By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Blair Shankle and Jimmy Bendeck are at very different stages in their Baylor tennis careers.
A senior from Dallas, Shankle is a two-time doubles All-American who has played most of her career in the top half of the singles lineup. Bendeck made a splash as a freshman last season, posting 24 victories in singles and getting the clinching point against a pair of top-20 teams.
But the Baylor duo went down similar paths this weekend.
Shankle didn't drop a set in three matches in a qualifying tournament at the Hurd Tennis Center, nailing down a wildcard berth for the Bush's $50,000 Waco Showdown in November with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Houston teenager Janice Shin.
"This was the first complete matches I've played since May," she said. "So for me, it was really about not having expectations and just going out there and feeling out where I was and where my game was."
Two time zones away, Bendeck swept through the round-robin portion of the Napa Valley Tennis Classic and then beat a pair of ranked players from Cal in winning the USTA Wildcard Shootout that earns him a spot in a to-be-determined pro tournament.
"I really haven't had many opportunities like that," said Bendeck, who lost in the final round of qualifying for last year's ITF Futures of Mansfield. "Obviously, I'm super excited to go. I don't know exactly where yet, but I'm going try my best and prepare to capture the opportunity that's been given to me."
Just a year ago, the sophomore from Hollywood, Fla., was nervous and almost afraid of playing matches, "just because I didn't know where I stood."
"Now, I feel more confident about myself and I feel more comfortable here at Baylor, more comfortable with Coach (Matt Knoll)," said Bendeck, who played primarily at Nos. 4 and 5 singles. "I believe more in what he's telling me, so I feel like I'm going out there with a plan . . . I'm not doubting anything."
More than the tennis, Bendeck said his initial struggles last year were just being a college freshman and being that far from home.
"When you've lived in a certain place your whole life, and you switch places, you're confused and you want to figure it out. But, you're not used to it," he said.
Playing in the first of several individual tournaments in the fall, Bendeck defeated USC's Riley Smith, 6-4, 7-6(5), got by USTA Junior Andrew Fenty, 7-5, 7-5, and then wrapped up round-robin play with a 7-5, 6-3 win over North Carolina's Anu Kodali. That got him into the USTA Wildcard Shootout with seven other players.
"I felt like I had a pretty good advantage in the Shootout because of the way I play. I'm really intense from the start," he said.
That proved to be true in the afternoon session when Bendeck won tiebreakers over 77th-ranked Filip Bergevi (10-4) and 61st-ranked Billy Griffith (10-7), both from Cal, and took down Tulsa's Domnic Bechard, 10-8, in the final, with all three matches held on Center Court.
"I definitely took it," he said. "It wasn't like someone played bad. I felt like I was playing pretty well, and I deserved it, because I went out and took it."
Beyond any individual goals, Bendeck says he wants to win a national championship with the team. Last year, the Bears ended a 14-year run of NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances, finishing 16-14 overall and losing to Georgia in the second round.
"It motivates me a lot," Bendeck said of last year's finish. "Last year was really, really tough. This year, having a little more confidence in our team and in myself that I know we can make a run at the national championship is extremely motivating. Just knowing that those six guys that are playing are good enough to make a run helps a lot."
Shankle dealt with a very similar disappointment. With the women's team plagued by injuries all year, including a nagging hip pointer and elbow injury that kept Shankle out of the lineup, the Bears finished 18-15 overall and also lost to Georgia in a second-round match.
"Granted, there were a few unforeseen circumstances," she said. "But at the same time, we didn't win the Big 12, we didn't meet any of the goals we had set. So, I'm very motivated to try to really have a great season and end my career on a high note."
Women's head coach Joey Scrivano said "you know it's a pretty severe injury" for Shankle to sit out 10 matches last season.
"That was hard on everybody," he said. "But, she's comping at the bit to have her best season ever and to put in the work to prepare to play at her best."
She didn't have to be at her best to win the wildcard event, dropping just 11 games combined in wins over Shin, another USTA Junior player and sophomore teammate Karina Traxler.
"I wasn't exactly sure how everything was going to go," she said. "We had been training really hard, so there wasn't a point where we kind of tapered back to get ready for the tournament. We came in and were kind of like, `let's just see how it goes.'''
The $50,000 Challenger event in November will give Shankle a chance to see how she stacks up against professional players, but she won't let the results determine her ultimate path. She's scheduled to finish her accounting degree in May and already has an internship set up for next summer with Deloitte.
"Obviously, if I have a big-time tournament, that will be great. It will give me more confidence," she said. "But, that's not necessarily what I'm going into the tournament for. I just want to see where I'm at, just as far as my tennis level, not how I stack up against the players on the pro circuit."
When Shankle is at her best, Scrivano said he would "put her up against anybody."
"The thing that makes Blair so unique is she's a 4.0 student in accounting. She has the top accounting firms in the country recruiting her," Scrivano said. "She could go the professional route as far as her accounting career, or she could go the professional route as far as her tennis career. She's just an incredible young person with a lot of options. But, there is no doubt that Blair can play with any of those players."
