By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Bottom of the ninth, down one, a runner on base and two outs. Nothing like having it in your hands. 
            That's the feeling Spencer Furman had Sunday night with third-ranked Baylor men's tennis and No. 7 TCU all tied at 3-3. After seeing a 5-2 lead in the third set slip away, the Baylor grad transfer from Duke won eight of the next nine points and clinched a 4-3 victory over the Horned Frogs with a forehand winner, beating TCU freshman Tadeas Paroulek, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. 
            "There are other guys on our team that would also do really well in that moment," said Baylor interim head coach Michael Woodson. "But, there's not a better guy for that moment, to handle it. . . . I hope every guy on our team has an opportunity to play in a 3-all match and be the last match on. Win or lose, it's an unforgettable experience. And he handled it really well."
            Baylor (28-4) advances to Monday's 2 p.m. championship match at the Hurd Tennis Center against second-ranked and top-seeded Texas (20-4), a 4-1 winner over Oklahoma State in Sunday's other semifinal. 
            "We talked about it even before our TCU match, we wanted the opportunity to play Texas, because we still feel like we have something to prove. That last one didn't sit well with us," Furman said of a 5-2 home-court loss to the Longhorns on April 15, resulting in a three-way tie for the Big 12 regular-season title. "It definitely motivated us. We're excited for tomorrow, because it's going to be a battle."
            That's exactly what Sunday's match with the Horned Frogs (16-7) turned into. After a relatively sweat-free 5-2 win over TCU a week earlier, the Bears dropped the opening doubles point with losses at Nos. 1 and 3. 
            Charlie Broom and Finn Bass fell 6-2 to Jake Fearnley and Bertus Kruger at No. 3, then the seventh-ranked duo of Luc Fomba and Alastair Gray clinched it with a 6-4 win over 12^th-ranked Constantin Frantzen and Sven Lah at No. 1. 
            "That's something that we talked about is that it wasn't going to be as easy as it was last week, that they were going to be ready," Woodson said. "I think we surprised them last weekend and we knew we were going to get their best effort. I thought they played a fantastic match and really did a nice job of putting us in uncomfortable situations."
            Baylor quickly turned the momentum, winning four of six first sets in singles and getting quick close-outs from Lah and Broom at Nos. 4 and 5 singles to take a 2-1 lead.
            Just seven days after getting swept in straight sets, Lah returned the favor by defeating the 105^th-ranked Fearnley, 6-1, 6-2, for just his second win in April (2-5). 
            "I haven't been playing my best this season, especially in conference. But today just felt right," said Lah, who picked up his fourth ranked win of the season. "I felt like the switch kind of turned on. If I can bring this level, or at least close to it for the rest of the season, I'll be happy with the way I compete and my results will get better, too."
            Woodson said Lah was "a different animal today."
            "I felt like he was moving in the right direction, he was finding that competitive edge," Woodson said. "I've been waiting patiently for it to come back. And right when we needed him the most, he came through. Very proud of him."
            Broom quickly followed suit, finishing off 100^th-ranked Tomas Jirousek, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 5. 
            "That made a huge difference for this team to even it at 1-1 so quickly, and then obviously Charlie not far behind," Woodson said. "But, that seems to happen every match. We appreciate Charlie's willingness to get off the court quickly."
            Adrian Boitan also won in straight sets on the top line, defeating the 12^th-ranked Gray, 6-4, 6-4, but TCU knotted the match with wins by Fomba and Sander Jong at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. 
            That left it in Furman's hands to take care of matters on Court 6. And after the earlier slip-ups, getting broken twice, he was absolutely dominant in the final two games. 
            "I think I just started the points better toward the end," said Furman, who improved to 21-3 overall and 18-2 in dual matches. "I was getting behind from the start of points. I was just trying to keep the mindset of focusing on my process, one point at a time. But, I was happy to get through with it at 6-5, finally."
            Baylor will play in its 17^th Big 12 Championship finals match (9-7) and third in a row against Texas. The Longhorns won the title in 2018, and then the Bears upset the second-ranked and eventual national champion Longhorns, 4-1, two years ago in Lawrence, Kan. 
            "There aren't going to be any secrets playing them for the fourth time," said Woodson, whose team is 2-1 this season against Texas. "They got the better of us last time. They came out swinging with nothing to lose since we had beaten them a couple times this year, and really took it to us. . . . We certainly don't want to lose to a team twice on our home courts, so I think the guys are going to be fired up. It's going to be great tennis."
 

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 3-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis outlasted No. 7-ranked and No. 3-seed TCU 4-3 Sunday evening at the Hurd Tennis Center to advance to the Big 12 Championship finals.

The Bears (28-4) came back after dropping the doubles point to collect four singles victories, including the clincher by Spencer Furman with the match tied 3-3.

