No. 6 MT Powers Past Utah in NCAA First Round

Friday, May 3

Waco, Texas

6:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

Utah (First Round)

No. 6 MT Powers Past Utah in NCAA First Round

5/3/2019 10:02:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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Bears clinch 4-0 victory for 18th consecutive win in the NCAA opening round

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            In 13 previous NCAA first-round matches at home, the Baylor men's tennis team barely broke a sweat. Utah definitely made the sixth-seeded Bears sweat Friday night.
            Baylor (23-5) pulled out first-set tiebreakers at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 singles and then closed out the 42^nd-ranked Utes, 4-0, with wins by Sven Lah, Johannes Schretter and freshman Adrian Boitan quickly after a venue change to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
            But, the Bears had to fight and claw to win their 18^thconsecutive first-round match and advance to face 20^th-ranked Michigan (18-8) at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
            "Credit to Utah, they played a great match," said coach Brian Boland, who won his first NCAA tournament match at Baylor after winning four national championships at Virginia. "This is certainly one of the toughest first rounds in the country, that's for sure. . . . I was pleased with the guys' competitiveness, but we certainly have to get ready for tomorrow."
            Facing a Power 5 opponent in an NCAA first-round match at home for the first time, Baylor jumped out to leads on two of the three doubles courts and put the first point on the board with wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 spots. Schretter and Constantin Frantzen dominated Russell Benkaim and Joe Woolley at No. 3, then the top-ranked duo of Lah and Jimmy Bendeck finished off David Micevski and Slava Shainyan, 6-4, at No. 1.
            Utah coach Roeland Brateanu said Baylor "has proven why they're one of the hottest teams in the country. You give them an inch, it's hard to catch up."
            With Woolley already winning his first set at No. 6 singles over Kyrylo Tsygura, 6-4, a turning point in the match came when the top three singles courts all went to first-set tiebreakers and Baylor swept all three of them. Micevski jumped out to a 5-1 lead in his tiebreaker at No. 2, but Baylor sophomore Matias Soto reeled off six straight points, giving the Bears their fifth first-set win.
            "(Utah) pushed really hard in those first sets," said Boland, whose team improved to 14-0 at home this season. "Adrian had to break to get back into the tiebreaker, which we got a little bit fortunate there. Will (Little) had the first set served again him and broke and went on to win that first set."
            Lah was already in control at No. 5 singles when play was suspended by a rain delay and moved to the indoor courts. He made quick work of Mathias Gavelin, winning two of the next three games and closing out a 6-2, 6-3 win to put the second point on the board.
            Woolley was two points away from finishing off Tsygura with a 5-2, 30-love lead at No. 6; Micevski had split sets with Soto at No. 2 and trailed 2-0; and Benkaim was up 5-4 in the second set at No. 4 after dropping the opener to Little, 7-5.
            The Utes (17-12) had a chance to make things interesting and get a couple points on the board, but Schretter and Boitan were able to slow down the momentum. Schretter rolled to a 7-6(2), 6-2 win over 45^th-ranked Dan Little at No. 1, then Boitan won his third consecutive clincher by beating Shainyan, 7-6(4), 6-2, at No. 3.
            "I think this match woke us up," Boitan said. "We know in the NCAA every team is good, we don't have easy matches here. But, we didn't have the biggest energy that we could have on the court. When we moved indoors, everything changed. We were all pumped up."
            Michigan bounced back from a doubles point loss to defeat 39^th-ranked Dartmouth, 4-2 in the other first-round match. The Wolverines pulled out a pair of three-setters in singles and had a 5-3 third-set lead in the final match on court when it ended.
            Baylor and Michigan squared off back in January, with the Bears pulling out a 4-1 win in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Waco.
            "They're tough," Brateanu said. "It's not like you come in and they're going to blow you off the court. But, they're really good competitors, they make you play, you've got to beat them. They stood up as a team in big points. After the rain delay, they stood up and showed everybody what they're made of. I think they're a tough team to beat."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Sixth-seeded Baylor men's tennis (23-5) used a strong doubles point and a brief weather delay and venue change to wrap up a 4-0 sweep over No. 42 Utah (17-12) in the NCAA First Round Friday at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center in Waco.

Opening the NCAA Tournament for the first time against a Power Five opponent in Waco, Baylor improved to 29-1 in home postseason matches and 20-2 all-time in the first round.

The Bears got the quick lead in doubles play behind a 6-1 win from Johannes Schretter and Constantin Frantzen at the No. 3 spot. Then, the top-ranked duo of Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah captured the opening point with a 6-4 victory on court one.

In singles play, the Bears were pushed to three first-set tiebreakers at the top three spots. BU came away with five first sets before inclement weather pushed the match indoors.

76^th-ranked Lah got things started at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Mathias Gavelin at the No. 5 spot. Then, 20^th-ranked Schretter took a 7-6(2), 6-2 win over No. 45 Dan Little at the top of the lineup.

112^th-ranked Adrian Boitan clinched the victory for the third match in a row when he took a 7-6(4), 6-2 win against Slava Shainyan on court three.

To keep up with things all season long, follow the team on social media: @BaylorMTennis.

HIGHLIGHTS
• The Bears improve to 57-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 20-2 in the first round.
• Baylor advanced to the NCAA Second Round for the 18^th-consecutive season.
• Baylor improves to 14-0 at home this season and has outscored opponents 78-8 in Waco.
• Baylor is now 30-1 in its last 31 home matches dating back to the 2017 season.
• Baylor improves to 2-1 all-time against Utah and 1-0 against the Utes in the NCAA Tournament.
• Baylor is now 29-1 all-time in NCAA matches at home.
• BU improves to 15-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor is now 21-6 in the doubles point and 18-3 when winning the opening point this season.
• Adrian Boitan clinched his third straight match and improved to 14-4 in dual-match singles play.
• Sven Lah improves to 21-3 in spring singles play.
• Schretter improves to 10-7 in dual-match singles action and a team-high 10 ranked wins.
• Baylor won its NCAA Tournament match under first-year head coach Brian Boland.

STAT OF THE MATCH
1 – the number of times Baylor has opened the NCAA Championship against a Power Five opponent at home.

TOP QUOTE #1
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win…
"There was a lot of adversity and momentum changes throughout the match. We won the doubles point, but credit to Utah. They pushed ahead in those first sets and Matias (Soto) was down 5-1 in the breaker and pulled a close one in the tiebreaker out, and Adrian (Boitan) had to break to get back into the tiebreaker which we got a little bit fortunate there, and Will (Little) had the first set served against him and broke and went on to win that first set. Credit to Utah, they played a great match. They made it really hard for us and this is certainly one of the toughest first rounds in the country, that's for sure."

TOP QUOTE #2
Freshman Adrian Boitan
On the match…
"In the NCAAs, every team is good, so we don't have easy matches here. We didn't have the biggest energy that we could've given on the court. When we moved indoors, everything changed. We were all pumped up."

WHAT'S NEXT
Sixth-seeded Baylor meets No. 20 Michigan in the NCAA Second Round Saturday. The match is set for 6 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco.