By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            In Brian Boland's debut season at Baylor, he didn't have a lot of options and still went 25-6, won the Big 12 Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals. 
            Bringing in eight new players this season, including four in January, Boland has a deep roster of a dozen players to compete for the six spots in the singles lineup and three doubles teams. The fifth-ranked Bears open the spring dual-match season with a doubleheader on Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, hosting Boise State at 2 p.m. and UT-Arlington at 6. 
            "I want guys to feel like nothing is guaranteed and they have to come in and work hard every day," said Boland, who goes into Saturday's doubleheader needing one more win for his 600^th career victory (599-96). "Not only do they need to earn it as young guys, but nobody's really terribly comfortable when they're veterans, that they have to continue to get better. I think we have the right culture now to be a championship program."
            That's certainly the standard for Boland, who won four national titles at Virginia and has captured a combined 32 conference championships at Indiana State, Virginia and Baylor. 
            "I thought we did a good job last year, winning a Big 12 title and getting all the way to the Elite Eight," he said. "But, we have high aspirations and we're looking forward to what's to come. We certainly think that if we stick together and the guys maximize themselves, we have a lot to look forward to."
            All four returners from last year's team are in the ITA preseason rankings, led by junior Sven Lah at No. 19 in singles and 20^th in doubles with senior Constantin Frantzen. Junior Matias Soto is 59^th in singles, followed by sophomore Adrian Boitan (70^th), Frantzen (95^th) and Duke transfer Ryan Dickerson (111^th). 
            "The more experience you have, the better you're going to be on the court, the better you handle different situations," said Lah, a returning All-American in doubles who ended last season ranked No. 2 with outgoing senior Jimmy Bendeck. "But for my personal development, I don't think it's ever good to go back in the past or look too deep into the future. We just try to focus on one match at a time and go from there."
            Among the newcomers this season is first-semester freshman Jenson Brooksby, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country who made it through three rounds of qualifying and beat former top-10 player Tomas Berdych in the U.S. Open in September. 
            "Having Jenson Brooksby is a testament to Baylor Athletics and where we are as a program and what is possible," Boland said. "And I know he believes in what we can do together to be successful, not only for him as an individual but for us a team as well. He's looking forward to being part of a team."
            Brooksby and fellow freshman Alex Garcia from Spain are both sidelined with foot injuries and won't play in Saturday's doubleheader. The other freshman newcomers are Finn Bass from the United Kingdom, Joseph Chen from Taiwan, Rahul Dhokia from England, Sebastian Nothhaft from China and Christopher Frantzen from Germany, the younger brother of Constantin. 
            "It's a huge advantage for us having guys like Sven and Matias who know the ropes and have been in the program for a year and some of the things that we did last year. That's only going to help the young guys adapt," Boland said. "Connie has done a really good job as a leader already this year. He's kind of taken his own initiative to go the extra mile. These guys are passionate about wearing the green and gold. They love competing for Baylor University. 
            "It's well beyond just the tennis program. What's happening in Baylor Athletics over the course of the last several months is just exciting for everybody, and we hope we can be a good extension of that."
            NOTE: Men's tennis is one of four Baylor programs currently ranked in the top five in the country, with women's basketball at No. 1 in the coaches' poll, men's basketball No. 2 and volleyball finishing at No. 3 after a Final Four run. That doesn't include an 11-3 football team that made its first-ever Big 12 Championship game appearance and finished at No. 13 in the AP poll; or an Acrobatics & Tumbling team that will go for its sixth-consecutive national championship this year. 


WACO, Texas -- The fifth-ranked Baylor men's tennis team will open its 2020 dual-match season by hosting a doubleheader against Boise State and UT Arlington Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. CT.

BU will open the season with five straight home matches, which includes hosting the ITA Kick-Off Weekend next Saturday and Sunday.

Head coach Brian Boland is one win away from 600 career wins in his 23rd season as a head coach. He currently holds a 599-96 career record and .862 win percentage. In his 23 years, he has won four national titles, 32 combined conference titles and led teams to 18 NCAA Tournaments with 10 semifinal appearances and six championship final matches at Indiana State, Virginia and Baylor.

Baylor has won 23 of its last 24 home openers dating back to 1996, most recently sweeping Prairie View A&M in 7-0 fashion.

Last season, Boise State went 11-10 overall and 1-6 in Mountain West play while UT Arlington went 15-9 overall and 4-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Bears hold a 5-0 all-time series lead over the Broncos while BU leads the series against the Mavericks, 15-5. BU is on 13-match winning streak against UTA dating back to 1997.

The Bears boast five ranked singles players in No. 19 Sven Lah, No. 59 Matias Soto, No. 70 Adrian Boitan, No. 95 Constantin Frantzen and No. 111 Ryan Dickerson. In doubles action, Lah and Frantzen lead the Bears with a No. 20 national ranking while Dickerson and Soto are No. 25. Lah pairs with Dickerson to be the No. 37 tandem while Soto and Frantzen are No. 45.

Four players return from last season's 25-6 team that made it to the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals and secured the program's ninth Big 12 postseason title in Boland's first season at the helm.

The roster also features eight newcomers in grad transfer Ryan Dickerson and freshmen Finn Bass, Jenson Brooksby, Sebastian Nothhaft, Alex Garcia, Joseph Chen, Christopher Frantzen and Rahul Dhokia.

Live results and a live video stream for the matches will be available at BaylorBears.com.

Following the season-opening doubleheader, the Bears will continue its homestand by hosting Nebraska on Monday at 1:30 p.m. at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.

For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team follow its official social media accounts: @BaylorMTennis.