By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Playing in its first national championship final in 16 years, fourth-ranked Baylor men's tennis wanted nothing more than to hoist a trophy Sunday night at the Atkins Tennis Center. 
            But given the choice, the Bears (11-2) would much rather lift an even bigger one in May. 
            In position to pull out enough three-setters to knock off No. 2 North Carolina (8-0), Baylor never got that chance when second-ranked Will Blumberg won a second-set tiebreaker and the Tar Heels' Brian Cernoch broke Nick Stachowiak's serve to close out a 4-1 win in the final of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. 
            "We just needed a little bit more time, a little bit more experience," interim head coach Michael Woodson said. "I think they handled some of the bigger moments a little bit better than us. But, I think we're going to learn a lot from that, and I think we'll be ready next time. I think this is going to serve us well for where our sights are set, which is at the end of the year."
            In 2005, Baylor defeated Virginia, 4-1, to win the national indoor title before losing to UCLA, 4-3, three months later in the NCAA final. The Bears could very well see the Tar Heels again in May at the NCAA Championship in Orlando, Fla. 
            "These Tar Heels have been in this moment many times before," Woodson said. "Everybody thinks of them as one of the oldest and most talented teams. And they're better indoors. They play most of their season indoors. For, it was great to get a look at them and compete so closely with them. I think the next time, it may flip the other way."
            After rallying from a doubles point loss in three previous matches this season, including last Sunday's 4-1 win over Texas A&M in an indoor qualifying match, Woodson said "it didn't really affect us" when the Bears lost a close doubles point against North Carolina. 
            Former Duke teammates Stachowiak and Spencer Furman got broken twice early in a 6-2 loss at No. 3, and then Charlie Broom and Matias Soto fell on Court 2 to the fifth-ranked duo of Mac Kiger and Simon Soendergaard, 6-4. 
            "I didn't really feel like (it was bigger than one point)," Woodson said, "because we know that's probably their best point."
            North Carolina took control of the match by winning four of the six first sets in singles, including a 7-3 tiebreaker by Cernoch. But, Furman fought back from a first-set loss to Soendergaard at No. 6 and was on serve at 3-3 in the third when the match ended. 
            Charlie Broom was the first off the court in singles, breezing to a 6-0, 6-3 win over 100^th-ranked Josh Peck at No. 5 to knot the score at 1-1. In a back-and-forth match at No. 3, 41^st-ranked Benjamin Sigouin got a late service break in beating Sven Lah, 6-3, 7-5. 
            Unable to close it out in straight sets, Soto broke twice to open the third set and was leading the Tar Heels' Rinky Hijikata, 6-4, 5-7, 4-0 at No. 2. Blumberg put North Carolina on the brink when he took the second-set tiebreaker and beat Adrian Boitan, 6-3, 7-6, at No 1. 
            "I think Sven and Adrian did a great job to push to the end of those sets, but I think it would have made a huge difference, for sure, to send it to a third," Woodson said. "If Nick would have won the second, I was pretty confident we were going to win. We dropped a couple close ones, it was just a point here or there, that was it."
            With a chance to take it to another tiebreaker, Stachowiak hit a backhand wide on match point in falling to Cernoch, 7-6(3), 7-5, at No. 4 in the clincher. 
            "We've been thankful every time we get to go out on the court and play," Woodson said. "We're going to travel back safely, rest, recover, and hit the practice courts, hit the gym. We've got a nice little stretch here coming up where we can really get some good work in in preparation for what is going to continue to be a very difficult schedule."
            Returning home, the Bears will host Trinity and UT-Arlington at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., respectively, next Sunday. The doubleheader is tentatively scheduled for the outdoor courts at the Hurd Tennis Center, but could be moved to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, depending on the weather. 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 4 Baylor men's tennis put up a great fight but ultimately fell to No. 2 North Carolina 4-1 in the championship of the 2021 ITA National Team Indoor Championship Sunday night in Champaign, Ill.

The Bears (11-2) were unable to overcome dropping the doubles point early and could only scratch up one singles victory to avoid being blanked by the Tar Heels. UNC (6-0) tallied singles wins on courts one, three and four to seal the victory.

BU was looking for its first tournament title since winning the national event in 2005. This is the first time the Bears have collected two wins at National Indoors since 2015.

UNC collected the opening point with doubles wins in the third position by Benjamin Sigouin/Rinky Hijikata over Spencer Furman/Nick Stachowiak, 6-2, and the No. 5-ranked pairing of Mac Kiger/Simon Soendergaard against Charlie Broom/Matias Soto, 6-4 on court two.

In a showdown on the top doubles court, BU's 10^th-ranked Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah battled No. 6 William Blumberg/Brian Cernoch to a 5-5 deadlock before being interrupted by final tallies in the other matches.

As singles began, Baylor got on the board first as No. 103 Broom stayed hot with his fifth straight-set win in a row, defeating No. 100 Joshua Peck 6-0, 6-3 at No. 5 to even the match score.
 
However, No. 43 Lah couldn't hold off No. 41 Sigouin, falling 6-3, 7-5 on court three, No. 46 Adrian Boitan battled in a second-set tiebreaker but dropped his match to No. 2 Blumberg 6-3 at the No. 1 spot, 7-6(3), and No. 74 Stachowiak was narrowly bested by Cernoch on court four 7-6(3), 7-5 to give the Tar Heels the championship.

HIGHLIGHTS
• This is the first time Baylor has won two matches at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship since 2015.
• BU fell to 0-5 all-time against the Tar Heels.
• Baylor dropped to 9-4 this season in the doubles point.
• The Bears are now 3-1 in matches when losing the doubles point.
• Baylor is a combined 51-8 in singles play this dual season and 25-11 in doubles.
• No. 103 Charlie Broom collected his fifth-consecutive straight-sets victory, defeating No. 100 Joshua Peck 6-0, 6-3.
• Broom leads the Bears with eight wins this spring.

STAT OF THE MATCH
5 – Charlie Broom collected his fifth-consecutive straight-sets victory by defeating No. 100 Joshua Peck 6-0, 6-3.
 
TOP QUOTES
Interim head coach Michael Woodson
On tonight's loss…
"I'm extremely proud of these guys. I don't even know where to begin. It's just an unbelievable group of young men that just believe in each other so much and love each other so much. It's tough to take a loss like this. But for us, it's just another opportunity to compete. This year is about playing with each other and developing toward something special in April and May. To be able to have these types of opportunities in a global pandemic, we're super thankful for. So, credit to the ITA and the University of Illinois for putting on a heck of an event. It wasn't what we wanted today, but I think we learned a lot and we'll be ready for the future. Very impressive tournament from the guys."
 
On the team's performance this weekend…
"It was a great weekend. I'm so incredibly proud of these guys. They're continuing to learn and grow together and develop together. They have so much belief in themselves and each other that it's legitimately right to the end, we just all feel like we're going to win. None of these guys are going to let the other ones down in any way. And just to hear them talk about each other and see how they react to each other and love each other is really special. Just enjoying that opportunity every day to be with them."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears (11-2) will take a week off to rest and recover before returning to the courts for a doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 21 against Trinity and UT Arlington. The two matches are currently set to begin at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center, Baylor's first outdoor matches of 2021.

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