No. 6 MT Clinches Super Regional Berth over No. 20 Michigan

Saturday, May 4

Waco, Texas

6:00 p.m. CT

Baylor

Michigan (Second Round)

No. 6 MT Clinches Super Regional Berth over No. 20 Michigan

5/4/2019 10:10:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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Bears claim 4-1 win over the Wolverines in the NCAA Second Round

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Following the same blueprint that worked three months ago in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, the sixth-seeded Baylor men's tennis team (24-5) bounced back from a doubles point loss to knock off 20^th-ranked Michigan, 4-1, Saturday night in an NCAA second-round match at the Hurd Tennis Center.
            First-year Baylor head coach Brian Boland said the Bears were prepared to come back after doubles, "because you can't go through the entire tournament without having that setback once in a while."
            "There is so much parity," Boland said. "I think it's something you almost have to expect at some point. This is a tough tournament, and everybody can play. Michigan plays great doubles, and we knew that when we started tonight because of the last time we played them. They're really feisty and aggressive and play fundamental doubles. The thing is, we have to believe in ourselves if it doesn't work out (in doubles)."
            Riding a four-match winning streak and improving to 15-0 at home this season, the Bears advance to the Round of 16 for the 18^thtime in 22 NCAA tournament appearances and will host 11^th-seeded UCLA (19-5) at 6 p.m. next Friday in the new Super Regional round.
            "It's super exciting," senior Jimmy Bendeck said. "Obviously, Michigan was loud, and having the crowd to counteract them was a huge deal. The crowd was into the match in doubles and in singles all the way to the end. That makes all the difference. So, we're really lucky to be at home and we're really excited about next week."
            Even in losing the opening doubles point, the Bears came out with much more energy than they did in Friday's 4-0 win over 42^nd-ranked Utah. After a 6-4 win by Baylor's top-ranked doubles team of Bendeck and sophomore Sven Lah on Court 1, the Wolverines (18-9) ralled to win tiebreakers at Nos. 2 and 3 to take the early 1-0 lead.
            "We came out with more energy tonight, and boy did we need it going into singles, because this is a tough team to beat when you lose the doubles point," Boland said. "At this point, everybody is. But again, you have to keep it in perspective and get back in it."
            Michigan coach Adam Steinberg said winning the doubles point was critical for the Wolverines, because if you don't win the doubles point against "a great team like Baylor . . . you're really in trouble."
            Baylor snatched the momentum very quickly in singles, winning five of the six first sets and losing a tiebreaker in the sixth.
            "I thought our energy at the beginning of the singles needed to be better," Steinberg said. "That's who we are, that's our identity, and I don't think we came out the way we should have. Baylor fed off that and got confidence quick. You give a little confidence to a team like that, with that kind of talent, they're going to run with it."
            And run they did.
            One of three seniors that recorded singles victories, 78^th-ranked Will Little got the Bears on the board with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over Connor Johnston at No. 3, winning the last four games in a row.
            Fellow seniors Bendeck and Johannes Schretter finished almost simultaneously, with the 20^th-ranked Schretter getting a late service break in a 6-4, 6-3 win over 48^th-ranked Andrew Fenty on Court 1 and Bendeck finishing off Gabe Tishman, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 6.
            "Obviously, I'm still in pain," said Bendeck, who played his first singles match since suffering a sprained MCL playing doubles against Texas Tech on April 14. "But, it was good to be out there. I don't have that many matches left, and I want to be out there as much as I can. Thanks to the coaches for putting me out there and trusting me even though I haven't played in a month. I didn't know if I was going to win or lose, I just wanted to compete as hard as possible."
            While the seniors gave Baylor a 3-1 lead, it came down to freshman Adrian Boitan to close it out for the fourth straight time. The other two matches were still up in the air, with 25^th-ranked sophomore Matias Soto leading 4-3 in the second set after losing the first-set tiebreaker to Michigan's Myles Schalet; and 76^th-ranked Sven Lah down 5-4 in the second set after beating Patrick Maloney, 6-4, in the opening set.
            Quickly getting a reputation as the Bears' unofficial closer, Boitan took the suspense out of it by reeling off four straight wins and upsetting 74^th-ranked Mattias Siimer, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 3.
            "That guy, you talk about an incredible competitor and just relentless on every point," Boland said, "he's fun to coach and be around, and he's a great teammate."
            Boitan says he loves "to be in that position."
            "It's like all the pressure goes and I can just play my best," said Boitan, who improved to 6-0 against ranked opponents. "Our goal this season is to play on May 19 (in the national championship). We're all set on that goal, and we're doing everything we can."
            Next up is a match against UCLA, which advanced with a 4-0 win over 25^th-ranked Oklahoma State. One more win will get the Bears to the final site and NCAA quarterfinals in Orlando, Fla.
            "I tell the guys, if you can't enjoy this, then you might want to try to do something else, because this awesome," Boland said of the crowd getting into it at the end of the match. "This is what we work for all year. Win or lose, it's an incredible experience."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – For the 18^th time in 22 appearances, sixth-seeded Baylor men's tennis (24-5) will advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 after it captured a 4-1 victory over No. 20 Michigan (18-9) Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco.

