No. 25 Baylor MT Hosts Doubleheader to Open 2024 Season

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Jan. 12, 2024

No. 25 Baylor MT Hosts Doubleheader to Open 2024 Season
Bears face ACU, Lamar on Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


WACO, Texas – The 25th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team will open its 2024 season on Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, hosting Abilene Christian at noon and Lamar at 6 p.m.



With only two matches held at home in January, the Bears hit the road with four matches in Arizona. The Bears play Arizona State on Jan. 18 and Arizona on the 21st before heading back to Tucson to play in ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 27-28.



The 2024 season is the fourth under the direction of head coach Michael Woodson, who boasts an 80-25 dual-match record over that span with four NCAA and ITA Indoor tournament berths.



“This group seems excited,” said Woodson. “They’ve put their heads down. They were heavily motivated going into last offseason and they’ve worked really hard through this fall and into the winter and over the past week. So, I see a lot of excitement, not just for themselves but for the team. I think there’s a ton of hope and belief that this is going to be a great year for this team and each of them individually.”



Looking to make it eight straight years, a season-opening opponent has not scored a single point on the Bears since the 2016 opening match against UC Irvine, where the Bears won 4-1.



Bears face the Abilene Christian Wildcats for the sixth time since the beginning of the 2021 season on Saturday at noon. BU has only allowed one point from ACU since then, coming in a 6-1 Baylor win in January of 2021.



BU leads the all-time series against ACU at 18-3, with the Wildcat wins coming in 1981 and 1992.



Hosting Lamar in the opening doubleheader for the second-straight year, the Bears look for their 12th-straight win over the Cardinals. With a 4-11 record, Lamar hasn’t taken a match from BU since 1984.



Saturday’s doubleheader is a mirrored replica of the 2021 season opener, the first year under Woodson, where the Bears played Lamar and ACU, winning 7-0 and 6-1, respectively.



In the final fall rankings, released Nov. 15, Baylor brings in Tadeas Paroulek as the lone singles player in the top 125 at No. 32. All Baylor doubles teams ended the fall season outside of the top 60.



Three brand-new Bears will suit up for the first time in a dual match for BU in freshmen Devin Badenhorst and Louis Bowden, and Middle Tennessee transfer Oskar Brostrom Poulsen. Martin Breysach and Arman Zamani are two returners who earned eligibility over the offseason and get to don the green and gold after completing their true-freshman year.



“[The newcomers] are going to make a huge impact on this team, not just with their level of tennis, which is very high, but also their confidence and their professionalism that they bring into the program,” said Woodson. “Normally, it takes the young guys time to get used to being a part of a team, to get used to understanding how to balance not just the academic side, but just the professionalism it takes to be able to compete hard and train hard day-in and day-out, and these guys are far ahead of what you would typically get.



Fans attending Saturday’s matches will receive the 2024 team poster in the ACU match and free pizza and drinks in the match against Lamar.



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



- BaylorBears.com –

_________________________________________
Colin Pirtle | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (T&F/XC, MTEN, FB)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 940-564-0351

[signature_2230589939]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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