ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Baylor men’s tennis (5-0) used strong play in singles action to upend No. 24 Michigan, 4-1, in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend championship match Sunday at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Bears improved to 18-0 all-time in ITA Kick-Off Weekend matches and advance to next month’s ITA National Indoor Team Championships in Chicago, Ill. Baylor has advanced to the national event in all nine seasons it has competed in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
The match didn’t start in the Bears’ favor though. Despite Will Little and Constantin Frantzen securing a 6-4 doubles victory over Patrick Maloney and Myles Schalet at the No. 3 spot, the Bears dropped the opening point for the first time this season with losses at the No. 1 and 2 spots.
First, Jimmy Bendeck and Johannes Schretter fell 6-3 to 35th-ranked Mattias Siimar and Andrew Fenty on court two, and then Roy Smith and Sven Lah dropped a close 7-6(5) decision to Connor Johnston and Harrison Brown at the top of the lineup.
With Michigan up 1-0, the Bears stormed back and got on the board with 17th-ranked Little’s 7-6(9), 6-0 win over Myles Schalet at the No. 3 spot. Then, the Bears took the lead with Matias Soto’s 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory against Connor Johnston on court four.
Baylor went up 3-1 after Lah outlasted Patrick Maloney, 6-4, 7-6(4) at the No. 5 spot, and then 33rd-ranked Schretter closed out the match with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Andrew Fenty on court two.