BU is now 28-0 all-time in the NCAA First and Second Rounds at home and has advanced to the Round of 16 in all 14 seasons it hosted in Waco. As the higher seed, BU will host No. 11 UCLA either next Friday or Saturday in Waco.

The Bears and Wolverines battled it out in doubles action, and top-ranked Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah's 6-4 win over No. 60 Mattias Siimar and Connor Johnston put the Bears in front first. Then, Michigan's Harrison Brown and Gabe Tishman claimed a 7-6(4) win over Johannes Schretter and Constantin Frantzen to tie it up.

Michigan took the doubles point after Will Little and Matias Soto dropped a 7-6(5) decision to Andrew Fenty and Myles Schalet on court two.

The Bears jumped right back into the match when they claimed five first sets in singles action. 78^th-ranked Little got the Bears on the board with his 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Connor Johnson on court four to tie it up at 1-1.

20^th-ranked Schretter bested No. 48 Andrew Fenty for a 6-4, 6-3 win on court one, and then Bendeck followed quickly after with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Gabe Tishman at the No. 6 spot.

For the fourth-straight match, 112^th-ranked Adrian Boitan clinched the final point when he took a 6-4, 6-3 victory over No. 74 Mattias Siimar on court three.

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

HIGHLIGHTS
• The Bears improve to 58-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including 18-2 in the first round.
• Baylor advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the 18^th time in 22 NCAA appearances.
• Baylor improves to 15-0 at home this season and has outscored opponents 82-9 in Waco.
• Baylor is now 31-1 in its last 32 home matches dating back to the 2017 season.
• Baylor improves to 2-1 all-time against Michigan and 1-0 against the Wolverines in the NCAA Tournament.
• Baylor is now 30-1 all-time in NCAA matches at home.
• BU improves to 16-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor is now 21-7 in the doubles point and 4-3 when dropping the opening point this season.
• Adrian Boitan clinched his fourth straight match and improved to 6-0 against ranked foes.
• Jimmy Bendeck improves to 13-4 in dual-match action.
• Schretter improves to 11-7 in dual-match singles action and a team-high 11 ranked wins.
• Little is now 15-3 in spring singles matches.

STAT OF THE MATCH
18 – the number of times Baylor has advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 in 22 tournament appearances.

TOP QUOTE
Head coach Brian Boland
On the win…
"We prepared to deal with the loss of the doubles point because you can't go through the entire tournament without having that setback (every) once in a while because there's so much parity. We've played great doubles, we've been consistent, but we have to believe in ourselves if it doesn't work out, and credit to Michigan for playing two great tiebreakers. I felt like we had the momentum in doubles and the point got away from us. The way we came out in singles from top to bottom was impressive. I couldn't be happier for the guys."

WHAT'S NEXT
Sixth-seeded Baylor will host No. 11 UCLA in the Round of 16 (Super Regional) round either next Friday or Saturday. Match day and time will be confirmed by the NCAA after the conclusion of all second round matches this weekend.