubles All-America honors in 2022 with Sven Lah. This year, he is a captain for a Baylor men's tennis team that will play 17^th-ranked Florida State in the NCAA first round at 10 a.m. CT Friday in Columbia, S.C.:

I really can't believe that I am at this stage of writing my Champions' TriBUne article and that my time at Baylor is coming to an end. Coming to Baylor has been such an amazing journey, and I am extremely grateful for all the people that have positively impacted my life during my time here. I look forward to sharing a glimpse of my life before, during and after Baylor throughout this article. Thank you for reading.

Early Life

I was born just outside of London, United Kingdom. My family is very small and just consists of myself and my parents, Pat and Gary. I am extremely lucky to have two wonderful parents who have been my biggest supporters, and I wouldn't be where I am today without their love and sacrifices. Tennis was not something that actually ran in the family. My dad was a very talented athlete, but our first sporting love was football (and no, it is not called soccer). This was the first sport I fell in love with and, for a very long time, was what I wanted to pursue.

Tennis came into my life at the age of 4. I would walk past my local tennis club when going to nursery in the mornings, and as an energetic, adventurous child I said I wanted to have a go at it. Up until the age of 11, football was still my sporting priority. From 8 to 11 years old, I was signed to Ipswich Town Academy, where I played for them four times a week. I also played for West Ham United before that as well. The other three days of the week were for my tennis training. I would say that my true tennis journey began at 11 after suffering an injury that kept me out of football for three months, but fortunately I was still able to play tennis.

Tennis has enabled me to travel the world, build everlasting friendships and learn so many life lessons, but ultimately gave me the opportunity to come to Baylor.

Tennis Journey

I progressed very quickly in those three months and started to climb the national rankings, and this ultimately led to what is still to this day the biggest decision I have ever made in my life. I had to choose which sport I wanted to try and make a career out of, and there is no doubt in my mind that I made the correct decision. Over the many years to follow, I had a very successful junior career, winning multiple national championships, representing my country across multiple age groups and moving into the top 50 in the world for 18U. Tennis has given me more than I could have ever imagined. It has enabled me to travel the world, build everlasting friendships and learn so many life lessons, but ultimately gave me the opportunity to come to Baylor.

Coming to Baylor

After my junior career, I then played on the professional tour for a year or so, and I was doing well. But as anyone knows, getting up through the ranks of professional sport is incredibly hard, especially in tennis as a teenager. Once again, I was faced with another incredibly difficult decision, which was to either carry on playing professionally full-time or coming to a U.S. college. The recruiting process was challenging, because as an international student, you don't have much information on how the U.S. college system works and the whole magnitude of everything both athletically and academically. That made the decision process overwhelming at times. Again, I made another correct decision in deciding to come to Baylor. It just felt right. With the place, teammates and coaches, it felt like my home away from home.

Baylor Experience/Journey

It's safe to say my journey at Baylor has been one of the best experiences of my life, but it has had its ups and downs. I enrolled at Baylor in the Spring of 2019, but I was unfortunately deemed ineligible by the NCAA for a whole year until the Spring of 2020. This was a bitter pill to swallow since I am someone who loves to compete. I get through that tough first year and then start to find my groove as we begin the season in 2020. But, as we all know, that was taken away from us by the COVID pandemic. This was hard to process because I had a year and a half of competitive tennis taken away from me.

My sophomore season in 2021 was a memorable one. We accomplished so many great things as a team, reaching the #1 ranking, national indoor runners-up, Big 12 regular-season champions, Big 12 tournament champions and an unforgettable run to the NCAA Championship Final. Playing in an NCAA final is something thousands of student-athletes only dream about. To play in that environment, with the pressure, was something I will never forget.

Last year, my junior season was also a very memorable and successful season. We were Big 12 tournament champions again, winning it for the third-consecutive time. We won a ton of matches throughout the season and unfortunately came unstuck in the Elite 8 of NCAA's. On paper, that's a great achievement. But for us, this was a huge disappointment. That simply shows what the Baylor Men's Tennis program is all about and the standards and goals that we set for ourselves.

I saw my injury as an opportunity to grow in other areas, even during a time of struggle.

In my final season, it has been a huge privilege to be captain of the team alongside my doubles partner, Juampi (Grassi Mazzuchi). Being in this leadership role has been a great learning experience and has helped me develop as a leader both on and off the court. Away from the tennis court, I also had another leadership role in being the president of our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), which has been impactful on me in so many ways. It has been really special to be in a position where myself and other student-athletes can come together and work with the Baylor Athletics' executive team to keep improving the student-athlete experience at Baylor.

This last year on court has been tougher than expected. I had a really positive fall semester, winning the ITA Texas Regional singles championship and making it to the doubles semifinals at ITA Fall Nationals with Juampi. So, I was heading into the spring season full of confidence. Unfortunately, I got hurt fairly early where I ended up tearing one of my abdominal muscles, which sidelined me for about seven weeks. This certainly was not how I envisioned my final semester going, but these things happen in sport. I saw it as an opportunity to grow in other areas, even during a time of struggle. The team and I are now looking to make a big final push as we head into NCAA's this week.

Being in this leadership role has been a great learning experience and has helped me develop as a leader both on and off the court.

What Baylor Taught me and Career after Baylor

There is no doubt that Baylor University is one of the best all-around institutions in the country, and I am so lucky to be a Baylor Bear for life. It sounds cliché, but you really do walk in as a boy and leave as a man. There are countless things that I learned during my time here, but I can say with full confidence that Baylor has prepared me for all walks of life. Post-graduation, I look forward to continuing my tennis journey and will be going back on the pro tour, so I am excited to see what the near future holds.

I want to finish this off by giving thanks to everyone who has been part of my journey and impacted me in so many ways. I greatly appreciate all of the professors I have had and the way they have made my academic experience second to none. Coaches and staff, thank you for all of your hard work in pushing me each day to become a better tennis player and person. It has been such a privilege to play for you all. And lastly, to my teammates – past and present – the friendships I have made with you all are for life, and I am so grateful for the everlasting memories that I have been able to make with each and every one of you.

Playing in an NCAA Final is something thousands of student-athletes only dream about. To play in that environment was something I will never forget.

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Players Mentioned

Finn Bass

Sven Lah

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READY FOR WHAT’S NEXT

Players Mentioned

Finn Bass

Sven Lah

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