May 11, 2018 Complete Results
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Matt Knoll had been waiting all year, or 121 days to be exact, for what he got out of his Baylor men's tennis team Friday.
That's how long it had been since the 18th-ranked Bears opened the season with a doubleheader sweep of UMKC.
In its most complete match of the season, Baylor (21-9) dispatched the 36th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils, 4-0, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship for a matchup against fifth-ranked Texas A&M (23-5) at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
"One of the things we talk a lot about is trying to show up at every spot. And I don't think we have this year, until today," said Knoll, whose team improved to 19-2 in NCAA first-round matches. "This was the first day that I thought all nine spots showed up. And you're just not a great until you do that. We certainly improved down the stretch. I think we had some matches at the Big 12 tournament where we had eight, but today was the first day we had all nine."
Nowhere was that more evident than in singles, where the Bears won the first set in all six spots and clinched it with straight-set wins by Matias Soto, Constantin Frantzen and Will Little.
"It puts the other team in a tough spot," Knoll said. "You look around, and it's hard to get four in the situation they're in. That's what the best teams do - maintain momentum and don't allow them to get that point on the board, don't allow them to hang around. Today, I was really proud that the guys were able to finish like that."
The Bears also started well, getting early breaks on all three doubles courts and wrapping it up with a 6-2 upset win by Johannes Schretter and Akos Kotorman over Michael Geerts and Tim Ruehl at No. 1 and the clinching 7-5 win by Little and Frantzen at No. 3.
"Connie (Frantzen) carried the team today, especially with the returns," Little said. "He was really going for it. I don't know if he missed a return until maybe the last game. He carried me today, so I give him all the credit."
That domination carried over to the singles, where Baylor's players on Courts 2 through 6 all got early breaks and took control. Schretter was the last one to close out a first set, breaking 20th-ranked Geerts in the decisive game to go up 7-5.
"Obviously, I'm not paying attention to the other courts, just because I'm trying to focus on mine," Little said. "But, I kind of felt that vibe today. I thought everybody showed up."
Soto got the next point on the board for the Bears, when 80th-ranked Benjamin Hannestad had to retire, trailing 6-3, 3-0 at No. 2.
After getting broken back in the middle of the first set, Frantzen won the next nine games and defeated the Sun Devils' William Kirkman, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 6.
"I just tried to be focused and do my things that I can control," said Frantzen, who improved to 22-9 overall and 14-3 in dual-match play. "I know I have a big serve, and I know I can always trust my serve and go for it."
Dominated by the Bears' Sven Lah in the first set, 6-1, ASU's Makey Rakotomalala fought back to take the second set by the same score and was on serve at 1-2 in the third at No. 3. Similarly, freshman Roy Smith fell behind 4-2 in the second set at No. 5 after winning the opening set against Andrea Bolla, 6-3.
But, with the tide seemingly turning at those spots, Little made quick work of Ruehl at No. 4 and clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-3 win.
"I had opportunities at Texas Tech and against Columbia earlier this year where I was going to potentially be the last point," said Little, who is 17-8 overall and 10-4 in dual matches. "I had the clinching point and didn't get it done, so this was nice to actually get it done for the first time this season."
With a Round of 16 berth and a trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., on the line, Baylor will face former Big 12 and Southwest Conference rival A&M at 1 p.m. Saturday.
THE RUNDOWN
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The 18th-ranked Baylor men's tennis team (21-9) rolled past No. 36 Arizona State (14-11) in NCAA First Round action Friday morning at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas.
Baylor advances to the NCAA Second Round and will face host and No. 5 overall seed Texas A&M on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. Saturday's winner will advance to the NCAA Round of 16 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
In doubles action, the duo of Johannes Schretter and Akos Kotorman opened up postseason action with a 6-2 ranked victory over No. 68 Michael Geerts and Tim Ruehl at the top of the lineup. With both remaining courts tied at 5-all, Will Little and Constantin Frantzen took the next two games to best William Kirman and Pierre Louis Dodens at the No. 3 spot, 7-5, for the doubles point.
Up 1-0, freshman Matias Soto earned his first NCAA Tournament victory after No. 80 Benjamin Hannestad retired due to injury in the second set, 6-2, 3-0. Sophomore Constantin Frantzen blew past William Kirkman on court six, 6-3, 6-0 for the 3-0 Baylor lead.
Redshirt junior Will Little closed out the match with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Tim Ruehl at the No. 4 spot. Johannes Schretter, Sven Lah and Roy Smith all won their opening sets before the match was suspended.
NOTABLES
• BU improves to 56-19 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 19-2 in first round matches.
• BU improves its record to 2-1 all-time against Arizona State.
• The Bears are 7-8 versus ranked opponents and 5-3 in neutral site matches in 2018.
• Baylor is now 23-7 in doubles points this season and 19-4 when winning the opening point.
• Johannes Schretter and Akos Kotorman earned their second doubles win over a ranked opponent with a 6-2 victory at the No. 1 spot.
• Constantin Frantzen improved to 22-9 overall and 14-3 in dual-match singles play. He is on a three-match winning streak.
• Matias Soto improved to 18-8 overall and 16-7 in dual-match singles play.
• Will Little improved to 17-8 overall and 10-4 in dual-match singles play. He has won four of his last five matches.
• BU is 5-3 all-time when playing NCAA Tournament matches in College Station.
STAT OF THE MATCH
0 -- the amount of first sets dropped in singles play against the Sun Devils.
TOP QUOTE #1
"One of things that we really talk a lot about is trying to show up on every spot. I don't think we have this year until today. This was the first day where I thought that all nine spots showed up. It's been a constant theme, and we've certainly improved down the stretch. We had some matches in the Big 12 (Championship) where we had eight. Today was the first day that we had nine. I'm pleased. We're just going to continue to get better and improve. Then we've got the chance to be pretty good." --head coach Matt Knoll on the match
TOP QUOTE #2
"It's not easy to build momentum. Once you get it, it's important to keep it. I think we did a really good job of getting those (singles) sets. It puts the other team in a tough spot. Good teams do that. They maintain momentum and don't allow their opponent to get on the board." --head coach Matt Knoll on singles play
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears advances to the NCAA Second Round for the 19th time in program history and will face host and No. 5 Texas A&M on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT in College Station.
Free admission is available for fans starting one hour prior to first serve. Live scoring, a live video stream and an in-match blog will be available with links on the men's tennis schedule page at www.BaylorBears.com.
Follow the Bears all season long on their official social media accounts: @BaylorMTennis.
