INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – The 21st-ranked Baylor men's tennis team dropped its second-straight match at the BNP Paribas Collegiate Challenge Presented by Oracle with a 4-1 loss to No. 14 California Saturday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Baylor (11-6) dropped the doubles point for the sixth time this season, moving the team to 2-4 when losing the opening point.
The Bears jumped out to an early doubles advantage after junior Max Tchoutakian and freshman Tommy Podvinski took a 6-2 victory over Andre Goransson and Billy Griffith at the No. 2 spot.
Then, senior Felipe Rios and freshman Jimmy Bendeck dropped a 6-3 decision on court three, leaving the point to be decided on court one for the second-straight day.
This time, the 12th-ranked duo of senior Julian Lenz and redshirt freshman Will Little fell 7-5 to Filip Bergevi and Florian Lakat to give the doubles point to California (8-2). The loss snapped a nine-match winning streak for the duo dating back to Jan. 29.
BU fought back in singles with the 17th-ranked Lenz tying up the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 31 Lakat. His singles victory was the 104th of his career, moving up to No. 7 in the Baylor all-time singles records.
Seconds later, Little fell 6-1, 6-2 to Bergevi at the No. 4 spot, giving California the lead again.
Rios dropped a 6-3, 6-0 loss to No. 10 Goransson on court three, and Baylor faced a 3-1 deficit with three matches left.
Podvinski forced a third set at the bottom of the lineup, and Bendeck was one game away from a singles win over No. 52 Oscar Wikberg before California clinched the match on court two.
No. 56 Tchoutakian overcame an early deficit to force a third set, but dropped a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 decision to end the match.
NOTABLES
• Baylor now leads the all-time series against the Golden Bears, 5-2.
• Julian Lenz and Will Little lost their second doubles match of the year, moving their record to 10-2.
• Julian Lenz’s singles victory moves him to No. 7 in Baylor’s all-time singles wins (104). He is now tied with Matias Marin.
• Baylor is now 2-4 after dropping the doubles point.
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor plays its final match of the BNP Paribas Collegiate Challenge against No. 12 USC Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. The match is slated for a 12 p.m. CT start.
