Friday, January 15
Waco, Texas
12:00 p.m.
Baylor
vs
Lamar
No. 15 MT Set to Open Season With Doubleheader
1/14/2021 11:57:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Bears to face Lamar and ACU Friday at Hawkins Indoor
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Baylor's bulletin board is filling up fast.
Picked second behind TCU in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll, the Baylor men's tennis team is 15thin the initial ITA rankings and landed a national-best six players in the ITA rankings but none in the top 40.
"These guys are just adding the bulletin board material every single day," said interim head coach Michael Woodson, whose team will open the spring season on Friday hosting a pair of matches at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, facing Lamar at 12 noon and ACU at 6 p.m.
"There's been a lot of talk that this team is one of the best teams in the country, but maybe they're not going to get over the hump because we will struggle against the other top teams at the top of the lineup. I think all the guys in the locker room know what we can bring, not just at 4, 5 and 6 and doubles, but everywhere in the lineup."
This is a loaded team that not only returns every player from last year's 13-3 squad but also brought in three grad transfers in Dartmouth's Charlie Broom and Duke's Spencer Furman and Nick Stachowiak. Along with juniors Sven Lah and Matias Soto and sophomore Adrian Boitan, the Bears have six players who have played in the No. 1 singles spot.
"They're all very talented, they could all play No. 1, for sure," Woodson said. "Even some of the guys who haven't played 1 in the past, I would feel comfortable having there. But, it's just about finding the right fit, where they're most comfortable, what their game style is. . . . We want to make sure the guys look around and feel like we're the strongest at every single spot, singles and doubles."
Soto spent the most time at No. 1 for the Bears last year, compiling a 6-2 record, but Lah led the team with 25 wins overall and a 14-1 dual-match record that included 10-0 at No. 2.
Fifth-year senior Constantin Frantzen, who was a combined 9-1 in the bottom three singles spots, said the depth and competition on this year's team "holds everybody accountable just to go out there every day and leave it out there in practice."
"This is the biggest team I've been on so far, in my five years at Baylor," Frantzen said. "I think it's great, actually, because it's really tough to make the lineup."
Woodson, making his head coaching debut after eight years as an assistant, said he's even considered using a coin flip to pick a lineup. The 14-player roster also includes sixth-year senior Ryan Dickerson, another Duke transfer, sophomore Finn Bass and freshmen Joseph Chen, Rahul Dhokia, Christopher Frantzen,, Alex Garcia and Sebastian Nothhaft, who was 6-0 at No. 6 last year.
"We have a lot of young guys that are going to need development that are going to be the future of this program, complementing the older guys that are ready to make the most of the opportunity today," Woodson said. "We really worked to put together a schedule that will allow both to excel and focus on not just development for the future but winning this year."
Constantin Frantzen said the team's goals are to win its first regular-season Big 12 title in six years and "to win like the entire thing, the national championship."
"We have some unfinished business to do this season," he said.
Baylor will squeeze in another doubleheader against SMU at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center before going on the road to face fourth-ranked Michigan in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Ann Arbor.
A challenging spring schedule also includes matchups against TCU and Texas, tied for sixth in the ITA rankings along with No. 8 North Carolina State, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 12 Wake Forest, 14th-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 24 Texas Tech.
"Everybody's so pumped up to kick off the season on Friday," Frantzen said.
Woodson, who took over as interim head coach last July, said the players, assistant coaches Izak van der Merwe and George Goldhoff and the rest of the support staff have made the transition "very easy."
"It's just a special group of young men," he said. "The talent speaks for itself, but just the quality of the young men that we've got out there is really exciting. It makes you want to come out to practice every day and really pour into them every opportunity we get. I'm just thankful for the position that I'm in now and excited to see where it takes us in the future."
WACO, Texas – Baylor men's tennis will open its 2021 dual-match season with a doubleheader against Lamar and Abilene Christian Friday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center at Noon and 6 p.m. CT, respectively.
The Bears have also been ranked 15th in the ITA's preseason team rankings, as announced Thursday by the organization.
In his fifth season at BU, interim head coach Michael Woodson will make his head coaching debut on Friday, after spending three years as an assistant coach and the 2019-20 season as associate head coach.
Baylor has won 24 of its last 25 home openers dating back to 1996, most recently sweeping Boise State 7-0 last season.
In 2020, Lamar went 7-12 and ACU was 8-6 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the athletic year.
The Bears hold an 8-4 advantage over the Cardinals in the all-time series, while also boasting a 14-3 record all-time against the Wildcats.
Six Bears are ranked in the ITA's top-125 singles rankings in No. 43 Sven Lah, No. 46 Adrian Boitan, No. 56 Matias Soto, No. 66 Constantin Frantzen, No. 74 Nick Stachowiak and No. 103 Charlie Broom. On the doubles court, Lah/Frantzen begin the year ranked 10th in the nation, while Soto/Stachowiak are ranked 33rd.
Eleven players return from the 2020 roster that went 13-3 in the shortened season. BU also welcomes three graduate transfers in Broom (Dartmouth), Spencer Furman (Duke) and Stachowiak (Duke).
Live results and a live video stream for the matches will be available at BaylorBears.com.
