LAWRENCE, KS — No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Baylor men’s tennis (22-4) won the doubles point and never looked back in its 4-1 victory over No. 2 Texas (23-3) in the Big 12 Championship final Sunday afternoon at the indoor courts of the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kan.
Baylor won its ninth Big 12 tournament title and 22nd conference title overall in the 23-year history of the league. BU’s ninth tournament crown came under first-year head coach Brian Boland.
BU came out firing to open the match. Johannes Schretter and Constantin Frantzen took a 6-2 win over Chi Chi Huang and Yuya Ito at the No. 3 spot, and then Matias Soto and Will Little clinched the opening point with a 6-4 victory over Colin Markes and Leonardo Telles on court two.
Texas won its only point of the match when No. 76 Will Little fell 6-4, 6-2 to No. 53 Harrison Scott on court four. Then, the Bears started rolling when Sven Lah took a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Colin Markes at the No. 5 spot.
No. 49 Soto earned his second top-10 ranked win of the season when he took down No. 7 Yuya Ito at the No. 2 spot, 7-5, 7-6(4).
No. 111 Adrian Boitan, later named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Performer, clinched the match when he recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 73 Leonardo Telles on court three.
To keep up with things all season long, follow the team on social media: @BaylorMTennis.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The Bears captured their ninth postseason title in program history to make it 22 Big 12 overall titles (13 regular season, 9 tournament).
• Baylor improves to 22-44 all-time against Texas and snapped a four-match losing streak to the Longhorns.
• Baylor is now 4-3 against Texas in the Big 12 Championship final.
• The Bears are now 40-14 overall and 9-7 in final matches at the Big 12 Championship.
• BU improves to 14-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor is now 20-6 in the doubles point and 17-3 when winning the opening point this season.
• Adrian Boitan was named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player. He is the first Baylor freshman to earn the honor and only second overall in Big 12 Championship history.
• Sven Lah improves to 20-3 in spring singles play.
• Boitan improves to 13-4 in spring singles action.
• Matias Soto won his eighth match over a ranked opponent this season and improves to 18-4 in spring singles play.
• Soto beat his second top-10 opponent of the season and second-highest ranked foe in his career.
• Baylor won its first conference title under first-year head coach Brian Boland.
• Boland won his 32nd career conference title (16 regular season, 16 tournament titles).
STAT OF THE MATCH
9 – the number of Big 12 Championship tournament titles for Baylor men’s tennis.
TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win…
"Congratulations to Texas. They have had a great season. They will certainly be ready for the NCAA's just like we will. The Big 12 is one of, if not the strongest conference in the country. Everybody can play. We knew that today we were going to come out and have a battle. I am just proud of our guys. They definitely deserve this championship. These players have embraced everything we have asked of them, and I could not be more proud of them; in particular the three seniors who have done so much for our program. This is their first Big 12 Championship title and I am just happy for them. Certainly, it is nice to see our freshman come through for us in the end. That guy (Adrian Boitan) is a warrior and it was well deserving that he finished the match."
TOP QUOTE #2
Freshman Adrian Boitan
On clinching the match…
“This has been the best year of my life coming here at Baylor, playing in college. We are the most prepared team in the country and it showed today. I went into the last shot with no regrets and it was amazing clinching the win for us.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor awaits its seeding in the 2019 NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship. The NCAA selection show airs on Monday, April 29 at 5 p.m. CT.
