No. 4 MT Travels to Illinois for ITA National Indoor Championship

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Interim head coach Michael Woodson says his fourth-ranked Baylor men's tennis team (9-1) "knew what we were getting ourselves into" with a challenging schedule that has already included four top-10 teams.
            The road doesn't get any easier with a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship that begins Friday in Champaign, Ill., where the Bears could play as many as three top-5 teams at the three-day tournament. Making its 18^th appearance at the National Indoors, Baylor faces No. 5 Texas (7-1) at 3:30 p.m. CST Friday at the Atkins Tennis Center.
            "If we didn't have the team that we have, it would be a little bit much," said Woodson, whose team earned its spot in the elite eight-team tournament with a 4-1 win over No. 9 Texas A&M last Sunday. "We've played the hardest schedule, probably by far, of anybody in the country. But, we knew what we were getting ourselves into, and I think we also knew the team we had. So, I think it's worked out really well for us."
            Friday's opening round comes just 13 days after Baylor handed then-No. 4 Texas its only loss of the season, 4-1, on the Longhorns' home courts at the Texas Tennis Center. Bouncing back from their first doubles point loss of the season, the Bears won four singles, with Dartmouth transfer Charlie Broom getting the clincher at No. 5.
            "This is a completely different match, playing indoors on faster courts, in a different state, different conditions, different things on the line," Woodson said. "Even though we'll have a lot of familiar matchups, I think it's going to be a lot different this time. So, our guys have to be ready. I feel like we're going to be prepared for the opportunity, but it's certainly not a matchup we can take lightly."
            That was Baylor's only match on outdoor courts this season. This time, it will be on the faster indoor courts.
            "Some of the guys play better (indoors)," said senior Matias Soto, who defeated 13^th-ranked Hady Habib, 7-6(10), 6-1, in the win over A&M. "I feel like against Texas A&M, against Michigan, that I played indoor, I played probably the best two matches so far. It's not just me, I think it's everybody on the team. We're all used to playing indoors. We just look at it as another opportunity, and we have to leave everything out there from the first point to the last."
            Duke grad transfer Spencer Furman, who's undefeated in dual-match singles (5-0), said smaller players "are (generally) better outdoor players, and a lot of our team is smaller guys."
            "But, a lot of our team plays through the court, which helps for indoors," Furman said. "I think we're good at (indoors and outdoors), but so far we've been doing well indoors. So, hopefully we can keep that going."
            Furman was injured when Duke made it to the 2018 ITA National Team Indoor Championship, when the Blue Devils lost to Ohio State and Illinois and knocked off Notre Dame, 4-3. So, this is his first chance to play at the National Indoor.
            "I can't be more excited, honestly," Furman said. "I think the eight-team field just shows how tough it is, how good everyone is. To be a part of that is something special."
            Playing in the tournament for the eighth-straight year and 18^th time overall, Baylor is looking for just its second-ever indoor title after capturing the 2005 title with wins over Boise State, Duke, Illinois and Virginia. The defending NCAA champions that year, the Bears won 33 in a row before falling to UCLA, 4-3, in a rematch of the NCAA finals.
            "Our guys have earned the opportunity to play as one of the eight best teams in the country," Woodson said, "but in the grand scheme of things, we're building toward bigger things in April and May. Obviously, if things go our way and we were to lift a trophy this weekend, we would certainly be very excited about it. But, it's not something we talk about often. This is just another opportunity for our guys to go out and compete against the best in the country."
            The Bears have proven their resiliency, going 3-0 after losing the doubles point, with wins against Texas, Oklahoma and A&M. Baylor's stacked lineup features six players who have all played No. 1 singles at some point in their collegiate careers.
            "I don't really think about playing 6. Just starting for this team is something special," Furman said. "Everyone is so good on this team, from top to bottom. Charlie (Broom) at 5 is absurd. Just to play on this team is definitely a privilege, especially coming from Duke, where we weren't as competitive."
            After his first two seasons, Soto said he's learned that the doubles  point is "just one of the four (points) we need."
            "Even if we lose the doubles, we can win the six spots in singles at any time against any opponent," said Soto, who is 4-1 at No. 2 singles. "I think this season, we have done a good job coming back and not thinking about the doubles. Especially against A&M, it was tough. We were up 4-1 in the tiebreak, almost there to win the doubles point. And then, we lose. I think the guys are doing an amazing job not thinking about it and just thinking about the next point in singles. The doubles, you can almost see it as a warm-up for singles."
            The Baylor-Texas winner would face top-ranked USC (7-0) or the host Illinois team (1-0) in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. CST Saturday, with the losers squaring off at 3:30. In the other first-round pairings, No. 2 North Carolina (3-0) faces 10^th-ranked Tennessee (8-0) and No. 3 TCU (6-0) takes on seventh-ranked Virginia (5-0). Sunday's championship is set for 6:30 p.m.
            "This is maybe the strongest event we've ever had, because we've cut (the field) in half," Woodson said. "I think it means even more to get to this event than it has in the past. The cream seems to have risen to the top. And there's some really good teams, like Ohio State and Texas A&M, that didn't make it. I think it's just a huge honor to be able to say we're a part of it and to have a chance to win a national title."
            Live scoring and streaming video are available all weekend at ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

WACO, Texas – No. 4-ranked and fourth-seeded Baylor men's tennis will compete for the eighth-consecutive season in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship this weekend at the Atkins Tennis Center in Champaign, Ill.

BU (9-1) will open its tournament run with a rematch against No. 5 Texas (7-1) on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT in the quarterfinals.

This is Baylor's 18^th appearance at National Indoors, having qualified after defeating previous No. 4-ranked Michigan and No. 9 Texas A&M as part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Bears are 25-27 all-time at the national event, with their best finish coming in 2005 when they knocked off four ranked teams to win the title.

Last season, BU dropped its opening match to Wake Forest 4-1, but bounced back with a 4-0 sweep over host Wisconsin. The Bears' 2020 tournament ended with a 4-2 loss to Columbia. The last time BU won two matches at National Indoors was 2015.

Baylor heads to Champaign with six ranked singles players 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. The Bears are a combined 44-5 in singles dual play this spring. No player on the roster owns more than one loss in singles and unranked Spencer Furman is undefeated at 5-0.

BU also boasts the No. 10-ranked doubles team in the nation in Lah/Frantzen. The Bears are a combined 21-8 in doubles duals this season and have won the doubles point seven times in 2021. Baylor is 3-0 in matches when dropping the doubles point.

This will be the second meeting between the Bears and Longhorns this season, with one more contest scheduled for late April. BU has won the last two matchups, though UT still holds a 44-23 all-time advantage.

The Bears are 3-1 this season against top-10 ranked opponents, and will have more opportunities this weekend to improve that mark. This year's field includes No. 1 USC, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 TCU, No. 7 Virginia and No. 10 Tennessee, in addition to host team Illinois, the Bears and the Longhorns.

BU is guaranteed to play three matches in this year's tournament. The Bears will face either top-seeded USC or Illinois on Saturday at 3:30 or 6:30 p.m., depending on Friday's results.

Live scoring and live streaming are available all weekend long. Links can be found on the men's tennis schedule page at BaylorBears.com.

For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team all season long, follow their official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorMTennis.

-BaylorBears.com-

No. 4 MT Travels to Illinois for ITA National Indoor Championship

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Players Mentioned

Adrian Boitan

Charlie Broom

Constantin Frantzen

Spencer Furman

Sven Lah

Matias Soto

Nick Stachowiak

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