Sunday, April 21
Lawrence, Kan.
1:00 p.m. CT
Baylor
4
vs
1
Texas (Finals)
Photo by: Big 12 Conference
MT Captures Big 12 Championship Title Over No. 2 Texas
4/21/2019 6:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis
No. 2 seed Baylor wins postseason title with 4-1 upset over top-seeded Longhorns
LAWRENCE, Kan.– This one was for the three seniors who had never been a part of a Big 12 tournament championship, but it was a first-semester freshman that finished it off.
Adrian Boitan, who just joined the team in January, helped the eighth-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis team (22-4) claim its ninth Big 12 Championship title and first in five years with the clinching match in a 4-1 victory over top-seeded and second-ranked Texas (23-3) in Sunday's final at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
With Baylor trailing on the other two remaining courts, Boitan close it out at No. 3 by winning the last three games and knocking off 73rd-ranked Texas senior Leonard Telles, 7-5, 6-4. Improving to 13-4 this spring with his second win over Telles, Boitan became just the second freshman in the tournament's 23-year history to be named Most Outstanding Performer.
"It was nice to see the freshman come through at the end," said first-year Baylor head coach Brian Boland, who won his first Big 12 title and 36thoverall conference championship (16 tournament, 16 regular season). "That guy's a warrior, and he played well. (He was) well-deserving to finish the match."
Boland said seniors Johannes Schretter, Will Little and Jimmy Bendeck "are so deserving of this moment."
"This is their first Big 12 tournament title. I'm just happy and proud for them," he said. "They've done some great work this year and they've really embraced a lot of the changes and challenges that we've faced."
Schretter and Little were sitting out as redshirts when Baylor won its last regular-season Big 12 championship in 2015, but this was the Bears' first tournament title in five years.
"The guys have embraced the process all year long, and they've really been willing to look at every single day as an opportunity to improve," Boland said. "I just could not be more impressed with our leadership. Every single guy really took it upon himself to prepare in the most detailed way and to continue to try to get better, and we've certainly done that."
Indicative of that improvement is Baylor lost to Texas, 4-3, three weeks ago in Austin in a match that ultimately decided the regular-season title.
Just like that March 31 match, the Bears took the opening doubles point.
Baylor's top-ranked duo of Sven Lah and Bendeck lost 6-0 to sixth-ranked Harrison Scott and Christian Sigsgaard at No. 1, with five of the six games decided by a deuce point. It was Bendeck's first match since getting hurt in the doubles match at Texas Tech a week ago, "and he probably wasn't at 100 percent," Boland said, "but he was certainly good to compete and the score wasn't really reflective of how close it was."
Schretter teamed with Constantin Frantzen for a 6-2 win over Chih Chi Huang and Yuya Ito at No. 3, and then Little and Matias Soto clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at No. 2 over Telles and Colin Markes.
"From the beginning, the guys came out with a lot of energy," Boland said. "I was really impressed with how they dealt with the adversity of having to move indoors. The guys just embraced it and said, 'Well, we're just going to compete every single point and leave it on the court.'''
Needing to split in the six singles to win the match, Baylor took control by winning four first sets, but the Longhorns evened it at 1-1 when Scott beat Little in straight sets at No. 4, 6-4, 6-2.
Texas seemed to be gaining some momentum with Baylor sophomore Kyrylo Tsygura dropping a first-set tiebreaker at No. 6 and Sigsgaard battling back to split sets with Schretter and leading 4-3 in the third at No. 1.
What turned it back in the Bears' favor was a pair of second-set tiebreakers by two sophomores. Avenging a three-set loss in that early match with the Longhorns, Lah got Baylor's second point on the board by beating Markes, 6-4, 7-6(3), at No. 5, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker.
Broken at 5-4 in the second set with a chance to close out his match against the seventh-ranked Ito on Court 2, the 49th-ranked Soto rallied from a 2-3 deficit in the tiebreaker to post his second top-10 win of the season, 7-5, 7-6(4).
"That was a great win for Matias Soto, because he played a top-10 player in Ito. So, that was a huge win for him and our team," Boland said. "He just continues to improve and raise the level of his game throughout the entire year."
