By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            ORLANDO, Fla. – Baylor's top-ranked and No. 2-seeded men's tennis team has already won two Big 12 titles and set a school record with 34 dual-match victories, one more than the 2004 national championship team. 
            But, even after beating third-seeded Tennessee, 4-2, in Friday's NCAA Championship semifinals, the consistent message was, "We haven't done anything yet."
            "We didn't come here to win this match," said first-year head coach Michael Woodson. "We came here to win tomorrow. . . . We're going to empty the tank and enjoy one last ride together."
            After losing the doubles point for just the ninth time in 38 matches, the Bears (34-4) rallied to win four-straight singles matches and advanced to the NCAA championship match for the third time in program history and first time since 2005. 
            Baylor will face second-ranked and No. 1-seeded Florida (25-2) in Saturday's title match at the USTA National Campus, which will follow the women's championship between No. 2 Texas and fifth-seeded Pepperdine at 4:30 p.m. CDT. The Gators reached their first-ever national final with a 4-0 shutout of fourth-seeded Texas, avenging a semifinal loss two years ago. 
            "Honestly, it hasn't really hit me," said grad transfer Nick Stachowiak, who rallied from a set down to beat Luca Wiedenmann, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4 singles, "because we came here to do one thing. And that's to win a national championship. Like (Matias Soto) said, we haven't done anything yet. We have one more to go, and then we can celebrate."
            Tennessee (28-4) got the first point on the board with doubles wins at Nos. 1 and 2. The Bears' Charlie Broom and Finn Bass rolled to a 6-3 win over Giles Hussey and Mark Wallner at No. 3, but the Vols' Pat Harper and Adam Walton got a late break in a 7-5 win over Sven Lah and Constantin Frantzen in a matchup of top-10 doubles teams. 
            At almost the same time, Soto and Stachowiak had their serve broken in the final game of a 6-4 loss at No. 2 that clinched the opening point. 
            Broom never could get a foothold at No. 5 singles, losing in straight sets to the 92^nd-ranked Hussey, 6-4, 6-2, to give Tennessee a 2-0 lead. With two other players winning first sets, the Vols were positioned to get the win. 
            While Baylor won in straight sets at Nos. 3 and 6 to knot the match at 2-2, the turning point was Stachowiak bouncing back from a 6-1 first-set loss. Dominating the last two sets, he pulled out the three-set win to put the Bears up, 3-2. 
            "The first set, I definitely wasn't playing my best tennis," Stachowiak said. "OK, I lost the first set, but now it's a brand-new match. I really focused on the basics and moving my feet, high first-serve percentage. Anything else within my game kind of came together after focusing on that."
            For the second-straight day, Lah got rolling early and never let up, upsetting 41^st-ranked Martim Prata, 6-0, 6-3. Spencer Fruman was right behind him, sweeping Andrew Rogers, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6 to square the match at 2-all. 
            That left it up to the top two spots to determine who would advance and who would go home. 
            Facing the 10^th-ranked Walton on the No. 1 court, Baylor's Adrian Boitan overcame a first-set loss and was all tied up at 5-5 after splitting the first two sets. Boitan and Soto combined for five match points before Soto hit a big forehand winner to clinch the match with a 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5 win over eighth-ranked freshman Johannus Monday. 
            "It wasn't easy, of course," Soto said. "I had so many opportunities in my match and in doubles. We trust in ourselves. That's the main thing. We played big in those moments. What I was thinking before that last point was just to leave everything out there."
            Walton staved off a couple break-point chances and won three-straight games to get it back to 5-5 with Boitan in the third when Soto hit his match-winning forehand. 
            "Since the beginning of the year, we've had a little bit of a chip on our shoulder," Woodson said. "Everybody knew we were going to be good at 4,5 and 6. To have those guys in that moment produce is special, and they deserve it."
            

THE RUNDOWN
ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 1-ranked and second-seeded Baylor men's tennis outlasted No. 3 Tennessee 4-2 on Friday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., to advance to the NCAA National Championship.

The Bears (34-4) have set a school-record for wins in a single season, breaking the previous program best from 2005, which was also the last time BU reached the national title match.

Baylor overcame dropping the doubles point and took four of five finished singles matches to defeat the Volunteers (28-4). With the Bears leading 3-2, Adrian Boitan and Matias Soto were locked in extremely tight third sets before Soto was able to clinch.

In doubles, BU collected the first victory with a 6-3 tally on court three by Finn Bass/Charlie Broom over Giles Hussey/Mark Wallner. However, the Vols answered with simultaneous wins on one and two, with No. 4 Pat Harper/Adam Walton besting No. 9 Constantin Frantzen/Sven Lah 7-5 and Johannus Monday/Martim Prata edging No. 75 Soto/Nick Stachowiak.

