Bendeck & Lah Capture Doubles Title at ITA All-American Championships

Monday, October 8

Tulsa, Okla.

10:00 AM CT

Baylor

ITA Men's All-American Championships

Bendeck & Lah Capture Doubles Title at ITA All-American Championships

10/8/2018 3:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Bears win doubles draw for the first time in school history

TULSA, Okla. – Baylor men's tennis duo Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah capped off an impressive week by winning the doubles draw of the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships Monday at the Case Tennis Center.

Clinching their eighth consecutive match dating back to the team's qualifying draw opener on Oct. 1, the duo earned the first doubles championship in program history and second in Big 12 history.

As close as a match could be, both full sets went to a tiebreaker. Bendeck and Lah dropped the opening frame but stormed back from a 5-3 deficit to take the second and force a third-set tiebreaker. Lah and Bendeck pulled away for the 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 1-0(4) victory over Ohio State's Kyle Seelig and Alex Kobelt.

Follow the team all season long on the official social media accounts: @BaylorMTennis.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah captured the first ITA All-American doubles title in program history.
• Bendeck and Lah were the first Bears to play in the championship final and first Big 12 team since 2009.
• Bendeck and Lah won eight straight matches and four straight over ranked opponents on their way to the title.
• Bendeck and Lah are now 8-0 in fall doubles action and 5-0 against ranked opponents.
• Baylor is the second team in Big 12 history to capture the ITA All-American doubles title (2003-Texas A&M).
• Bendeck and Lah's run to the title included five straight-set wins.
• Bendeck and Lah went 6-1 in tiebreakers in eight matches.

STAT OF THE MATCH
5 – the number of ranked teams the Bears defeated on their way to the doubles title.

TOP QUOTE #1
Senior Jimmy Bendeck
On the tournament run…
"Sven (Lah) did an unbelievable job. He had 14 matches (in Tulsa). There were a couple of days where he had singles and doubles matches, and it was unbelievably impressive that he was able to get through that. I think that fueled us as a team. In big moments, we had resilience. We felt confident, and it was just a product of being tough and being prepared. In the final, we were enjoying the moment. I think that's what helped us get through it."

TOP QUOTE #2
Sophomore Sven Lah
On the win…
"We had a lot of fun, especially in the second set. We were down 5-3 in the second set, but we were relaxed and having fun. Once we won that second set, we just seized the opportunity and took care of business. We're playing better and making improvements. I'm looking forward to the opportunities we're going to have later in the fall."

2018 ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Qualifying Draw (Oct. 1 & 2) –
R1: Bendeck/Lah def. Ricky Hernandez Tong/Dominic West (New Mexico), 6-4, 6-3
R2: Bendeck/Lah def. No. 31 Timo Stodder/Preston Touliatos (Tennessee), 3-6, 6-2, 1-0(8)
R3: Bendeck/Lah def. Artur Dubinski/Maxim Tybar (Oklahoma State), 6-4, 6-3

Main Doubles Draw (Oct. 4-8) –
R32: Bendeck/Lah def. No. 13 Aleksandre Bakshi/Jake Van Emburgh (Oklahoma), 7-6(1), 6-2
R16: Bendeck/Lah def. No. 29 Martin Joyce/Hunter Tubert (Ohio State), 6-3, 6-4
QF: Bendeck/Lah def. No. 24 Johannes Ingildsen/Brian Berdusco (Florida), 6-4, 3-6, 1-0(10)
SF: Bendeck/Lah def. No. 43 Finn Reynolds/Fabian Fallert (Ole Miss), 7-6(6), 6-3
Final: Bendeck/Lah def. Kyle Seelig/Alex Kobelt (Ohio State), 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 1-0(4)