TCU (16-7) struck first in the doubles with a 6-2 win by Jake Fearnley/Bertus Kruger over Finn Bass/Charlie Broom in the third spot, then gathered the opening tally with a 6-4 win on the top court by No. 7 Luc Fomba/Alastair Gray against No. 12 Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah. No. 67 Matias Soto/Nick Stachowiak were trailing 5-4 to TCU's Sander Jong/Tomas Jirousek when play was stopped.

Moving into singles, the Bears responded quickly with blistering wins by Lah and Broom. On court four, Lah topped No. 105 Fearnley 6-1, 6-2 in under an hour of play, then Broom was next to finish with a 6-3, 6-3 decision on five over No. 100 Jirousek to give BU a 2-1 match lead.

Baylor carried momentum, going on to take four first-sets including leads by No. 41 Adrian Boitan and Furman on courts one and six, respectively. After dropping his opener on court three, Stachowiak forced a third set against No. 75 Jong, while on court two No. 8 Matias Soto was slowed by No. 19 Fomba.

As the Horned Frogs began to make their move, it was Boitan who was next off the court. The third-year sophomore showcased great skill over No. 12 Gray at No. 1 singles, winning in straight-sets 6-4, 6-4 to give the Bears a 3-1 advantage.
 
Then, TCU tied things up as Soto was unable to mount a comeback, dropping a narrow 6-4, 7-5 decision to Fomba, and Jong finished off Stachowiak in three, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

All eyes then shifted to court six, where Furman found himself battling Tadeas Paroulek in another third set. Furman had taken the first, 6-4, but dropped the second set, 6-3. He put BU ahead with a 5-2 advantage in the decisive third, but Paroulek scratched back to knot things at 5-5. After holding serve, Furman was able to come up with the big break and seal the match for the Bears.

With the win, Baylor advances to face No. 2-ranked and No. 1-seeded Texas in Monday's final set for 2 p.m. CT at the Hurd.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor is advancing to its 17^th Big 12 Championship finals match in program history and third-consecutive.
• BU will meet Texas for the third-consecutive year in the conference finals. The Longhorns claimed the 2018 title, but the Bears won the most recent championship in 2019.
• The Bears improved to 13-4 against ranked opponents this season, including a 12-4 mark against the top-25.
• The Bears improved to 28-35 all-time against TCU, including a 6-2 mark against the Horned Frogs in the last eight meetings and a 2-1 record this season.
• BU is now 24-8 in the doubles point this year and improved to 5-3 in matches when dropping the opening tally.
• Baylor boasts a combined 139-30 (.822) mark in singles action this spring and a collective 62-23 (.729) record in doubles.
• Spencer Furman is on a nine-match singles win streak following Sunday's victory.
• Adrian Boitan improved to 8-4 against ranked opponents this season, tying him with Matias Soto for the team lead.
• Sven Lah and Charlie Broom also picked up ranked singles wins, each collecting their fourth such victory of the season.

STAT OF THE MATCH
9 – Spencer Furman's current singles win streak, following his three-set match that clinched the victory for the Bears.
 
TOP QUOTES
Interim head coach Michael Woodson
On tonight's match…
"That's why our guys come to Baylor, to play in matches against the best teams in the country with good crowds and rowdy environments. It gave us everything that we could've asked for and more. We got to test some guys in pressure situations going into the NCAA tournament and our backs we're against the wall after doubles and we were able to respond. I think the conditions were really tough with the temperature for all involved. You can prepare all you want, but that's the first warm day that we've had in probably 8 months for both teams. It took its toll on both sides and was a fantastic atmosphere to see Spencer [Furman] hold strong there at the end and pull it off for the Bears."

On looking forward to Texas… 
"There aren't going to be any secrets playing for the fourth time. They got the better of us last time. I think they were hungrier than us, they came out swinging with nothing to lose since we had beaten them a couple times this year and they really took it to us. They had better energy, they played with more courage and it worked out for them. I think we learned a lot from that match and I know that was a big driving force for doing well today, that we want to play them again. We certainly don't want to lose to a team twice on our home courts, so I think the guys are going to be fired up. I feel like we're playing well and it will be anybody's match. We're looking forward to it."

Fourth-year junior Sven Lah
On creating the momentum…
"Today just felt right. It's one of those moments where you put in a good work of practice for a short period. Just going out there and trusting your shots and we just kind of turned on. If I can bring this level, this close for the rest of the season, I'll be happy with the way I compete and my results will get better too. It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it matters the way you play and compete. That's the most important thing to do and focus on first."

Graduate senior Spencer Furman
On the team's resilience…
"I felt like doubles was so close, but we got down on a lot of courts early and we ended up losing that doubles point. As I looked over in singles, we got off to a really good start which we needed. I was next to Sven [Lah] and he got off quick, which was huge to see that momentum. That definitely gave me encouragement."

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 3 Baylor (28-4) will meet No. 2 Texas (20-4) in the Big 12 Championship finals on Monday at 2 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center.

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