No. 8 Baylor MT Takes Down Pepperdine in UTR Collegiate Championship Final, 4-1

[Hutton, Josie]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 15, 2026

No. 8 Baylor MT Takes Down Pepperdine in UTR Collegiate Championship Final, 4-1
Bears go 2-0 in the desert and claim title of UTR Collegiate Championship
For more information contact: Josie Hutton; 254-709-7720, josie_hutton at baylor.edu<mailto:josie_hutton at baylor.edu>



INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – No. 8 Baylor men’s tennis took on No. 27 Pepperdine for the chance for some hardware at the UTR Collegiate Championship final and came away victorious, 4-1, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Sunday afternoon.



Baylor (12-6) started out fast, taking the doubles point over Pepperdine (9-6) and winning four of six first sets in singles. It was Louis Bowden on Court Six, Connor Van Schalkwyk on Court Three and Zsombor Velcz on Court Two that claimed the trophy for the Bears and gave their team a 4-1 win.



The Bears finished their non-conference season with a 12-6 record with six ranked wins and now head into conference season.



THE RUNDOWN

Baylor took control in doubles, winning on Court One to secure a 6-1 win by Velcz and Alexandru Chirita. Following closely after was a win on Court Two 6-2 by Van Schalkwyk and Luc Koenig to give the Bears the point. Court Three was left unfinished with Devin Badenhorst and Blake Anderson trailing 3-4.



Moving over to singles, Baylor struck first by winning quickly on Court Six with Louis Bowden taking it 6-2, 6-2. Pepperdine took the next point on Court Five with Koenig dropping 6-3, 7-5. Responding, Baylor went to win another point on Court Three with Van Schalkwyk in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.



To end the match was Velcz on Court Two winning 6-2, 7-6(3) in a clutch tiebreaker. With the win, Baylor became the champions of the second-annual UTR Collegiate Championships.



RESULTS

Doubles

1.  Alexandru Chirita/Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. #83 Pisaric/Poertner (PEPP) 6-1

2. Luc Koenig/Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU) def. Winter/Winter (PEPP) 6-2

3. Devin Badenhorst/Blake Anderson (BU) vs. Homberg/Almeida (PEPP) 3-4

Order of finish: 1, 2



Singles

1 #12 Devin Badenhorst (BU) vs. E. Winterv (PEPP) 7-6, 5-4 UF

2. #53 Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. #95 Poertner (PEPP) 6-2, 7-6(3)

3. #27 Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU) def. Pisaric (PEPP) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1

4. Almeida (PEPP) vs #91 Alexandru Chirita (BU) 6-1, 3-6, 3-5 UF

5. Homberg (PEPP) def. Luc Koenig (BU) 3-6, 5-7

6. Louis Bowden (BU) def. Photiades (PEPP) 6-2, 6-2

Order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 2



WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor stays out west and opens its conference season at No. 15 Arizona on Friday, March 20, and No. 17 Arizona State on Sunday, March 22.



 - 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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