Sunday, February 7
Dallas, Texas
3:00 p.m.
Baylor
4
vs
1
Texas A&M
No. 4 MT Punches Ticket To National Indoors By Defeating Texas A&M 4-1
2/7/2021 8:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Bears drop Aggies with four singles wins, punch ticket to ITA National Team Indoor Championship
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
All Sven Lah wanted to do was "just stay out there."
With the momentum seemingly shifting back to No. 9 Texas A&M in a match full of ebbs and flows, the fourth-year Baylor junior trailed 33rd-ranked Juan Carlos Aguilar, 4-0, in the third set of Sunday's ITA National Team Indoor qualifier at the SMU Tennis Complex in Dallas.
Lah did much more than just stay out there. Down two service breaks, he fought off two match points and took seven of the last eight games to pull out a 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5 win at No. 3 singles and punched the fourth-ranked Bears' ticket with a 4-1 win over the Aggies (2-1).
"I trusted my skills and my guts," said the 43rd-ranked Lah, who bounced back from a three-set loss last Sunday when the Bears fell to No. 3 TCU, 4-1. "I've been in this situation, I'm not going to say a lot of times, but at least enough to know that the guy on the other side feels nerves, pressure. I'm just happy that we got the chance to fight and advance to the national championship."
The Baylor-Texas A&M match was originally scheduled for Jan. 24 at the Ann Arbor Regional as part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, but was postponed when the University of Michigan paused all athletic events on campus. A&M could have potentially advanced as the higher seed, but the ITA decided to reschedule the match at a neutral site.
"When we got back to Waco from Michigan, they told us that we're not going to play, they're going to let A&M advance," Lah said. "That was something that was in our minds from the beginning. We were just happy we got a chance to fight, to battle."
Remaining unbeaten at 20-0 all-time in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Baylor (9-1) booked its 10th trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship that will be held next weekend, Feb. 12-14, in Champaign, Ill. Joining the Bears in the elite eight-team field are No. 1 USC, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 TCU, No. 5 Texas, No. 7 Virginia and host Illinois.
"I feel like that's right where we belong," said interim head coach Michael Woodson, whose team improves to 3-1 against top-10 opponents. "There's absolutely no one that's played anywhere near the type of schedule we have. Frankly, these guys deserve it. They've answered the call. We're thrilled to be able to go to Champaign and test ourselves against the best of the best. We can't wait."
Baylor dropped the doubles point for the third time in its last three matches. But just like it did against Texas and Oklahoma, the Bears rallied to dominate the singles.
After splitting the top two doubles, with the 10th-ranked duo of Lah and Constantin Frantzen beating the 48th-ranked Aguilar and Bjorn Thompson, 6-4, the opening point came down to the No. 3 doubles court. Charlie Broom and Matias Soto had a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker, but the Aggies' Valentin Vacherot and Pierce Rollins won the next five points to put the first point on the board.
"We had all the chances to get that doubles point, but it's a coin flip either way, especially in the tiebreaker where a point or two can decide the outcome," Lah said. "Unfortunately, we were up and didn't execute, and that was it. But, I think we have maybe the most complete team in the country. 1 through 6, anyone can play in any spot. We trust each other."
In another momentum shift, Baylor won five of the first six sets in singles, including tiebreakers by Soto and Lah at No. 2 and 3, respectively. Spencer Furman squared the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Raphael Perot at No. 6, followed quickly by Broom finishing off Guido Marson at No. 5, 7-5, 6-2.
"It felt like the walls were closing in on them, on A&M," Woodson said. "We took three first sets, and then three went into tiebreakers. We got two of them to fall our way, which was awesome. Just the momentum, I felt like they were in a tough place."
Soto put the Bears on the brink of the team victory when he took a first-set tiebreaker and dominated in the second set to upset 13th-ranked Hady Habib, 7-6(10), 6-1, at No. 2. It was Soto's highest-ranked win of the season and the highest since beating a pair of top-10 players two years ago.
"He really just locked it in, played the big points exceptionally well and then ran away with the second set. He literally made the guy quit," Woodson said.
With the remaining three matches in third sets, the fourth-ranked Vacherot led Adrian Boitan, 5-3, on Court 1, and Baylor's Nick Stachowiak rallied from a first-set loss to lead the Aggies' Noah Schachter, 6-7(11), 7-6(1), 3-1, at No. 4.
In a sprint to the final, "Sven really brought out the goods and asked the question and Aguilar didn't have the answer today," Woodson said.
"Credit to our guys for just digging in and hanging around. Next thing you know, the pressure is on them."
