WACO, Texas – The second-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis team opened up its NCAA Championship run by shutting out Bryant, 4-0, Friday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
The Bears (22-5) rebounded from a loss in their last match out with a dominant performance over the Bulldogs (8-12).
In doubles action, No. 8 Julian Lenz and Diego Galeano won their 17th-straight match with an 8-0 victory over Matt Kuhar and Josh Kliger on court one.
Vince Schneider and Felipe Rios then produced an 8-2 triumph over Max Vogt and Luke Lorenz at the No. 3 spot to give BU the opening point of the match.
BU continued the near perfect play in singles, getting wins on courts six, three and five, after claiming all six first sets.
First, Rios made quick work of Jorge Ortiz-Garcia with a 6-0, 6-0 win on court six. The sophomore Bear has now won eight of his last nine matches.
Secondly, the 58th-ranked Max Tchoutakian defeated Lorenz, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 3 spot.
Finally, senior Mate Zsiga, ranked No. 116, bested Vogt, 6-0, 6-1, on court five. The victory was Zsiga's 10th win in his last 11 decisions. Zsiga moved into a tie for sixth with Matias Marin on the Baylor career singles wins list with 104 victories.
STAT OF THE DAY
14 - the number of consecutive years BU has advanced to the second round of NCAA play
NOTABLES
- Baylor surrendered only four games to the Bulldogs in doubles and singles.
- It was Baylor's 13th shutout of the season.
- Baylor has won 28 matches by 4-0 scores in the NCAA Championships.
- BU is now 16-2 all-time in NCAA first round matches.
- Baylor is 49-16 all-time in NCAA play.
- Baylor is 12-2 at home this season, and improved to 23-0 in NCAA Championship play when hosting.
- Baylor advanced to the NCAA second round for the 14th straight season and the 16th time overall.
- In its previous 15 trips to the NCAA second round, BU is 15-0.
- Baylor improved to 24-2 in the doubles point this season.
- Baylor now leads the all-time series against Bryant, 1-0.
TOP QUOTE
“I thought it was really just wonderful getting to the tournament, and I thought their guys competed hard. I was impressed with Bryant's team, their guys came out and meant business, played hard and competed hard on every point. The thing that's tough about tennis is that you can win 3 points a game and still not win a set in the match. It looks like it's not that close, but it actually is pretty close. We just won the close games and that's a credit to our guys, they were working hard, and this was a good match for us." – head coach Matt Knoll on the match
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears continue NCAA Championship play on Saturday when they face No. 29 LSU at 5 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center. The winner of Saturday's match will advance to the NCAA Round of 16 that will be held in Waco.
