WACO, Texas – The 45th-ranked Baylor men's tennis team finished its 2016 non-conference schedule with two dominating wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Waco.
Baylor (14-9, 1-1 Big 12) earned a 7-0 win in the morning leg of the doubleheader at the Hurd Tennis Center. Due to weather, the Bears headed to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center for the afternoon match and added a 6-0 victory.
MATCH ONE
The Bears jumped out to an early doubles advantage after junior Tyler Stayer and sophomore Sam May earned a 6-1 win at the No. 3 spot. Freshmen Jimmy Bendeck and Tommy Podvinski clinched the opening point with a 6-0 win on court two. Seniors Julian Lenz and Felipe Rios earned the doubles sweep for the Bears, winning 6-1 on court one.
May and Stayer got off the court quickly in singles play, each earning 6-0, 6-0 wins at the No. 5 and 6 spots. Podvinski clinched the match with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Hanif Fudaeel on court four.
Playing the matches out, Rios then captured a 6-0, 6-0 triumph at the No. 2 spot. Bendeck followed shortly thereafter with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Khusto Ledwaba on court three.
To complete the sweep, 14th-ranked Lenz took a 6-3, 6-1 win over Sajid Rahman at the top of the lineup.
MATCH TWO
Moving the match indoors, Baylor and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-24) played singles to begin the second leg of the doubleheader. Doubles matches were not played.
Stayer was the first one off the court, collecting a 6-0, 6-0 win at the No. 6 spot. Then, 14th-ranked Lenz took a 6-0, 6-1 win over Simon Lewis on court two.
Coming seconds apart, three Bears helped clinch their third-straight win in Waco. Bendeck tallied the fourth point with a 6-0, 6-0 victory on court three. Rios earned a 6-0, 6-0 win over Rahman at the top of the lineup, followed by Podvinski’s 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Ledwaba at the No. 3 spot.
May earned the Bears’ clean sweep with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Myles Adams at the No. 5 spot.
NOTABLES
• Baylor and Arkansas-Pine Bluff met for the first time in program history. BU now leads the all-time series against the Golden Lions, 2-0.
• Baylor finishes its home campaign with a 13-4 record in 2016. All losses came to top 30 teams: Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tulsa and Texas Tech.
• 14th-ranked Julian Lenz is now the winner of four straight singles matches, giving him 109 career singles wins.
• Baylor is now on a three-match winning streak.
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will conclude its 2016 regular season with a three-match road trip against Big 12 opponents. To begin the three-match slate, BU faces No. 9 Oklahoma on Friday at 6 p.m. in Norman, Okla.
