MT Powers Past No. 12 Georgia in ITA Kick-Off Opener

Saturday, January 26

Ann Arbor, Mich.

1:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

Georgia

MT Powers Past No. 12 Georgia in ITA Kick-Off Opener

1/26/2019 4:13:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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Bears clinch berth in championship match with ranked win Saturday

THE RUNDOWN
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Baylor men's tennis (4-0) captured its first ranked win of the season with a 4-2 triumph over No. 12 Georgia in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Saturday at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The Bears improved to 17-0 all-time in ITA Kick-Off Weekend matches and advanced to Sunday's championship match for the ninth time. BU will face host and 24^th-ranked Michigan for a spot at the ITA National Indoor Team Championships at noon CT.

In doubles play, the Bears had the early advantage after Johannes Schretter and Jimmy Bendeck teamed up for a 6-3 victory over Walker Duncan and Philip Henning at the No. 2 spot. With the Bears down 6-5 on court three, Roy Smith and Sven Lah clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 win over 51^st-ranked Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski to put Baylor up 1-0.

In singles action, the Bears and Bulldogs (0-1) split the opening sets with BU winning all three at the bottom half of the lineup. Lah topped Walker Duncan, 6-2, 6-2, at the No. 5 spot while No. 105 Frantzen captured a tough 7-6(10), 7-6(2) win over Blake Croyder on court six to give Baylor a 3-0 lead.

Georgia would come back and score the next two points as Smith dropped a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 decision to 15^th-ranked Emil Reinberg at the No. 1 spot, and then 33^rd-ranked Schretter fell 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to No. 2 Jan Zielinski on court two.

With Baylor up 3-2, Matias Soto clinched the match with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Philip Henning on court four.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor improved to 17-0 all-time in ITA Kick-Off Weekend matches, advancing to its ninth championship match.
• With wins today, Sven Lah and Constantin Frantzen started the spring season 4-0 in singles play.
• Roy Smith and Sven Lah are now 21-3 as doubles partners dating back to last season.
• Roy Smith and Sven Lah are now 2-0 against ranked opponents in doubles play.
• Baylor is 1-0 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor is 4-0 in the doubles point and 4-0 when winning the opening point this season.
• Baylor went 2-0 in straight-set singles matches while going 1-2 in three-setters.
• Baylor is 17-1 in singles points in dual-match play.
• Baylor won its second straight match against Georgia and improved to 3-6 all-time against the Bulldogs.

STAT OF THE MATCH
3 – the number of singles matches won at the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots.

TOP QUOTE
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win…
"We knew this was going to be a challenging first round for both teams, and the match was everything we thought it would be and more. Georgia has a great team, and I could not be more pleased with the way we prepared and competed. We are excited to play Michigan tomorrow."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears (4-0) advance to the ITA Kick-Off championship match and will face 24^th-ranked and top-seeded Michigan Sunday at noon CT in Ann Arbor. A live video and scoring link is available on the men's tennis schedule page at www.BaylorBears.com.