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<h1 align="right" style="text-align:right"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif;text-decoration:none">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 18, 2024<o:p></o:p></span></b></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;color:black">Baylor MT Gears Up for Big 12 Championship</span></b><b><span style="font-size:13.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">Bears open conference tournament with a rematch against No. 3 TCU<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">For more information contact:
</span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, </span><a href="mailto:colin_pirtle1@baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:9.0pt">colin_pirtle1@baylor.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">STILLWATER, Okla. –</span></b><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"> No. 39 Baylor men’s tennis</span>
<span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">opens the Big 12 Championship as the No. 6 seed against third-seeded TCU on Friday for the two teams’ third meeting this season. The tournament will be held on Friday-Sunday in Stillwater, Okla.,
at the Greenwood Tennis Center.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">The Bears (18-10 (2-5 Big 12)) face off against No. 3 seed TCU (20-3 (5-2 Big12)) in the quarterfinal match on Friday at noon as they journey to the 26th Big 12 Championship
in program history. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><a href="https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/central.php?gid=b12">Live stats</a> are available online and
<a href="https://www.espn.com/watch/catalog/0ce3542e-d057-4001-80aa-1d9649289920/big-12-now#bucketId=29789">
Big 12 Now on ESPN+</a> will carry Cracked Racquet’s CrossCourt Cast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Going into the 13th match against the Horned Frogs in the Michael Woodson era and the 73rd match all-time, the Bears trail 41-31 in the series. In the previous two matchups
this season, BU fell to the Horned Frogs 4-2 in their first meeting and 4-1 in their second. Baylor has never lost a match to TCU in the conference tournament, taking five straight since 2013.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Advancing out of the quarterfinal matchup, BU would then face the winner of the Texas Tech (9-14 (1-6 Big 12)) and Oklahoma (19-3 (6-1 Big 12)) match. Baylor defeated Texas
Tech, 4-1, in Waco, but fell to the Sooners in Norman, 4-0.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">As the regular season concluded, Devin Badenhorst (3-3) leads the Bears in Big 12 singles, while Tadeas Paroulek and Zsombor Velcz (3-3) lead the team in Big 12 doubles at
Court One.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">Of those players, Paroulek and Velcz stayed at No. 33 in the most recent ITA doubles rankings, while singles saw Paroulek 66<sup>th</sup>, Velcz 80<sup>th</sup> and Badenhorst
113<sup>th</sup>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">For Baylor’s first opponents of the weekend, the Horned Frogs have five singles and two doubles ranked by the ITA. No. 8 Jake Fearnley (9-2) leads the team in singles and only
has one loss against nationally ranked opponents. Shortly following him is No. 10 Jack Pinnington, while also ranked in singles are No. 55 Pedro Vives, No. 72 Lui Maxted and No. 74 Sebastian Gorzny. Leading TCU in doubles is No. 5 Gorzny and Vives (8-2), followed
by No. 87 Duncan Chan and Maxted.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">The Bears look to be back on top after Baylor claimed the 2021 and 2022 tournament titles under Woodson and took the 2014 and 2019 championships after being the last team standing
seven times in eight seasons between 2002 and 2009. In the 26 years of the tournament, Baylor is 44-15.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team all year long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorMTennis.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif">- BaylorBears<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color:black;text-decoration:none">.com</span></span><span style="color:black">
-<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">_________________________________________</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#073D1E;mso-ligatures:none">Colin Pirtle</span></b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#073D1E;mso-ligatures:none"> </span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">|
Associate Director of Athletics Communications (WBB, T&F/XC, MTEN) </span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">C: 940-564-0351</span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:3.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> </span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://baylorbears.com/" title="http://baylorbears.com/"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="160" height="44" style="width:1.6666in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01DA919C.90171B10" alt="signature_2230589939"></span></a><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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