By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Seven days after handing TCU a rare home loss to grab a share of the Big 12 regular-season title, the No. 3 Baylor men's tennis team (27-4) will host the seventh-ranked Horned Frogs (16-6) at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Big 12 Championship semifinals at the Hurd Tennis Center. 
            "We had guys on this team that had not been in that position before," interim head coach Michael Woodson said. "To me, that was a lot of pressure. There will be a different kind of pressure on Sunday, where we're going to play a team we just beat . . . needing to get up for that, knowing they're going to bring their best tennis and they're going to be feisty and fiery and want to win. We have to match that."
            While second-seeded Baylor and No. 1 seed Texas (19-4) had first-round byes, No. 3 seed TCU advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0 win over No. 6 seed Oklahoma on Saturday.
            After Texas snapped the Bears' 10-match winning streak, handing them a 5-2 Senior Day loss at the Hawkins Indoor, Baylor bounced back three days later to beat TCU by the same score on the Frogs' home courts in Fort Worth. 
            "The good thing for us is we've bounced back and played even better after each and every loss we've had this season," said junior Adrian Boitan, who beat 15^th-ranked Luc Fomba in straight sets at No. 1 singles, 7-5, 7-6. "It was just another great opportunity for us to learn a lot of things about each other. And it showed in the TCU match, because we were a different animal against TCU in Fort Worth."
            Woodson said last Sunday's match was won on Friday and Saturday, when the players "laid it on the line for each other."
            "They had a heart-to-heart, and I walked away looking at our staff saying, 'I think we're going to win tomorrow,''' Woodson said. "We've had great matches this year where we've kind of rolled over really good teams, but that was the most inspirational performance I've seen, the way that we looked, the way we competed, the way we came together. It was impressive from start to finish."
            It was also a nice bounce-back win for Boitan, who lost in straight sets to Texas sophomore Eliot Spizzirri, 6-3, 6-4. 
            "I was really frustrated in that match, to be honest," said Boitan, who is 13-5 overall and 7-4 versus ranked opponents, "because Eliot did a great job moving me and getting me out of the court and putting me in positions where I didn't feel natural.
            "He played good, but I felt the pressure in a way that I needed to win that match. Even when we played the doubles point, I was telling the guys, 'Today is going to be a blood bath.' And it was. I felt the pressure and let it get not the best out of me."
            Woodson said he has felt good about the singles lineup all year, a potent group that includes six players who have all played No. 1 singles at some point in their collegiate careers. But, he has had a difficult time figuring out a doubles lineup "because we have all these great doubles players, but I felt like we were underachieving for about half the year."
            In conference play, the Bears seemed to find the right combinations with Constantin Frantzen and Sven Lah at No. 1, Matias Soto and Nick Stachowiak at No. 2 and Finn Bass and Charlie Broom at No. 3. They were a combined 9-2 in conference doubles matches, with the only doubles point loss coming against the Longhorns, splitting a pair of tiebreakers. 
            "That is a huge deal for us moving forward," Woodson said. "If we can consistently take the doubles point and play the level that we're capable of, it's going to be really hard to take four points off of us in singles."
            TCU did just that earlier this season, when the Frogs came back from a doubles point loss to beat the Bears, 4-1, winning three-setters at Nos. 3 and 5. On the remaining courts, Baylor was a break up at Nos. 4 and 6 singles. 
            "Everyone in the Big 12 can play and plays at a high level," Boitan said. "You never know who's going to win, because everyone can play. Being at the top of the lineup, I just try to do my best and just have good composure and set a good example for the team on and off the court."
            Texas (19-4) faces fourth-seeded Oklahoma State (9-10) in the other semifinal at 4 p.m. on the Riverside Courts, with the winners advancing to Monday's 2 p.m. final. 
            Live video streaming and live scoring are available at Big12Sports.com. 


WACO, Texas – The No. 3-ranked Baylor men's tennis team opens its 2021 Big 12 Championship run as the No. 2 seed against No. 7-ranked and third-seeded TCU on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco.

The Bears (27-4) received a first-round bye in the tournament after clinching a share of the regular-season conference title. TCU (16-6) defeated No. 6-seed Oklahoma (10-14), 4-0, on Saturday to advance.

After applying ITA rankings to determine the final seeds, BU and top-seeded Texas earned bids directly into Sunday's semifinal matches. The Longhorns (19-4) will take on Oklahoma State (9-10) on the Riverside Courts, while the Bears and Horned Frogs square off simultaneously on the Grandstand Courts.

While TCU leads the all-time series with Baylor 35-27, the two sides have split this season's meetings with both road teams taking each contest. Most recently, BU topped the Frogs in Fort Worth on Sunday, April 18, by a tally of 5-2.

If the Bears win, they'll advance to Monday's championship match set for 2 p.m. CT at the Hurd.

Baylor has claimed the Big 12 Championship crown nine times in its program history and is the defending champion, having won the most recent installment in 2019. The 2020 Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For outdoor matches at the Hurd, fans can purchase day passes for $5. However, any matches moved to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Facility will not admit spectators of any kind.

Live stats and a live stream will be provided at Big12Sports.com. Links can also be found via the men's tennis schedule page on 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.