No. 3 Baylor MT Bests No. 15 Ole Miss to Advance at ITA Indoors

[Allen, Madelon]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – February 18, 2022





No. 3 Baylor MT Bests No. 15 Ole Miss to Advance at ITA Indoors
Bears face No. 7-seed Kentucky on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. CT in Seattle
For more information contact: Madelon Allen, 254-252-7168, Madelon_Allen at Baylor.edu<mailto:Madelon_Allen at Baylor.edu>


SEATTLE, Wash. – Ranked No. 3 and seeded second, the Baylor men’s tennis team took the match, 4-1, over No. 15 Ole Miss in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at the Seattle Tennis Club on Friday night to advance.

The Bears (12-0) will now face No. 10 and seventh-seed Kentucky on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals.

THE RUNDOWN
BU started off hot in doubles, with Matias Soto and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi finishing first on court two with a 6-4 win over Simon Junk/Jan Soren Hain. The Rebels returned with a win of their own on court three, with Finn Reynolds/Lukas Engelhardt winning 7-5 over No. 12 Finn Bass and Sven Lah. The point came down to court three, where Ole Miss clinched at 7-5; Nikola Slavik/John Hallquist Lithen over Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek. It was Boitan and Paroulek’s first doubles loss and just the second time the Bears fell in doubles this season.

The Bears came roaring back in singles, firing on all cylinders. Bass went full steam ahead on court five, besting Junk to win 6-1, 6-1 in fast fashion to tie the Rebels. Next came Soto, taking the 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 111 Reynolds on court two. BU leading 2-1, Grassi Mazzuchi pushed Baylor further ahead with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Jan Soren Hain on court six. It was No. 123 Sven Lah who clinched the match for the Bears, winning 6-2, 6-4 over Hallquist Lithen on court three. Boitan was up 7-5, 2-4 over No. 18 Slavic and Marko Miladinović was winning 7-6(3), 3-0 when their matches went unfinished.

Grassi Mazzuchi improved to 10-0 in dual play with the win, while Bass moved to 9-1, Lah improved to 7-1, and Soto to 6-1. Doubles pair Grassi Mazzuchi/Soto are now 9-0 in doubles, Boitan/Paroulek at 6-1, while Bass/Lah are 6-2.

THE WILDCATS
Kentucky (9-1) swept No. 10 seed USC, 4-0, to advance to the quarterfinals in the tournament. It was their sixth sweep of the season, with two coming against Dayton, one each versus Louisville, Northern Kentucky, and VCU, and one against Alabama in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Wildcats improve to 2-0 at neutral sites. Liam Draxl is UK’s primary No. 1 player, though Millen Hurrion has also seen time on the top court. The pair play doubles together on the No. 1 court as well.

QUOTABLE – Head Coach Michael Woodson
“Anytime that you can advance at the National Indoors is a great win for the program. Ole Miss punched us in the mouth to start the doubles, we were a little flat but they had their A-game. I thought we did a really nice job to hang in there and turn the doubles, but we didn’t compose ourselves to close out those doubles sets, so we did lose the doubles point. But I felt that was good for us, to have to rebound from that. It’s easier to say that after a win, but it was something we needed to do. We looked serious, composed and confident in singles. Almost from the start we were able to get up on every court, and I thought that was fantastic. The guys trusted their games and implemented on a little bit of a faster indoor court. Some of these guys played the best tennis they have all year and are clearly tracking in the right direction. They’re really gaining confidence in their games and in their ability to go out there and put their best selves on the court in a very high-pressure environment.

QUOTABLE – Senior Sven Lah
“I think we did a good job of bouncing back after a tough doubles point. We had our chances to close it out on both the number one and three courts, but the execution wasn’t the best. The start of singles was good – we got up on all courts and played confidently. I think it was a good test for us, but we will have to be a little better tomorrow against Kentucky.”

The tournament live stream and live stats links can be found on the Baylor men’s tennis schedule page. Cracked Racquets will also be providing red zone coverage on its YouTube channel<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSbgMbZlZQ0>. A full recap and final box scores can be found on BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of each day of play.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor men’s tennis, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorMTennis.



- BaylorBears.com -




__________________________________

Madelon Allen | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (VB, MTEN, A&T)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-252-7168

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