Singles started slow for the Bears, with the two sides splitting the six first sets. However, Baylor made its move following a UT win on court five by No. 92 Hussey over Broom, 6-4, 6-2.

On court three, Lah recorded a blistering 6-0, 6-3 victory against Prata to put BU on the board, and Spencer Furman quickly followed that up with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court six against Andrew Rogers to knot the score.

After falling behind in a one-sided first set, Stachowiak rallied to put the third point on the board for Baylor, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 on court four over Luca Wiedenmann.

That's when it came down to Boitan and Soto on the top two courts. No. 21 Boitan came back from dropping his opener to force a decisive third against No. 10 Walton, while No. 11 Soto fought tough against No. 8 Monday.

With the match on court one deadlocked at 3-6, 7-5, 5-5, it was Soto who prevailed on two with a 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5 victory to send the Bears through.

HIGHLIGHTS
• With the win, Baylor advances to the NCAA National Championship for the third time in program history and first time since 2005.
• Baylor's 34 wins are the most in a single-season in program history.
• BU improved to 64-21 all-time in NCAA Championship play and 3-1 in postseason matches held in Orlando, Fla., at the USTA National Campus.
• The Bears are 7-7 all-time in 4-2 postseason matches.
• BU is now 12-2 all-time as the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championship.
• BU is now 18-4 against ranked opponents this season.
• Baylor extended its winning streak to eight matches and has won 18 of its last 19 dual matches.
• The Bears are now 29-9 in the doubles point this season and are 6-3 in matches when losing the opening tally.
• Baylor boasts a combined 158-33 (.827) mark in singles action this spring and a collective 73-26 (.737) record in doubles.
• Spencer Furman extended his singles win streak to 14 matches, a team best.

STAT OF THE MATCH
3 – For the first time since 2005, Baylor is advancing to the NCAA National Championship, it's third appearance in the national title game in program history.
 
TOP QUOTES
Head coach Michael Woodson
On if it has sunk in that Baylor will play for a national championship…
"Honestly, no. I think for us, it's just enjoying every single day that we spend together. I'm a little bit sad that we only get to play one more match. I haven't really thought much about 'Oh, if we lose today then we don't get another match.' I was hoping we would get this opportunity so we can sit down together and everybody knows, this is it. We're going to empty the tank and enjoy one last ride together. No, it hasn't really hit me and it is sad to think about."

On drawing inspiration from other Baylor teams that have played for a title…
"I think at Baylor, we pursue excellence. That's just what we do here, that's the standard. I think it's incredible what a lot of these other programs are doing, day in and day out, men's basketball, women's basketball, acro and tumbling. Every team is in the top-25, basically, and a lot are in the top-10. For us, it's just living up to what the athletic department expects and we just feel like that's our job to pursue excellence. We feel like we have the resources and the support to do that. That's why guys come to Baylor."

On feeling validated after having the interim tag removed…
"I honestly don't feel like it was me, I'm just trying not to get in the way. These guys are on a mission. They're so tight, they're so close to each other, they love each other and what they're doing and this university and athletic department so much, that I don't think they're going to let me stand in their way. I'm just happy honestly to be part of it. We're just trying to do the best we can as a staff to serve these guys day in and day out and provide them with opportunities. They're going out and executing on the court and showing what they're made of."
 
Fourth-year junior Matias Soto
On the emotions of winning the clinching point…
"It wasn't easy, of course. I had so many opportunities in my match and in doubles. Just watching a couple points on court one that didn't go our way, but we were ready for those kind of moments with the pressure. We trust in ourselves. I think that's the main thing. We played big in those moments. What I was thinking before I went to play the last point was just to leave everything out there."

Graduate senior Nick Stachowiak
On having faith in his teammates to close it out…
"I had 100 percent faith. That's why we've been putting in the hard work on and off the court this season, since we got to school in August. I didn't doubt for one second that either Mati or Adi was going to pull through. It was just a matter of time as to who was going to pull through first. Tennessee put up a great fight there at the end, they didn't die and were fighting for every point. But we shut the door on them and that's what you need to do to win."

WHAT'S NEXT
No. 1-ranked and No. 2 seed Baylor (34-4) advances to face No. 2-ranked and top-seeded Florida in the NCAA National Championship on Saturday, May 22, at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. The match will not begin before 6:30 p.m. CT, and will follow the women's championship between No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Pepperdine, beginning at 4:30 p.m. CT.

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