At No. 3, Boitan overcame 3-1 and 5-4 first-set deficits and trailed 4-3 in the second, but got late service breaks in both sets to finish off Telles and the match, 7-5, 6-4.
The NCAA Championship selections will be announced at 5 p.m. next Monday, April 29, at ncaa.com, with the Bears in position to host a regional the following weekend. Under the new NCAA tournament format, there's also a Super Regional round, with only eight teams advancing to the final site in Orlando, Fla.
"We're certainly in a position to host hopefully the first three rounds of the tournament," Boland said, "and we'll just take it from there. We've really positioned ourselves well."
This was the Baylor men's 22ndconference title overall (13 regular season, nine tournament). It was also Baylor's sixth conference championship this year and 80thin the 23-year history of the league.
THE RUNDOWN
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Baylor men's tennis (22-4) won the doubles point and never looked back in its 4-1 victory over No. 2 Texas (23-3) in the Big 12 Championship final Sunday afternoon at the indoor courts of the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kan.
Baylor won its ninth Big 12 tournament title and 22nd conference title overall in the 23-year history of the league. BU's ninth tournament crown came under first-year head coach Brian Boland.
BU came out firing to open the match. Johannes Schretter and Constantin Frantzen took a 6-2 win over Chi Chi Huang and Yuya Ito at the No. 3 spot, and then Matias Soto and Will Little clinched the opening point with a 6-4 victory over Colin Markes and Leonardo Telles on court two.
Texas won its only point of the match when No. 76 Will Little fell 6-4, 6-2 to No. 53 Harrison Scott on court four. Then, the Bears started rolling when Sven Lah took a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Colin Markes at the No. 5 spot.
No. 49 Soto earned his second top-10 ranked win of the season when he took down No. 7 Yuya Ito at the No. 2 spot, 7-5, 7-6(4).
No. 111 Adrian Boitan, later named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Performer, clinched the match when he recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 73 Leonardo Telles on court three.
To keep up with things all season long, follow the team on social media: @BaylorMTennis.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The Bears captured their ninth postseason title in program history to make it 22 Big 12 overall titles (13 regular season, 9 tournament).
• Baylor improves to 22-44 all-time against Texas and snapped a four-match losing streak to the Longhorns.
• Baylor is now 4-3 against Texas in the Big 12 Championship final.
• The Bears are now 40-14 overall and 9-7 in final matches at the Big 12 Championship.
• BU improves to 14-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor is now 20-6 in the doubles point and 17-3 when winning the opening point this season.
• Adrian Boitan was named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player. He is the first Baylor freshman to earn the honor and only second overall in Big 12 Championship history.
• Sven Lah improves to 20-3 in spring singles play.
• Boitan improves to 13-4 in spring singles action.
• Matias Soto won his eighth match over a ranked opponent this season and improves to 18-4 in spring singles play.
• Soto beat his second top-10 opponent of the season and second-highest ranked foe in his career.
• Baylor won its first conference title under first-year head coach Brian Boland.
• Boland won his 32nd career conference title (16 regular season, 16 tournament titles).
STAT OF THE MATCH
9 – the number of Big 12 Championship tournament titles for Baylor men's tennis.
TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win…
"Congratulations to Texas. They have had a great season. They will certainly be ready for the NCAA's just like we will. The Big 12 is one of, if not the strongest conference in the country. Everybody can play. We knew that today we were going to come out and have a battle. I am just proud of our guys. They definitely deserve this championship. These players have embraced everything we have asked of them, and I could not be more proud of them; in particular the three seniors who have done so much for our program. This is their first Big 12 Championship title and I am just happy for them. Certainly, it is nice to see our freshman come through for us in the end. That guy (Adrian Boitan) is a warrior and it was well deserving that he finished the match."
TOP QUOTE #2
Freshman Adrian Boitan
On clinching the match…
"This has been the best year of my life coming here at Baylor, playing in college. We are the most prepared team in the country and it showed today. I went into the last shot with no regrets and it was amazing clinching the win for us."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor awaits its seeding in the 2019 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship. The NCAA selection show airs on Monday, April 29 at 5 p.m. CT.
