By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            With three returning All-Americans joined by four transfers and three freshmen on a 12-man roster, Michael Woodson knows he has some tough decisions to make with his second-ranked Baylor men's tennis team. 
            In Monday's home-opening matches at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, Woodson used eight different players in the singles lineup and five doubles combinations in the Bears' 7-0 sweeps of ACU and Boise State. 
            "I think guys are starting to figure it out," said Woodson, whose team improved to 4-0. "We're starting to see we have more options than we thought even a couple weeks ago. So, I like where we're headed. I think we're going to have some tough decisions to make, both in singles and doubles. But, I think we're moving in the right direction, and we're going to learn over the next few weeks what we're made of."
            Coming off 7-0 and 6-1 wins over Creighton and Nebraska, respectively, Baylor dropped just one set in Monday's doubleheader sweep, but did have to pull out three tiebreakers. 
            "Guys that are having to play last match on where the crowd's watching them and all the players are just standing on the court," Woodson said, "there's a lot of perceived pressure. Even though the match is dead (when it gets to 4-0), they still want to win and there's some nerves because all the eyes are on them. I love to put guys in that situation as much as possible, because you never know when it's going to come down to them at 3-3."
            Fourth-year junior Finn Bass and UCF transfer Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi improved to 4-0 in singles, dropping just 16 games combined in sweeping both of their matches at Nos. 3 and 4 singles. 
            Fifth-year senior Matias Soto had to work for both of his singles victories, beating ACU's Daniel Morozov, 6-3, 7-6(4), at No. 1, then pulling out a third-set super tiebreaker against Boise State's Simon Arca Costas at No. 2, 3-6, 6-1, 10-2.
            "It was nice to be able to play guys like Ethan (Muza) and Chris (Frantzen) and some of the younger guys to test out where we're at and see how they fit into the mold of what we're looking to do here at Baylor," Woodson said. "I was really pleased overall with the performance. It's always good to be able to get two sweeps at home."
            The highlight of the day came in the second match against Boise State (2-3), when the 18^th-ranked duo of Bass and Sven Lah defeated Arca Costas and Caden Moortgat, 6-1. It was Lah's 100^th career doubles win, which is tied for the fourth-most in program history behind only former teammate Constantin Frantzen (112) and Hall of Famers Benjamin Becker (104) and Lars Poerschke (102). 
            "It's been a pleasure to see, and I'm just extremely proud of Sven and all that he's accomplished," Woodson said. "I know he has a lot more ahead of him this season. But, 100 doubles wins is pretty special, and I'm sure he's going to be knocking at the door to break Conni's record."
            Lah is also a combined eight wins away from joining the program's elite 200-win club that includes Becker, Poerschke, Denes Lukacs, Julian Lenz, Matija Zgaga and Benedikt Dorsch. 
            "He obviously knows his way around the doubles court and so do I," Bass said. "The chemistry off the court helps on the court; we're both super-competitive and have really good energy. There's a lot to play for, and we think we can do good things this season."
            Baylor is one of 16 host sites for the ITA Kickoff Weekend, facing William & Mary at 2 p.m. Sunday. Clemson (3-0) plays Miami (4-0) in the other first-round match, with the winners squaring off at 2 p.m. next Monday, Dec. 31, with a spot in the ITA National Indoors on the line. 
            "Kickoff Weekend is awesome, because it's a pressure-packed tournament," Woodson said. "Regardless of what we're seeded and what we're supposed to do there, there's a lot on the line here. It's really great to be able to do that at home and to have these types of high-pressure situations early in the year to test the guys and hopefully earn another opportunity to go to National Indoors."
            

WACO, Texas – The No. 2 Baylor men's tennis team improved to 4-0 on the season with its 7-0 sweeps of both Abilene Christian and Boise State at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center on Monday.
 
Senior Sven Lah earned his 100^th-career doubles victory over the Broncos, just the fifth player in program history to hit that milestone. He's tied for fourth all-time at 100 with Matija Zgaga (2004-07), with Baylor Hall of Famer Lars Poerschke just ahead of them at 102 for third outright.
 
With the win over ACU, the Bears are now 26-1 when playing in home openers. With both wins, BU has 21 sweeps under the direction of second-year head coach Michael Woodson.
 
BOISE STATE – Match 2
The Bears finished off the home-opening doubleheader with the Broncos (2-3), 7-0.
 
Lah's 100^th -career doubles doubles win came in the 6-1 victory over BSU's Caden Moortgat/Simon Arca Costas with Finn Bass on court one. The Baylor duo are 10-3 on the year and 4-0 in dual matches thus far, winning both their doubles matches on the day.
 
The doubles point was clinched by Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek, the pair besting Ryo Minakata/Pedro Liborio, 6-0, on court three. It was Paroulek's first dual match playing as a Bear. Finishing out the doubles side, Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Cole Gromley defeated Jesse Haas/Jan Lucca Marquardt, 6-3, on court two.
 
To start off in singles, freshman Ethan Muza made it a two-win day with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Marquardt on court six. Next to finish was Bass, who was victorious over Moortgat at 6-1, 6-2 on court three. Boitan defeated Liborio on court one, 6-3, 6-0.
 
Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi won his match with Jesse Van Herzeele, 6-2, 6-3 on court four, his second singles win of the day. Matias Soto came out on top, 3-6, 6-1(10-2), over Arca Costas on court two to go 2-0 for the doubleheader. The match was rounded out by Gromley who had a battle with Minakata on court five, winning 7-6(7-5), 6-4. 
 
ACU – Match 1
Baylor started the doubleheader day with the Wildcats (0-5), winning 7-0.
 
BU started doubles play with a win from Christopher Frantzen/Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi, besting Dario Kmet/Riley Tran, 6-2, on court three. The doubles point was won for Baylor with Matias Soto/Ethan Muza winning 6-3 over Mihaly Deli/Jose Maria Rastrojo on court two. The 18^th-ranked duo of Finn Bass/Sven Lah won 6-4 on court one over Daniel Morozov/Tyler Stewart to finish it off, it being Lah's 99^th career doubles win.
 
On the singles side, freshman Muza found his first duals win in the green and gold, besting Deli 6-0, 6-0 on court six. Next to finish was Bass on court three, winning 6-1, 6-2 over Stewart. The Bears fourth point came from No. 48 Sven Lah on court two, winning 6-2, 6-3 over Kmet for his 93^rd career singles win.
 
Playing the match out, Grassi Mazzuchi won 6-3, 6-2 over Savan Chhabra on court four for the fifth point. Soto defeated Morozov, 6-3, 7-6(7-4) on court one, which brought the final point to court five where Jacob Brumm won 7-5, 7-6(7-5) over Cesar Barranquero.
 
BEAR BITES

• Bears stay perfect, now 4-0 on the season.
• BU is now 26-1 all-time in home openers after the win over ACU.
• Sven Lah had his 100^th career doubles victory against Boise State, tied for fourth all-time at Baylor.
• Lah/Bass are now 4-0 in dual doubles play for the season.
• The Bears have 21 sweeps with Michael Woodson as head coach.
• Bass and Grassi Mazzuchi both are 4-0 in dual singles play, while Boitan, Soto and Lah are 3-0.

QUOTABLE – Head coach Michael Woodson
"It was a good day today, really good to be back at home. We immediately looked more comfortable in this environment and more solid overall. I think we're starting to play ourselves into good form. I was really pleased with the performance from everybody - it's been good to get back to some consistency in training. More than anything I was just impressed with Sven [Lah] reaching 100 doubles wins for his career. He has a lot more ahead of him, and it just says a lot about what he's been able to accomplish here in his time. I'm excited to see where we go from here."

QUOTABLE – Junior Finn Bass
"Sven and I are very experienced, he just got his 100th win today in doubles which is a great achievement. He obviously knows his way around the doubles court and so do I, we've had a really good start to the season with killer wins, and we're just going to keep it going. The chemistry off the court helps on the court; we're both super competitive and have really good energy. There's a lot to play for and we think we can do good things this season."

NEXT UP
Baylor hosts William & Mary, Clemson and Miami (FL) as one of 15 host sites for ITA Kickoff Weekend. Baylor will face W&M at 2 p.m. on Jan. 30.
 
TENNIS RESULTS
Match 2 - 1/24/2022
#2 Baylor (7) vs. Boise State (0)
Waco, Texas – Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. Adrian Boitan (BU) def. Pedro Liborio (BSU) 6-3, 6-0
2. Matias Soto (BU) def. Simon Arca Costas (BSU) 3-6, 6-1, 10-2
3. Finn Bass (BU) def. Caden Moortgat (BSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. James Van Herzeele (BSU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Cole Gromley (BU) def. Ryo Minakata (BSU) 7-6(7-5), 6-4
6. Ethan Muza (BU) def. Jan Lucca Marquardt (BSU) 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 3, 1, 4, 2, 5
 
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #18 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. Caden Moortgat/Simon Arca Costas (BSU) 6-1
2. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Cole Gromley (BU) def. Jesse Haas/Jan Lucca Marquardt (BSU) 6-3
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek def. Ryo Minakata/Pedro Liborio (BSU) 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
 
TENNIS RESULTS
Match 1 - 1/24/2022
#2 Baylor (7) vs. Abilene Christian (0)
Waco, Texas – Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. Matias Soto (BU) def. Daniel Morozov (ACU) 6-3, 7-6, (7-4)
2. #48 Sven Lah (BU) def. Dario Kmet (ACU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Finn Bass (BU) def. Tyler Stewart (ACU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Savan Chhabra (ACU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Jacob Brumm (BU) def. Cesar Barranquero (ACU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Ethan Muza (BU) def. Mihaly Deli (ACU) 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 3, 2, 4, 1, 5
 
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #18 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. Daniel Morozov/Tyler Stewart (ACU) 6-4
2. Christopher Frantzen/Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Dario Kmet/Riley Tran (ACU) 6-2
3. Matias Soto/Ethan Muza def. Mihaly Deli/Jose Maria Rastrojo (ACU) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
 
To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor men's tennis, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorMTennis.
 
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