After playing seven of its first 10 matches at home, Baylor will head to Champaign, Ill., next. The draw for the eight-team tournament should be released soon.
"Our main goal is to win NCAAs in May," Lah said, "so anything else is kind of a bonus. The coming three or four matches at the indoor is just another opportunity to get better."
DALLAS – No. 4 Baylor men's tennis (9-1) battled to a 4-1 win over No. 9 Texas A&M (2-1) Sunday at the SMU Tennis Complex to punch its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
After dropping the doubles point, the Bears came back strong with four-straight singles victories to clinch the match. Three of the singles wins were in straight sets and two were against ranked opponents.
The Bears improved to 20-0 all-time at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and booked its 10th trip to the national event.
A&M gathered the first win of the day in doubles, as Hady Habib/Noah Schachter defeated Adrian Boitan/Nick Stachowiak 6-3 on court two. On court one, the No. 10-ranked pairing of Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah held off A&M's Juan Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson 6-4, putting all eyes on court three.
In a very tight match, Charlie Broom/Matias Soto fell to Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins to give the Aggies the doubles point. Broom/Soto were leading 5-2 in the tiebreaker, but A&M's duo battled back to secure the win 7-6(5).
As singles got underway, the Bears started hot with five first-set wins, including two in tiebreakers. No. 56 Soto gathered a 12-10 tiebreak win on court two, while No. 43 Lah garnered a 7-5 tiebreak win on three to each hold a set advantage. The only Bear to drop his first set was No. 74 Stachowiak in a grueling 13-11 decision.
BU's Spencer Furman wasted no time and was the first to finish, winning his contest 6-2, 6-2 over Raphael Perot on court six and evening the overall match score. No. 103 Broom was the next off the court, climbing back from a 4-1 hole in the first set to defeat Guido Marson 7-5, 6-2.
Soto didn't waste any time in his second set, finishing off No. 13 Hady Habib 7-6(10), 6-1 for Baylor's third point. It is his highest-ranked win of the season and third of the spring.
With the Bears just one point away, three players were locked in tight matchups and headed to third sets. No. 46 Boitan was battling against No. 4 Vacherot after each player won a set 6-4, Stachowiak evened things up with a 7-6(1) win in the second set over Schachter, and Lah was fighting after dropping his second set 6-1.
At one point trailing to No. 33 Aguilar 4-0 in the final frame, Lah showed his strength and resolve to climb back in the match. He brought the set to 4-3, then fought off two match points to draw even at 5-5, and used that momentum to propel the Bears to a fourth singles win, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5.
HIGHLIGHTS
• This is Baylor's third win of the season against an opponent ranked in the top-10.
• Baylor improved to 20-0 all-time in ITA Kick-Off Weekend matches and advanced to the national event for the 10th time in program history.
• BU has won five of its last seven meetings with Texas A&M.
• The Bears are 7-3 this season in the doubles point.
• Baylor is now 3-0 this season when losing the doubles point.
• BU is now a combined 45-5 in singles action this season and 21-8 in doubles matches.
• No. 43 Sven Lah and No. 56 Matias Soto each collected singles wins over ranked opponents.
• Lah defeated No. 33 Juan Carlos Aguilar, his first ranked win of the year.
• Soto topped No. 13 Hady Habib, his highest-ranked win since 2019 and third of the spring season.
STAT OF THE MATCH
4-0 – Sven Lah was trailing 4-0 in the third set of his match and battled back to win 7-5, clinching the match for Baylor.
TOP QUOTE
Interim head coach Michael Woodson
On advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship…
"I feel like it's right where we belong. I'm really excited about it. There's absolutely no one that has played anywhere near the caliber of schedule that we have, and these guys deserve it. They've answered the call and we've responded well to adversity. We're just thrilled to be able to go to Champaign and be able to test ourselves against the best of the best. We can't wait."
Fourth-year junior Sven Lah
On the team playing with confidence…
"As a team, I think we did a great job of bouncing back from tough situations. We have maybe the most complete team in the country, one through six, anyone can play on any spot. We trust each other, the guys off the court are doing an amazing job supporting us. In a neutral site, the guys just bring that energy and atmosphere that makes it feel like we're back in Waco. I'm glad we got a team dub."
On coming back from down 4-0…
"I was just trying to stay out there because Adi [Boitan] and Nick [Stachowiak] were still out there battling next to me. There's something about staying on the court a little longer. Bringing it back to 4-2, I felt like I had a good chance to stay with him and that's what happened. I trusted my skills, trusted my guys, I've been in this situation enough to know the guy on the other side feels the nerves to close it out. I'm just happy we got a chance to compete."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears (9-1) are headed to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Champaign, Ill that will run Feb. 12-14 with a three-match guarantee.