Adrian Boitan, who just joined the team in January, helped the eighth-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis team (22-4) claim its ninth Big 12 Championship title and first in five years with the clinching match in a 4-1 victory over top-seeded and second-ranked Texas (23-3) in Sunday's final at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
With Baylor trailing on the other two remaining courts, Boitan close it out at No. 3 by winning the last three games and knocking off 73rd-ranked Texas senior Leonard Telles, 7-5, 6-4. Improving to 13-4 this spring with his second win over Telles, Boitan became just the second freshman in the tournament's 23-year history to be named Most Outstanding Performer.
"It was nice to see the freshman come through at the end," said first-year Baylor head coach Brian Boland, who won his first Big 12 title and 36thoverall conference championship (16 tournament, 16 regular season). "That guy's a warrior, and he played well. (He was) well-deserving to finish the match."
Boland said seniors Johannes Schretter, Will Little and Jimmy Bendeck "are so deserving of this moment."
"This is their first Big 12 tournament title. I'm just happy and proud for them," he said. "They've done some great work this year and they've really embraced a lot of the changes and challenges that we've faced."
Schretter and Little were sitting out as redshirts when Baylor won its last regular-season Big 12 championship in 2015, but this was the Bears' first tournament title in five years.
"The guys have embraced the process all year long, and they've really been willing to look at every single day as an opportunity to improve," Boland said. "I just could not be more impressed with our leadership. Every single guy really took it upon himself to prepare in the most detailed way and to continue to try to get better, and we've certainly done that."
Indicative of that improvement is Baylor lost to Texas, 4-3, three weeks ago in Austin in a match that ultimately decided the regular-season title.
Just like that March 31 match, the Bears took the opening doubles point.
Baylor's top-ranked duo of Sven Lah and Bendeck lost 6-0 to sixth-ranked Harrison Scott and Christian Sigsgaard at No. 1, with five of the six games decided by a deuce point. It was Bendeck's first match since getting hurt in the doubles match at Texas Tech a week ago, "and he probably wasn't at 100 percent," Boland said, "but he was certainly good to compete and the score wasn't really reflective of how close it was."
Schretter teamed with Constantin Frantzen for a 6-2 win over Chih Chi Huang and Yuya Ito at No. 3, and then Little and Matias Soto clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at No. 2 over Telles and Colin Markes.
"From the beginning, the guys came out with a lot of energy," Boland said. "I was really impressed with how they dealt with the adversity of having to move indoors. The guys just embraced it and said, 'Well, we're just going to compete every single point and leave it on the court.'''
Needing to split in the six singles to win the match, Baylor took control by winning four first sets, but the Longhorns evened it at 1-1 when Scott beat Little in straight sets at No. 4, 6-4, 6-2.
Texas seemed to be gaining some momentum with Baylor sophomore Kyrylo Tsygura dropping a first-set tiebreaker at No. 6 and Sigsgaard battling back to split sets with Schretter and leading 4-3 in the third at No. 1.
What turned it back in the Bears' favor was a pair of second-set tiebreakers by two sophomores. Avenging a three-set loss in that early match with the Longhorns, Lah got Baylor's second point on the board by beating Markes, 6-4, 7-6(3), at No. 5, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker.
Broken at 5-4 in the second set with a chance to close out his match against the seventh-ranked Ito on Court 2, the 49th-ranked Soto rallied from a 2-3 deficit in the tiebreaker to post his second top-10 win of the season, 7-5, 7-6(4).
"That was a great win for Matias Soto, because he played a top-10 player in Ito. So, that was a huge win for him and our team," Boland said. "He just continues to improve and raise the level of his game throughout the entire year."
At No. 3, Boitan overcame 3-1 and 5-4 first-set deficits and trailed 4-3 in the second, but got late service breaks in both sets to finish off Telles and the match, 7-5, 6-4.
The NCAA Championship selections will be announced at 5 p.m. next Monday, April 29, at ncaa.com, with the Bears in position to host a regional the following weekend. Under the new NCAA tournament format, there's also a Super Regional round, with only eight teams advancing to the final site in Orlando, Fla.
"We're certainly in a position to host hopefully the first three rounds of the tournament," Boland said, "and we'll just take it from there. We've really positioned ourselves well."
