No. 3 MT Wins Big 12 Tournament

Monday, April 26

Waco, Texas

2:00 p.m.

Baylor

Texas

No. 3 MT Wins Big 12 Tournament

4/26/2021 6:11:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Bears defeat top-seeded Texas 4-0 to collect postseason crown, Boitan named MOP

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Dogpiled by his teammates after finishing off a straight-set win over Eliot Spizzirri that clinched a 4-0 shutout of second-ranked and top-seeded Texas, Baylor sophomore Adrian Boitan had a very clear déjà vu feeling.
            If it seems familiar, it should.
            Two years ago, Boitan got the clinching point in a 4-1 upset of the Longhorns (20-5) in the Big 12 Championship men's tennis final in Lawrence, Kan., and wound up at the bottom of a teammate dogpile.
            This time, he avenged a straight-set loss to Spizzirri by beating the 21^st-ranked sophomore, 6-4, 6-4, on Monday, finishing it off with an ace down the T. Falling to the No. 1 court on his back, Boitan set off another huge celebration as the Bears (29-4) won their second-straight and 10^th overall Big 12 tournament title.
            "The last point, to be honest, I'm not thinking that I want to hit an ace or whatever," said Boitan, who became just the second player in the conference's 25-year history to earn Most Outstanding Players twice. "I went through this two years ago. I knew that was my moment, so I was like, 'Oh, this is it.' I had a déjà vu."
            Eleven days after suffering a 5-2 loss to the Longhorns at the Hawkins Indoor, a match that ultimately cost them an outright Big 12 regular-season title, the Bears took control of this one from the start and beat Texas for the third time this season.
            "We wanted to stake our claim that we're the best team in the conference, and they certainly proved that today," interim head coach Michael Woodson said. "It was an incredible performance up and down the lineup, off the court, the crowd was fantastic. So proud of these guys."
            It took less than 25 minutes for the Bears to put the first point on the board. Baylor's 12^th-ranked duo of Constantin Frantzen and Sven Lah cruised to a 6-2 win over eighth-ranked Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab, then Finn Bass and Charlie Broom clinched it with a 6-4 win over Micah Braswell and Payton Holder.
            "We came out, we were courageous, we owned our shots and put a lot of pressure on the Longhorns early in doubles," Woodson said, "and they really kind of cracked at all three spots. We just carried that momentum really well into singles."
            Winning five first sets in singles, Baylor took control of the match, with Spencer Furman getting a late break to take the opening set 7-5 at No. 6. Woldeab took the first set at No. 3 over Nick Stachowiak, 6-4, but the Duke grad transfer battled back to take the second set, 6-3.
            Matias Soto got his work done quickly, rolling to a 6-1, 6-3 win over the 39^th-ranked Braswell at No. 2. The eighth-ranked Soto provided one of the two points in the previous matchup against the Longhorns, but had to go three sets to hold off Braswell.
            After that, it was just a sprint to the finish line. Broom was the next across the line, getting revenge for a three-set loss and beating Chih Chi Huang for the third time this season, 6-3, 6-2.
            "Having learned from the last match and learned where I made mistakes, I was going into today confident," Broom said. "He's a really talented player, very dangerous. I know his game well, and I just tried to use the conditions to my advantage."
            Splitting sets at Nos. 3 and 4 and Furman leading 2-1 in the second set at No. 6, Boitan missed one opportunity to close it out when he hit a backhand shot wide on a deuce point with Spizzirri serving at 5-3.
            "I tried too much," Boitan said. "I wanted to be like, 'Wow!' to finish with a great shot, and it didn't work. But then at 5-4, I knew I'm not going to lose that game. I just knew my game plan and knew I was going to execute and I'm going to win this because I wanted to win it."
            Aggressive the whole match, Boitan hit one winner after another and then served up two aces in the final game.
            "I did to him kind of what he did to me, because I was moving well, but I just gave him no chances pretty much to move me," he said. "I knew he couldn't sustain that level from the baseline with me, because I had a bigger game. I was just staying patient, and whenever I had the chance to make my shot and win the point, I was just going for it."
            Baylor will now await the NCAA Championship selections at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 3, on NCAA.com, with the singles and doubles selections announced the next day.
            "I really think we're going to look back at that Texas loss as one of our defining moments," Woodson said, "and a really huge positive as we look back on this year for years to come."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 3-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis swept No. 2-ranked and top-seeded Texas 4-0 Monday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center to win the 2021 Big 12 Championship.

The Bears (29-4) dominated from start to finish, taking the opening doubles point and three straight-set singles victories. No. 41 Adrian Boitan was the clincher en route to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer.