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
All Sven Lah wanted to do was "just stay out there."
With the momentum seemingly shifting back to No. 9 Texas A&M in a match full of ebbs and flows, the fourth-year Baylor junior trailed 33rd-ranked Juan Carlos Aguilar, 4-0, in the third set of Sunday's ITA National Team Indoor qualifier at the SMU Tennis Complex in Dallas.
Lah did much more than just stay out there. Down two service breaks, he fought off two match points and took seven of the last eight games to pull out a 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5 win at No. 3 singles and punched the fourth-ranked Bears' ticket with a 4-1 win over the Aggies (2-1).
"I trusted my skills and my guts," said the 43rd-ranked Lah, who bounced back from a three-set loss last Sunday when the Bears fell to No. 3 TCU, 4-1. "I've been in this situation, I'm not going to say a lot of times, but at least enough to know that the guy on the other side feels nerves, pressure. I'm just happy that we got the chance to fight and advance to the national championship."
The Baylor-Texas A&M match was originally scheduled for Jan. 24 at the Ann Arbor Regional as part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, but was postponed when the University of Michigan paused all athletic events on campus. A&M could have potentially advanced as the higher seed, but the ITA decided to reschedule the match at a neutral site.
"When we got back to Waco from Michigan, they told us that we're not going to play, they're going to let A&M advance," Lah said. "That was something that was in our minds from the beginning. We were just happy we got a chance to fight, to battle."
Remaining unbeaten at 20-0 all-time in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Baylor (9-1) booked its 10th trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship that will be held next weekend, Feb. 12-14, in Champaign, Ill. Joining the Bears in the elite eight-team field are No. 1 USC, No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 TCU, No. 5 Texas, No. 7 Virginia and host Illinois.
"I feel like that's right where we belong," said interim head coach Michael Woodson, whose team improves to 3-1 against top-10 opponents. "There's absolutely no one that's played anywhere near the type of schedule we have. Frankly, these guys deserve it. They've answered the call. We're thrilled to be able to go to Champaign and test ourselves against the best of the best. We can't wait."
Baylor dropped the doubles point for the third time in its last three matches. But just like it did against Texas and Oklahoma, the Bears rallied to dominate the singles.
After splitting the top two doubles, with the 10th-ranked duo of Lah and Constantin Frantzen beating the 48th-ranked Aguilar and Bjorn Thompson, 6-4, the opening point came down to the No. 3 doubles court. Charlie Broom and Matias Soto had a 5-2 lead in the tiebreaker, but the Aggies' Valentin Vacherot and Pierce Rollins won the next five points to put the first point on the board.
"We had all the chances to get that doubles point, but it's a coin flip either way, especially in the tiebreaker where a point or two can decide the outcome," Lah said. "Unfortunately, we were up and didn't execute, and that was it. But, I think we have maybe the most complete team in the country. 1 through 6, anyone can play in any spot. We trust each other."
In another momentum shift, Baylor won five of the first six sets in singles, including tiebreakers by Soto and Lah at No. 2 and 3, respectively. Spencer Furman squared the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Raphael Perot at No. 6, followed quickly by Broom finishing off Guido Marson at No. 5, 7-5, 6-2.
"It felt like the walls were closing in on them, on A&M," Woodson said. "We took three first sets, and then three went into tiebreakers. We got two of them to fall our way, which was awesome. Just the momentum, I felt like they were in a tough place."
Soto put the Bears on the brink of the team victory when he took a first-set tiebreaker and dominated in the second set to upset 13th-ranked Hady Habib, 7-6(10), 6-1, at No. 2. It was Soto's highest-ranked win of the season and the highest since beating a pair of top-10 players two years ago.
"He really just locked it in, played the big points exceptionally well and then ran away with the second set. He literally made the guy quit," Woodson said.
With the remaining three matches in third sets, the fourth-ranked Vacherot led Adrian Boitan, 5-3, on Court 1, and Baylor's Nick Stachowiak rallied from a first-set loss to lead the Aggies' Noah Schachter, 6-7(11), 7-6(1), 3-1, at No. 4.
In a sprint to the final, "Sven really brought out the goods and asked the question and Aguilar didn't have the answer today," Woodson said.
"Credit to our guys for just digging in and hanging around. Next thing you know, the pressure is on them."
After playing seven of its first 10 matches at home, Baylor will head to Champaign, Ill., next. The draw for the eight-team tournament should be released soon.
