Saturday, May 2
Waco, Texas
6 p.m.
Baylor
4
vs
1
Auburn
No. 11 MT Secures Hosting Spot in Sweet 16
5/2/2026 9:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Bears take down No. 22 Auburn, 4-1
WACO, Texas – No. 11 Baylor men's tennis clinched a hosting spot for the NCAA Super Regionals with a 4-1 win over No. 22 Auburn on Saturday night at the Hurd Tennis Center.
10th-seeded Baylor (24-9) secured the doubles point before picking up singles victories from Luc Koenig, Devin Badenhorst and Alexandru Chirita to clinch a 4-1 win over Auburn (17-11). The Bears controlled the match throughout, winning five first sets in singles on its way to advancing to the super regional round.
THE RUNDOWN
Starting in doubles, Chirita and Zsombor Velcz upset the 11th-ranked Blaydes brothers 6-3 on Court One. Quickly following, Badenhorst and Calvin Baierl secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Auburn's Kennedy and Nasridinov on Court Three.
In singles, the Bears never trailed in momentum, taking the first set on five of six courts. Luc Koenig got the Bears started with a 6-1, 6-2 win on Court Two, giving Baylor a 2-0 lead. Next, No. 10 Badenhorst took down No. 22 Nasriddinov, 6-3, 6-4 on Court One to earn a top-25 ranked win. Auburn's No. 78 Billy Blaydes responded with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 51 Zsombor Velcz on Court Three, making the score 3-1 BU. However, just as quickly as Auburn took Court Two, Chirita punched Baylor's ticket to the Super Regionals with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Freddy Blaydes on Court Four.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Tonight's match marked Baylor's third all-time meeting with Auburn and the first since 2014. With the win, Baylor improved to 38-1 when hosting postseason matches. The Bears also moved to 21-3 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bears will host and advance to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2022.
FROM HEAD COACH MICHAEL WOODSON
On Pepperdine being the next opponent…
"I love those guys. We've competed with them the last couple years over in Indian Wells and they just do such a great job as a coaching staff. Congrats to them. It's an amazing honor to make the round of 16 for that program, and to get to play another match at home is everything that we could have wanted."
On the message to the team after the win tonight…
"For me, it's onto the next thing. We're going to celebrate this until dinner's over, and then we're going to start getting ready for the next match. Like I said last night, we're not in this to participate. We're here to win the tournament. I thought our guys took another step forward and did a really good job tonight."
FROM ALEXANDRU CHIRITA
On the feeling of clinching both a double and singles point tonight…
"Putting the first one on the board and the last point on the board is always a good feeling, but I try to not focus on that as much, obviously. I saw that I was about to clinch before Louis, but I try to stay focused on every point as well. You just enjoy the moment when it happens, but we're going to keep working on some stuff later."
On what he tells himself before crucial plays…
"I was down 5-3 and I tried to work on some confidence. I said, "I'm big in these moments. I'm going to matter. It's going to matter. My plays are going to matter in this situation. So, I broke and since I broke, I knew I could hold and see."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will host No. 27 Pepperdine in the Sweet Sixteen next Friday, May 8, at 6 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center with a spot to the NCAA Quarterfinals on the line.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #69 Chirita/Velcz (BU) def. #11 Blaydes/Blaydes (AUB), 6-3
2. #89 Koenig/Van Schalkwyk (BU) vs. Heng/Phillips (AUB), 6-5, unfinished
3. Badenhorst/Baierl (BU) def. Kennedy/Nasridinov (AUB), 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1. #10 Devin Badenhorst (BU) def. #22 Hamza Nasridinov (AUB), 6-3, 6-4
2. #78 Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. #51 Zsombor Velcz (BU), 6-3, 6-4
3. #53 Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU) vs. Nicholas Heng (AUB), 6-3, 4-6, unfinished
4. Alexandru Chirita (BU) def. Freddy Blaydes (AUB), 6-2, 7-5
5. Luc Koenig (BU) def. Alan Bojarski (AUB), 6-3, 6-2
6. Louis Bowden (BU) vs. Manel Lazaro (AUB), 6-1, 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 4
- BaylorBears.com -
10th-seeded Baylor (24-9) secured the doubles point before picking up singles victories from Luc Koenig, Devin Badenhorst and Alexandru Chirita to clinch a 4-1 win over Auburn (17-11). The Bears controlled the match throughout, winning five first sets in singles on its way to advancing to the super regional round.
