No. 24 Baylor MT Heads Back to Arizona for ITA Kickoff Weekend

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Jan. 26, 2024

No. 24 Baylor MT Heads Back to Arizona for ITA Kickoff Weekend
Bears look for 13th-straight ticket to ITA Team Indoor Championship
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


TUCSON, Ariz. – The 24th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team heads west again to play in the 2024 ITA Kickoff Weekend. No. 13 Arizona hosts BU, Tulane and Miami in the play-in tournament for the ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championships, held this year in New York City, N.Y.



The Bears enter the 2024 ITA Kickoff Weekend boasting a 24-0 record in the two-match annual tournament, advancing 12-straight times through to the ITA Team Indoor Championships. Playing in the tournament away from home only three times since it began in 2009, the Bears have escaped hostile territory in College Station, Texas, (2017) and Ann Arbor, Mich. (2019, 2021).



BU was bumped up one spot in the ITA Coaches Poll to No. 24 after a win in Tempe at Arizona State, 4-3, last Friday. The Sun Devils took the doubles point, but Baylor rallied to clinch the match in a 3-all tiebreaker.



Facing Tulane for the first time since 2015 and only the third time since 2000, the Bears lead the all-time series 4-2. Baylor took a 4-0 decision in the last matchup in the first round of the 2015 ITA Kickoff Weekend. Saturday’s match will be the first of the season for the Green Wave.



Depending on Saturday’s results, the Bears will either face Miami or No. 13 Arizona on Sunday with a first-serve time to be determined on Saturday night.



If the Bears face Miami, it would be only the fourth time in program history and the first since winning to advance to the 2022 ITA National Team Championship Tournament in the ITA Kickoff Weekend final hosted in Waco the same year. Miami has only one win over BU, 5-2, in 2001.



Adrien Burdet and Vladislav Melnic are the only Hurricanes in the ITA rankings, coming in at No. 40 in doubles after a 2-1 fall campaign, but have not played together in the team’s 3-0 start with wins over Georgia Southern, Wisconsin and Mercer.



Coming back to Tucson after a canceled match against then-No. 16 Arizona on Sunday, the Bears would face No. 13 Arizona for the fourth time in as many seasons, with the Wildcats taking the last faceoff in 2023, 5-2, in February.



The 2-0 Arizona team is led by No. 5 Colton Smith in the singles rankings with Jay Friend at No. 34 and Gustaf Strom at No. 63. The Wildcats have three doubles teams in the top 60, with Smith and Friend 11th, Smith and Herman Hoeyeraal 22nd and Shasha Rozin and Strom at No. 36.



For the Bears, Marko Miladinović sits atop the team singles wins this spring at three, while Tadeas Paroulek and Zsombor Velcz lead in doubles at 2-0. Paroulek remains the only Bear in the singles rankings at No. 32.



Live stats<https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?gid=ariz> and live video<https://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2018/1/26/tennis-live-streaming.aspx> are available for both matches online.



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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