"Our main goal is to win NCAAs in May," Lah said, "so anything else is kind of a bonus. The coming three or four matches at the indoor is just another opportunity to get better."
DALLAS – No. 4 Baylor men's tennis (9-1) battled to a 4-1 win over No. 9 Texas A&M (2-1) Sunday at the SMU Tennis Complex to punch its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
After dropping the doubles point, the Bears came back strong with four-straight singles victories to clinch the match. Three of the singles wins were in straight sets and two were against ranked opponents.
The Bears improved to 20-0 all-time at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend and booked its 10th trip to the national event.
A&M gathered the first win of the day in doubles, as Hady Habib/Noah Schachter defeated Adrian Boitan/Nick Stachowiak 6-3 on court two. On court one, the No. 10-ranked pairing of Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah held off A&M's Juan Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson 6-4, putting all eyes on court three.
In a very tight match, Charlie Broom/Matias Soto fell to Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins to give the Aggies the doubles point. Broom/Soto were leading 5-2 in the tiebreaker, but A&M's duo battled back to secure the win 7-6(5).
As singles got underway, the Bears started hot with five first-set wins, including two in tiebreakers. No. 56 Soto gathered a 12-10 tiebreak win on court two, while No. 43 Lah garnered a 7-5 tiebreak win on three to each hold a set advantage. The only Bear to drop his first set was No. 74 Stachowiak in a grueling 13-11 decision.
BU's Spencer Furman wasted no time and was the first to finish, winning his contest 6-2, 6-2 over Raphael Perot on court six and evening the overall match score. No. 103 Broom was the next off the court, climbing back from a 4-1 hole in the first set to defeat Guido Marson 7-5, 6-2.
Soto didn't waste any time in his second set, finishing off No. 13 Hady Habib 7-6(10), 6-1 for Baylor's third point. It is his highest-ranked win of the season and third of the spring.
With the Bears just one point away, three players were locked in tight matchups and headed to third sets. No. 46 Boitan was battling against No. 4 Vacherot after each player won a set 6-4, Stachowiak evened things up with a 7-6(1) win in the second set over Schachter, and Lah was fighting after dropping his second set 6-1.
At one point trailing to No. 33 Aguilar 4-0 in the final frame, Lah showed his strength and resolve to climb back in the match. He brought the set to 4-3, then fought off two match points to draw even at 5-5, and used that momentum to propel the Bears to a fourth singles win, 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5.
HIGHLIGHTS
• This is Baylor's third win of the season against an opponent ranked in the top-10.
• Baylor improved to 20-0 all-time in ITA Kick-Off Weekend matches and advanced to the national event for the 10th time in program history.
• BU has won five of its last seven meetings with Texas A&M.
• The Bears are 7-3 this season in the doubles point.
• Baylor is now 3-0 this season when losing the doubles point.
• BU is now a combined 45-5 in singles action this season and 21-8 in doubles matches.
• No. 43 Sven Lah and No. 56 Matias Soto each collected singles wins over ranked opponents.
• Lah defeated No. 33 Juan Carlos Aguilar, his first ranked win of the year.
• Soto topped No. 13 Hady Habib, his highest-ranked win since 2019 and third of the spring season.
STAT OF THE MATCH
4-0 – Sven Lah was trailing 4-0 in the third set of his match and battled back to win 7-5, clinching the match for Baylor.
TOP QUOTE
Interim head coach Michael Woodson
On advancing to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship…
"I feel like it's right where we belong. I'm really excited about it. There's absolutely no one that has played anywhere near the caliber of schedule that we have, and these guys deserve it. They've answered the call and we've responded well to adversity. We're just thrilled to be able to go to Champaign and be able to test ourselves against the best of the best. We can't wait."
Fourth-year junior Sven Lah
On the team playing with confidence…
"As a team, I think we did a great job of bouncing back from tough situations. We have maybe the most complete team in the country, one through six, anyone can play on any spot. We trust each other, the guys off the court are doing an amazing job supporting us. In a neutral site, the guys just bring that energy and atmosphere that makes it feel like we're back in Waco. I'm glad we got a team dub."
On coming back from down 4-0…
"I was just trying to stay out there because Adi [Boitan] and Nick [Stachowiak] were still out there battling next to me. There's something about staying on the court a little longer. Bringing it back to 4-2, I felt like I had a good chance to stay with him and that's what happened. I trusted my skills, trusted my guys, I've been in this situation enough to know the guy on the other side feels the nerves to close it out. I'm just happy we got a chance to compete."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears (9-1) are headed to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Champaign, Ill that will run Feb. 12-14 with a three-match guarantee.
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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Players Mentioned
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