WACO, TX — Sixth-seeded Baylor men’s tennis (23-5) used a strong doubles point and a brief weather delay and venue change to wrap up a 4-0 sweep over No. 42 Utah (17-12) in the NCAA First Round Friday at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center in Waco.
Opening the NCAA Tournament for the first time against a Power Five opponent in Waco, Baylor improved to 29-1 in home postseason matches and 20-2 all-time in the first round.
The Bears got the quick lead in doubles play behind a 6-1 win from Johannes Schretter and Constantin Frantzen at the No. 3 spot. Then, the top-ranked duo of Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah captured the opening point with a 6-4 victory on court one.
In singles play, the Bears were pushed to three first-set tiebreakers at the top three spots. BU came away with five first sets before inclement weather pushed the match indoors.
76th-ranked Lah got things started at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Mathias Gavelin at the No. 5 spot. Then, 20th-ranked Schretter took a 7-6(2), 6-2 win over No. 45 Dan Little at the top of the lineup.
112th-ranked Adrian Boitan clinched the victory for the third match in a row when he took a 7-6(4), 6-2 win against Slava Shainyan on court three.
