No. 4 Baylor Men's Tennis Sharp in 4-0 Win Over Texas

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – February 12, 2021

No. 4 MT Sharp in 4-0 Win Over Texas
BU advances to semifinals of ITA National Team Indoor Championship against USC/Illinois
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 4 Baylor men’s tennis (10-1) eased past No. 5 Texas (7-2) Friday evening with a 4-0 sweep in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

The Bears advanced to the semifinals where they’ll take on either top-seeded USC or host team Illinois Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. CT in Champaign, Ill.

This is BU’s first opening-round victory and trip to the semifinals of the national event since 2015.

In a tightly contested doubles point, the Longhorns struck first as Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab defeated No. 10 Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah 6-4 on the top court. However, the Bears answered with wins on courts two and three to secure the point. Charlie Broom/Matias Soto grabbed a 6-4 over Payton Holden/Chih Chi Huang and Spencer Furman/Nick Stachowiak won 7-6(7) over Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper.

It was the first action for Furman/Stachowiak as a doubles pairing in a Baylor uniform, having previously teamed together at Duke.

On the singles courts, Baylor got off to a hot start with six first-set wins, including two in tiebreakers. At No. 6 singles, Spencer Furman was the first to finish with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Evin McDonald to remain undefeated on the dual season.

Next was No. 103 Broom, gliding past Huang with another straight-set win, 6-3, 6-4 on court five. With the 3-0 lead, No. 46 Adrian Boitan collected a strong win over No. 57 Woldeab on the top court, 6-3, 7-5, to clinch the match.

HIGHLIGHTS
• This will be Baylor’s first appearance in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship since 2015, when the Bears were eliminated one match shy of the final in the 16-team field.
• This is Baylor’s fourth win of the season against an opponent ranked in the top-10.
• Baylor holds a three-match win streak over Texas, with the most recent two coming in 2021.
• BU improved to 8-3 this season in the doubles point.
• Baylor is now a combined 48-5 in singles action this season and 23-9 in doubles matches.
• No. 46 Adrian Boitan collected his second win over a ranked opponent this season, defeating No. 57 Woldeab in straight sets.

STAT OF THE MATCH
6 – This is Baylor’s sixth sweep of the spring.

TOP QUOTE
Interim head coach Michael Woodson
On the win over Texas…
“I thought that was a really impressive performance from our guys. They have so much belief in themselves and in each other that we play our best tennis when it matters. To take a tough doubles point, then come out and battle to win six first sets after being down in some is just, again a testament to their belief in each other and in themselves. I thought it was a fantastic performance. Our guys just made it about tennis and I really loved that about tonight.”

Graduate transfer Spencer Furman
On making his doubles debut with Nick Stachowiak…
“It definitely felt familiar, that’s for sure. We know each other’s games so well. To be able to play with Nick brought back some old memories. I thought [clinching the doubles point] was big, we used that momentum going into singles. Everyone won their first set across the board, so we did a really good job of starting off the match.”

WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears (10-1) will face the winner of top-seeded and No. 1-ranked USC and host team Illinois in Saturday’s semifinals at 6:30 p.m. CT at Atkins Tennis Center.

For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team all season long, follow their official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorMTennis.


-BaylorBears.com-

__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (VB, MTEN, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-3073 | C: 254-265-1639

[signature_551375765]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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