No. 1 Baylor Men's Tennis Reaches Final Four After Defeating No. 7 TCU

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 20, 2021

No. 1 MT Reaches Final Four After Defeating No. 7 TCU
Bears will make program’s sixth appearance in national semifinals, first since 2015
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

THE RUNDOWN
ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 1-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men’s tennis defeated No. 7 TCU 4-1 Thursday afternoon at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., to advance to the NCAA Semifinals.

The Bears (33-4) grinded out the doubles point and made a strong push in singles to put away the Horned Frogs (19-8) and book the program’s sixth trip to the Final Four and first since 2015.

It was TCU that struck first in doubles, as the No. 2-ranked duo of Alastair Gray/Luc Fomba held off No. 9 Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah, 6-2, at the top spot. However, the Bears responded with a 6-3 victory on court two by No. 75 Matias Soto/Nick Stachowiak over Sander Jong/Tadeas Paroulek to put all eyes on the three’s.

With the opening tally up for grabs, Finn Bass/Charlie Broom saved a match point at deuce trailing 6-5 to send the contest to a tiebreaker. After a quick 3-0 start, the Bears battled out a 7-5 breaker to clinch the doubles point for BU.

On the singles courts, all six matches were tight from the start as TCU grabbed the early advantage on court one and court five. However, the Bears took first sets on two, three, four and six after Spencer Furman saved a handful of set points and rallied from down 5-2 to take his opener 7-5 over Bertus Kruger.

That’s when the Bears made their move, as Lah flew to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over No. 110 Jake Fearnley for Baylor’s second point. TCU got one back from Paroulek on court five as he defeated Broom 6-2, 6-4, but that proved to be the Horned Frogs only singles win.

No. 11 Soto took down the Big 12 Player of the Year and No. 17-ranked Fomba 6-4, 6-4 in the second spot to push the Bears one point closer, and it was Furman who clinched at 7-5, 6-1 after winning 11 of the last 12 games against Kruger at the No. 6 position.

HIGHLIGHTS
• With the win, Baylor advances to the NCAA Semifinals for the sixth time in program history and first time since 2015.
• Baylor’s 33 wins are tied for the school’s most in a single-season (33, 2005).
• BU improved to 63-21 all-time in NCAA Championship play and 2-1 in postseason matches held in Orlando, Fla., at the USTA National Campus.
• The Bears are 17-6 all-time in 4-1 postseason matches.
• BU is now 11-2 all-time as the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championship.
• Baylor improved to 3-1 this season against TCU and has won five of its last six meetings with the Horned Frogs.
• BU is now 17-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor extended its winning streak to seven matches and has won 17 of its last 18 dual matches.
• The Bears are now 29-8 in the doubles point this season and are 28-1 in matches when winning the opening tally.
• Baylor boasts a combined 154-32 (.828) mark in singles action this spring and a collective 72-24 (.750) record in doubles.
• Spencer Furman extended his singles win streak to 13 matches, a team best.
• Matias Soto and Nick Stachowiak lead the Bears with an eight-match doubles win streak.

STAT OF THE MATCH
6 – For the first time in six years, Baylor booked its trip to the NCAA Semifinals. It’s the Bears’ sixth Final Four appearance in program history.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Michael Woodson
On advancing to the NCAA Semifinals…
“It feels great. I’m really excited for these guys, proud of them. Anytime we get to play TCU, it’s an honor and it’s why these guys come to Baylor, to play in the Big 12. To see them for the fourth time, I think we’ve played them in every type of situation, it was a battle out there. We made it a point to focus on having great energy and looking like you’re winning, regardless of what was happening and I feel like that made a big difference for our guys today.”

On Furman coming back to win 11 of the last 12 games and clinching the victory…
“I saw he was down 5-2 and thought he was right where we needed him to be. I have so much trust and confidence in him and I think the whole team does. He’s going to lay it on the line for every single point. From what it looked like, he just got more and more solid, dug his heels in and did a phenomenal job stretching the lead in the second set and using that momentum.”

On it feeling like a home match with a pro-Baylor crowd…
“It’s unbelievable. We love it so much. A lot of it is just buy-in from guys who are off the court setting the tone. To have the alumni, family and friends support off the court spread out throughout the facility is incredible. That’s a testament to what this university’s athletic department administration has done. To have people that support us so much is amazing. These guys frankly deserve it. We’re proud to be able to play in a such a great venue with an environment that does feel like we’re playing at home.”

Graduate senior Spencer Furman
On being a part of the Baylor team…
“I feel like on this team, although I’ve only been here a year, it feels like I’ve been here my entire college career. They really welcomed me with open arms and I love being part of this team. I’m trying to just make it last as long as possible.”

On it feeling like a home match with a pro-Baylor crowd…
“I think it’s a testament to Coach [Woodson] and how much he helps and works. I see him at 11 o’clock at night in the office writing thank you notes and calling supporters thanking them for coming out, so I think he deserves a lot of credit.”

On Woodson having the interim tag removed and being named head coach…
“I feel like he’s going to be coaching here a long time. It’s obviously the right choice. More than Coach, the administration is so supportive. Not just what they do for tennis, but every sport. I see how hard they work and how much they listen to athletes’ feedback and it’s really special. Baylor Athletics is just a special place.”

WHAT’S NEXT
No. 1-ranked and No. 2 seed Baylor (33-4) advances to face No. 3 Tennessee (28-3) in the NCAA Semifinals on Friday, May 21, at 1 p.m. CT at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.

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_72113492]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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