No. 12 Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah notched the first BU win of the day with a 6-2 result over No. 8 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab at No. 1 doubles. Finn Bass/Charlie Broom followed that up with a 6-4 victory against Micah Braswell/Payton Holden, 6-4 on court three, to clinch the opening tally.

As singles began, the Bears showed no signs of slowing down, taking five first-sets. No. 8 Matias Soto bounced back in triumphant fashion from a semifinal loss to defeat No. 39 Braswell on court two, 6-1, 6-3, to put the next point on the board for Baylor.

Broom pushed the Bears one step closer with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court five over Chih Chi Huang. It marked Broom's third win of the season over Huang, as the two have met in each of the four meetings between the Bears and Longhorns this season.

Boitan finished the job on the top court with a 6-4, 6-4 dismantling of No. 21 Spizzirri. The win extended his singles streak to three in a row, all against top-25 opponents, and he has now won nine of his last 10 matches.

With the win, Boitan earned the second Big 12 MOP award of his career, becoming the first BU player in program history to garner the award twice. Only one other student-athlete has done so in the history of the Big 12 in TCU's Cameron Norrie (2016-17).

The tournament title marks BU's 10^th all-time and second-consecutive, bringing the Bears' total to 24 Big 12 overall crowns.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor won its 10^th Big 12 postseason championship title and 24^th overall.
• BU has won each of the last two Big 12 tournaments, previously defeating Texas in 2019.
• Baylor's 29 wins are its most since 2005, when the team went 33-1 as the NCAA National Runner-Up.
• The Bears improved to 14-4 against ranked opponents this season, including a 13-4 mark against the top-25.
• BU is now 25-8 in the doubles point this year and own a 24-1 record in matches when winning the opening tally.
• Baylor boasts a combined 142-30 (.826) mark in singles action this spring and a collective 64-23 (.736) record in doubles.
• Adrian Boitan and Matias Soto each picked up their ninth wins of the year over ranked opponents.
• Boitan was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer after defeating both No. 12 Alastair Gray and No. 21 Eliot Spizzirri in straight sets on the weekend.
• Boitan became the first Bear in program history to be named the Big 12 Championship MOP twice in his career.
• Boitan is the second Big 12 player all-time to win MOP honors twice; TCU's Cameron Norrie did so in 2016-17.

STAT OF THE MATCH
10 – Baylor won its 10^th Big 12 postseason championship, second-consecutive, and 24^th overall conference title.

TOP QUOTES
Interim head coach Michael Woodson
On today's match…
"I'm so proud of the guys. An amazing performance today. I think they have had very clear goals, especially at the beginning of the year. We've had a few setbacks throughout the season that have allowed us to continue to improve and remain hungry. Texas came in here a few weeks ago and beat us pretty good, and that was a good learning experience for us. It allowed our guys to have a heart-to-heart and see what they needed from each other and us whenever the chips were down. We've responded so well since then with two wins over TCU and now a win over Texas in a Big 12 Championship match. We didn't want to share the Big 12 title. We wanted to stake a claim that we were the best team in the conference. Our guys certainly proved that today. It was an incredible performance up and down the lineup and the crowd was amazing as well. I am so proud of these guys."

On Adrian Boitan's performance…
"He was in the zone today. He learned so much over the first few matches in the conference schedule. He's growing into the role of the number one player on the team and one of the elite players in college tennis. I love his attitude about it. It's frustrating for him because he is so competitive and wants to win for himself and the team. But, the top position poses a lot of challenges. So many seasoned guys and a lot of top players. Even though he was 4-1 in conference play during the regular season, it wasn't until the end of conference play that he figured out the right competitive edge to have. He figured out how to play in a way that wasn't too complacent, but also wasn't too feisty. He seems to be finding that he's doing a fantastic job in practice and it's paying off on the match court. He deserves all the accolades that he's getting.

Third-year sophomore Adrian Boitan
On his clinching point…
"It was a tough moment at 5-3 when I missed the match point in the second set. I wanted to finish with a great shot, but it didn't work. At 5-4, I was determined not to lose that game. I wasn't thinking about anything. I just knew my gameplan and wanted to execute. I was not thinking during the match point. My mind is blank and I try to stay in the present."

Graduate senior Charlie Broom
On winning the Big 12 Championship…
"I've won one conference championship before with Dartmouth, but it was a different feeling with the crowd today. Having come on to the team in the Fall, this has been really special. I knew Adi was going to close out his match at 40-15, there was no way he was going to give UT another chance. I was elated for my personal performance, but so happy for the team. I'm excited to carry on what we have started here and looking forward to NCAA's."

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 3 Baylor (29-4) earned the Big 12's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will await its final postseason ranking to be announced on Monday, May 3 as part of the 2021 NCAA Selection Show.

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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