THE RUNDOWN
Starting in doubles, Chirita and Zsombor Velcz upset the 11th-ranked Blaydes brothers 6-3 on Court One. Quickly following, Badenhorst and Calvin Baierl secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Auburn's Kennedy and Nasridinov on Court Three.
In singles, the Bears never trailed in momentum, taking the first set on five of six courts. Luc Koenig got the Bears started with a 6-1, 6-2 win on Court Two, giving Baylor a 2-0 lead. Next, No. 10 Badenhorst took down No. 22 Nasriddinov, 6-3, 6-4 on Court One to earn a top-25 ranked win. Auburn's No. 78 Billy Blaydes responded with a 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 51 Zsombor Velcz on Court Three, making the score 3-1 BU. However, just as quickly as Auburn took Court Two, Chirita punched Baylor's ticket to the Super Regionals with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Freddy Blaydes on Court Four.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Tonight's match marked Baylor's third all-time meeting with Auburn and the first since 2014. With the win, Baylor improved to 38-1 when hosting postseason matches. The Bears also moved to 21-3 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bears will host and advance to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2022.
FROM HEAD COACH MICHAEL WOODSON
On Pepperdine being the next opponent…
"I love those guys. We've competed with them the last couple years over in Indian Wells and they just do such a great job as a coaching staff. Congrats to them. It's an amazing honor to make the round of 16 for that program, and to get to play another match at home is everything that we could have wanted."
On the message to the team after the win tonight…
"For me, it's onto the next thing. We're going to celebrate this until dinner's over, and then we're going to start getting ready for the next match. Like I said last night, we're not in this to participate. We're here to win the tournament. I thought our guys took another step forward and did a really good job tonight."
FROM ALEXANDRU CHIRITA
On the feeling of clinching both a double and singles point tonight…
"Putting the first one on the board and the last point on the board is always a good feeling, but I try to not focus on that as much, obviously. I saw that I was about to clinch before Louis, but I try to stay focused on every point as well. You just enjoy the moment when it happens, but we're going to keep working on some stuff later."
On what he tells himself before crucial plays…
"I was down 5-3 and I tried to work on some confidence. I said, "I'm big in these moments. I'm going to matter. It's going to matter. My plays are going to matter in this situation. So, I broke and since I broke, I knew I could hold and see."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will host No. 27 Pepperdine in the Sweet Sixteen next Friday, May 8, at 6 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center with a spot to the NCAA Quarterfinals on the line.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #69 Chirita/Velcz (BU) def. #11 Blaydes/Blaydes (AUB), 6-3
2. #89 Koenig/Van Schalkwyk (BU) vs. Heng/Phillips (AUB), 6-5, unfinished
3. Badenhorst/Baierl (BU) def. Kennedy/Nasridinov (AUB), 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3
Singles
1. #10 Devin Badenhorst (BU) def. #22 Hamza Nasridinov (AUB), 6-3, 6-4
2. #78 Billy Blaydes (AUB) def. #51 Zsombor Velcz (BU), 6-3, 6-4
3. #53 Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU) vs. Nicholas Heng (AUB), 6-3, 4-6, unfinished
4. Alexandru Chirita (BU) def. Freddy Blaydes (AUB), 6-2, 7-5
5. Luc Koenig (BU) def. Alan Bojarski (AUB), 6-3, 6-2
6. Louis Bowden (BU) vs. Manel Lazaro (AUB), 6-1, 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 4
- BaylorBears.com -
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Hamza Nasridinov / 0 (22/-) [AUB]
34
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Billy Blaydes / 0 (78/-) [AUB]
66
34
#3 Singles Match
123
Nicholas Heng / 0 [AUB]
36UF
64UF
#4 Singles Match
12
Freddy Blaydes / 0 [AUB]
25
67
#5 Singles Match
12
Alan Bojarski / 0 [AUB]
32
66
#6 Singles Match
123
Manel Lazaro / 0 [AUB]
13UF
64UF
Order of Finish:
5,1,2,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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