March 26, 2015

IRVING, Texas - With the start of the Big 12 season just over two weeks away, the league's head coaches have selected the Baylor men's tennis team to finish second in the regular-season standings, the conference office announced Thursday.

While coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team, Baylor earned one first-place vote and a total of 21 points. Oklahoma earned the other five first-place votes and 25 total points to be No. 1 in the poll.

Baylor holds a 14-3 record overall record and the Bears are ranked No. 2 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, behind only the top-ranked Sooners. BU has a 13-3 against ranked foes and is 7-1 at home this season.

Behind the Bears in the poll is Texas (17), followed by TCU (13), while Oklahoma State and Texas Tech tied for fifth with seven points each.

For the past two seasons, BU was also projected to finish as the runner-up in the conference, but exceeded those expectations in both years to win the regular season title. Last year, the Bears were 4-1 in conference play to win at least a share of the crown for the 11th time in the last 13 years.

In 18 seasons of Big 12 action, BU is 104-18 in league play with 12 regular-season titles and eight tournament crowns.

BU's next match will be Sunday when the Bears host a doubleheader against Incarnate Word (1 p.m.) and UT Arlington (6 p.m.) at the Hurd Tennis Center.

Baylor opens Big 12 play on April 10 when it hosts No. 1 Oklahoma at 6 p.m. To stay up to date with the team all season follow @BaylorMTennis on Twitter.

2015 BIG 12 MEN'S TENNIS PRESEASON POLL
(First place votes in parentheses; Coaches not allowed to vote for own team)
Rank School Points 1. Oklahoma (5) 25
2. Baylor (1) 21
3. Texas 17
4. TCU 13
T5. Oklahoma State 7
T5. Texas Tech 7