No. 8 Baylor MT Comes Away with 4-3 Win at Rice

[Hutton, Josie]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 2, 2026

No. 8 Baylor MT Comes Away with 4-3 Win at Rice
Bears debut the outdoor season with a clutch win in Houston
For more information contact: Josie Hutton; 254-709-7720, josie_hutton at baylor.edu<mailto:josie_hutton at baylor.edu>



HOUSTON, Texas – No. 8 Baylor men’s tennis took on the Rice Owls on Monday afternoon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center and came away with a clutch 4-3 win in its first outdoors match of the season.



Baylor (8-5) took the doubles point early, but Rice (4-6) chipped away at the lead, winning three singles courts. The Bears didn’t back down and responded evenly with the match tied at three-all. The match came down to Court Three with Connor Van Schalkwyk, who earned his fifth-straight singles win, 7-5, 6-3. The match on Monday afternoon went quickly, as all matches concluded in straight sets.



THE RUNDOWN

Starting in doubles, Baylor took the lead by winning swiftly on Court Two with Van Schalkwyk and Luc Koenig (6-2). Followed quickly on Court Three, Devin Badenhorst and Blake Anderson snagged a 6-2 win to get the Bears on the board.



Moving on to singles, the Bears extended their lead with Koenig on Court Five, 6-2, 6-4. Rice then went on to win back-to-back matches on Court Six and Court One to bring the match tied 2-2.



No. 39 Zsombor Velcz got BU back in the lead with a clutch 6-3, 7-5, but nearly minutes later the Owls took Court Four. It came down Court Three with Van Schalkwyk, who didn’t fall under the pressure and took a dominant second set, 7-5, 6-3, to snap the Bears three-match losing streak and earn the victory for Baylor.



WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor returns home for its one of two home matches in the month of March and its Go Gold match, going against the top-ranked No. 1 Ohio State on Thursday, March 5th at 6 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center.



RESULTS

Doubles

1. P. Kuzmenok/S. Navarro (RICE) vs A. Chirita/Z. Velcz (BU) 4-3 uf

2. C. Van Schalkwyk/L. Koenig (BU) def. Y. Sarouk/K. Kapasi (RICE) 6-1

3. D. Badenhorst/B. Anderson (BU) def. T. Czaplinksi/R. Botran (RICE) 6-2

Order of Finish: 2, 3



Singles

1. P. Kuzmenok (RICE) def. #13 D. Badenhorst (BU) 6-2, 6-4

2. #39 Z. Velcz (BU) def. R. Botran (RICE) 6-3, 7-5

3. #27 C. Van Schalkwyk (BU) def. S. Navarro (RICE) 7-5, 6-3

4. K. Kapasi (RICE) def. #73 A. Chirita (BU) 6-4, 6-4

5 L. Koenig (BU) def. Y. Sarouk (RICE) 6-2, 6-4

6. G. Porras (RICE) def. C. Baierl (BU) 6-2, 6-2

Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1, 2, 4, 3



 - BaylorBears.com -



Josie Hutton | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (MBB, FB, MTEN)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: (254) 709-7720
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