Following the season-opening doubleheader, the Bears will return to Hawkins on Monday for two matches against SMU, set to begin at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT.
For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team all season long, follow their official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorMTennis.
Baylor Bear Insider
Baylor's bulletin board is filling up fast.
Picked second behind TCU in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll, the Baylor men's tennis team is 15thin the initial ITA rankings and landed a national-best six players in the ITA rankings but none in the top 40.
"These guys are just adding the bulletin board material every single day," said interim head coach Michael Woodson, whose team will open the spring season on Friday hosting a pair of matches at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, facing Lamar at 12 noon and ACU at 6 p.m.
"There's been a lot of talk that this team is one of the best teams in the country, but maybe they're not going to get over the hump because we will struggle against the other top teams at the top of the lineup. I think all the guys in the locker room know what we can bring, not just at 4, 5 and 6 and doubles, but everywhere in the lineup."
This is a loaded team that not only returns every player from last year's 13-3 squad but also brought in three grad transfers in Dartmouth's Charlie Broom and Duke's Spencer Furman and Nick Stachowiak. Along with juniors Sven Lah and Matias Soto and sophomore Adrian Boitan, the Bears have six players who have played in the No. 1 singles spot.
"They're all very talented, they could all play No. 1, for sure," Woodson said. "Even some of the guys who haven't played 1 in the past, I would feel comfortable having there. But, it's just about finding the right fit, where they're most comfortable, what their game style is. . . . We want to make sure the guys look around and feel like we're the strongest at every single spot, singles and doubles."
Soto spent the most time at No. 1 for the Bears last year, compiling a 6-2 record, but Lah led the team with 25 wins overall and a 14-1 dual-match record that included 10-0 at No. 2.
Fifth-year senior Constantin Frantzen, who was a combined 9-1 in the bottom three singles spots, said the depth and competition on this year's team "holds everybody accountable just to go out there every day and leave it out there in practice."
"This is the biggest team I've been on so far, in my five years at Baylor," Frantzen said. "I think it's great, actually, because it's really tough to make the lineup."
Woodson, making his head coaching debut after eight years as an assistant, said he's even considered using a coin flip to pick a lineup. The 14-player roster also includes sixth-year senior Ryan Dickerson, another Duke transfer, sophomore Finn Bass and freshmen Joseph Chen, Rahul Dhokia, Christopher Frantzen,, Alex Garcia and Sebastian Nothhaft, who was 6-0 at No. 6 last year.
"We have a lot of young guys that are going to need development that are going to be the future of this program, complementing the older guys that are ready to make the most of the opportunity today," Woodson said. "We really worked to put together a schedule that will allow both to excel and focus on not just development for the future but winning this year."
Constantin Frantzen said the team's goals are to win its first regular-season Big 12 title in six years and "to win like the entire thing, the national championship."
"We have some unfinished business to do this season," he said.
Baylor will squeeze in another doubleheader against SMU at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center before going on the road to face fourth-ranked Michigan in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Ann Arbor.
A challenging spring schedule also includes matchups against TCU and Texas, tied for sixth in the ITA rankings along with No. 8 North Carolina State, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 12 Wake Forest, 14th-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 24 Texas Tech.
"Everybody's so pumped up to kick off the season on Friday," Frantzen said.
Woodson, who took over as interim head coach last July, said the players, assistant coaches Izak van der Merwe and George Goldhoff and the rest of the support staff have made the transition "very easy."
"It's just a special group of young men," he said. "The talent speaks for itself, but just the quality of the young men that we've got out there is really exciting. It makes you want to come out to practice every day and really pour into them every opportunity we get. I'm just thankful for the position that I'm in now and excited to see where it takes us in the future."
WACO, Texas – Baylor men's tennis will open its 2021 dual-match season with a doubleheader against Lamar and Abilene Christian Friday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center at Noon and 6 p.m. CT, respectively.
The Bears have also been ranked 15th in the ITA's preseason team rankings, as announced Thursday by the organization.
In his fifth season at BU, interim head coach Michael Woodson will make his head coaching debut on Friday, after spending three years as an assistant coach and the 2019-20 season as associate head coach.
Baylor has won 24 of its last 25 home openers dating back to 1996, most recently sweeping Boise State 7-0 last season.
In 2020, Lamar went 7-12 and ACU was 8-6 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the athletic year.
The Bears hold an 8-4 advantage over the Cardinals in the all-time series, while also boasting a 14-3 record all-time against the Wildcats.
Six Bears are ranked in the ITA's top-125 singles rankings in No. 43 Sven Lah, No. 46 Adrian Boitan, No. 56 Matias Soto, No. 66 Constantin Frantzen, No. 74 Nick Stachowiak and No. 103 Charlie Broom. On the doubles court, Lah/Frantzen begin the year ranked 10th in the nation, while Soto/Stachowiak are ranked 33rd.
Eleven players return from the 2020 roster that went 13-3 in the shortened season. BU also welcomes three graduate transfers in Broom (Dartmouth), Spencer Furman (Duke) and Stachowiak (Duke).
Live results and a live video stream for the matches will be available at BaylorBears.com.
Following the season-opening doubleheader, the Bears will return to Hawkins on Monday for two matches against SMU, set to begin at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT.
For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team all season long, follow their official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorMTennis.
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