This was the Baylor men's 22ndconference title overall (13 regular season, nine tournament). It was also Baylor's sixth conference championship this year and 80thin the 23-year history of the league.
THE RUNDOWN
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 2 seed and eighth-ranked Baylor men's tennis (22-4) won the doubles point and never looked back in its 4-1 victory over No. 2 Texas (23-3) in the Big 12 Championship final Sunday afternoon at the indoor courts of the Jayhawk Tennis Center in Lawrence, Kan.
Baylor won its ninth Big 12 tournament title and 22nd conference title overall in the 23-year history of the league. BU's ninth tournament crown came under first-year head coach Brian Boland.
BU came out firing to open the match. Johannes Schretter and Constantin Frantzen took a 6-2 win over Chi Chi Huang and Yuya Ito at the No. 3 spot, and then Matias Soto and Will Little clinched the opening point with a 6-4 victory over Colin Markes and Leonardo Telles on court two.
Texas won its only point of the match when No. 76 Will Little fell 6-4, 6-2 to No. 53 Harrison Scott on court four. Then, the Bears started rolling when Sven Lah took a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Colin Markes at the No. 5 spot.
No. 49 Soto earned his second top-10 ranked win of the season when he took down No. 7 Yuya Ito at the No. 2 spot, 7-5, 7-6(4).
No. 111 Adrian Boitan, later named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Performer, clinched the match when he recorded a 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 73 Leonardo Telles on court three.
To keep up with things all season long, follow the team on social media: @BaylorMTennis.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The Bears captured their ninth postseason title in program history to make it 22 Big 12 overall titles (13 regular season, 9 tournament).
• Baylor improves to 22-44 all-time against Texas and snapped a four-match losing streak to the Longhorns.
• Baylor is now 4-3 against Texas in the Big 12 Championship final.
• The Bears are now 40-14 overall and 9-7 in final matches at the Big 12 Championship.
• BU improves to 14-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor is now 20-6 in the doubles point and 17-3 when winning the opening point this season.
• Adrian Boitan was named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player. He is the first Baylor freshman to earn the honor and only second overall in Big 12 Championship history.
• Sven Lah improves to 20-3 in spring singles play.
• Boitan improves to 13-4 in spring singles action.
• Matias Soto won his eighth match over a ranked opponent this season and improves to 18-4 in spring singles play.
• Soto beat his second top-10 opponent of the season and second-highest ranked foe in his career.
• Baylor won its first conference title under first-year head coach Brian Boland.
• Boland won his 32nd career conference title (16 regular season, 16 tournament titles).
STAT OF THE MATCH
9 – the number of Big 12 Championship tournament titles for Baylor men's tennis.
TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win…
"Congratulations to Texas. They have had a great season. They will certainly be ready for the NCAA's just like we will. The Big 12 is one of, if not the strongest conference in the country. Everybody can play. We knew that today we were going to come out and have a battle. I am just proud of our guys. They definitely deserve this championship. These players have embraced everything we have asked of them, and I could not be more proud of them; in particular the three seniors who have done so much for our program. This is their first Big 12 Championship title and I am just happy for them. Certainly, it is nice to see our freshman come through for us in the end. That guy (Adrian Boitan) is a warrior and it was well deserving that he finished the match."
TOP QUOTE #2
Freshman Adrian Boitan
On clinching the match…
"This has been the best year of my life coming here at Baylor, playing in college. We are the most prepared team in the country and it showed today. I went into the last shot with no regrets and it was amazing clinching the win for us."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor awaits its seeding in the 2019 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship. The NCAA selection show airs on Monday, April 29 at 5 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
1
0
Christian Sigsgaard / 0 (9/-) [UT]
UF
#2 Singles Match
12
77
Yuya Ito / 0 (7/-) [UT]
56
#3 Singles Match
12
76
Leonardo Telles / 0 (73/-) [UT]
54
#4 Singles Match
12
42
Harrison Scott / 0 (53/-) [UT]
66
#5 Singles Match
12
67
Colin Markes / 0 [UT]
46
#6 Singles Match
1
0
Rodrigo Banzer / 0 [UT]
UF
Order of Finish:
4,5,2,3
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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