No. 2 MT Sweeps Miami, Advances to ITA Indoors

Monday, January 31

Waco, Texas

2 PM

Baylor

Miami

No. 2 MT Sweeps Miami, Advances to ITA Indoors

1/31/2022 6:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats

Bears in ITA Indoors for the 11th time

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            As high as No. 2 in the world in ITF Under-18 rankings, Marko Miladinovic has played in plenty of high-pressure matches throughout his junior career and even on the professional satellite circuit.
            But, it didn't keep the Baylor freshman from being nervous in his first college match when the second-ranked Bears played William & Mary in Sunday's first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, dropping the first set to Jack Kelly.
            With that first one under his belt, Miladinovic swept Miami's Oren Vasser, 6-1, 6-3, in clinching Baylor's 4-0 win over the Hurricanes Monday afternoon at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center to punch the Bears' ticket to the ITA National Indoor Feb. 18-21 in Seattle.
            "Today was much better," said Miladinovic, who won the last six games after falling behind 0-3 in the second set at No. 4. "I felt really good on the court. My opponent was playing OK, but I was focused, I was in the match all the time, and I'm happy that I made the clinch win for Baylor."
            Improving to 6-0 for the young season, Baylor advances to the ITA National Indoor Championship for the 11^th time and is now 22-0 all-time in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. The Bears were the runners-up in last year's tournament, losing to North Carolina, 4-1, in the final.
            "All things considered, getting by teams like William & Mary and Miami is a great accomplishment," Baylor coach Michael Woodson said. "We were talking about it the other day, we just have to survive and advance. And I know the guys are excited to go to Seattle."
            One of 12 host teams that advanced in the men's bracket, Baylor joins fellow Big 12 teams TCU and Texas at the ITA National Indoor. Also making the 16-team tournament are Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, USC, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, Wake Forest and Washington.
            Dominating the doubles, Baylor picked up the opening point with identical 6-2 wins by Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Matias Soto at No. 2 and Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek at No. 3.
            The Bears kept that momentum going in singles, winning five of the six first sets in a fast start. For the second-straight day, UCF transfer Grassi Mazzuchi was first off the court, winning the last 10 games in a row to beat Miami's Juan Martin Jalif, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 6 singles.
            "He's a guy that in the past that has played well when he's playing well. And if it gets hard, he hasn't done as well turning things," Woodson said. "He got up 2-0, and the next thing you know he's serving at 2-3. That was a difficult moment for him. But, he settled, he got back to the basics and did a great job of just getting on top of the guy and didn't lose another game."
            On the opposite end of the courts, Baylor junior Finn Bass had three-straight breaks in the second set and defeated Martin Katz, 6-3, 6-1, on the No. 5 court.
            "Finn and (Grassi Mazzuchi) have just continued to compete extremely well under pressure and really overwhelm their opponents, which was good to see," Woodson said. "When you win second sets more decisively than the first set, that's a good sign."
            The Nos. 1, 2 and 3 courts went unfinished, but Matias Soto dug out of an early 0-3 hole to lead Bojan Janukovski, 6-4, 4-1, at No. 2; Adrian Boitan led Dan Martin, 3-1, in the second set after dropping the first, 6-3; and Sven Lah was up 2-0 in the third after splitting the first two sets with the Hurricanes' Benjamin Hannestead.
            "I think Matias pressed a little bit early," Woodson said of Soto. "(Jankulovski) is a strange player, but a very good player. He uses the slice, plays heavy with the forehand. And he's a fifth-year player himself. So, it's difficult to get down 3-0 against somebody like that. But, I think he settled in, figured out a good game plan and was methodical in executing it."
            After breezing through the first set, Miladinovic was down a break at 0-3 in the second set. But, the first-semester freshman from Serbia clinched the team match by winning six-straight games and ending it with a backhand passing shot down the line.
            "To get down 3-0, I felt like his body language really change, and the opponent started getting in his face," Woodson said. "I thought (Vasser) did a good job of breaking Marko's momentum and gaining some of his own. But, Mati put the pressure on him, got a break and really – six games in a row – he ran away with it. It was impressive."
            Before the ITA National Indoor, Baylor will play five-straight at home, facing ninth-ranked Texas at 6 p.m. Friday.

WACO, Texas – The No. 2 Baylor men's tennis team was in a battle of the unbeatens with Miami on Monday, both with 5-0 records, but bested and blanked the Hurricanes, 4-0 to win and advance to the Bears' 11^th ITA Indoor National Championships.

BU, now 6-0 on the season, is 22-0 all-time when playing in ITA Kickoff Weekend. Baylor swept both matches in this year's installment of the ITA Kickoff at 4-0.

Five of the Bears' six wins in dual play have been sweeps of their opponent. Baylor has now had 22 sweeps under second-year head coach Michael Woodson.

In doubles, the duo of Matias Soto and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi finished first for the Bears for second match in a row, this time over Hurricanes Martin Katz/Juan Martin Jalif. The pair are now 4-0 on the season when playing doubles together, all in the second position. Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek clinched the doubles point for the Bears on court three, besting Oren Vasser/Dan Martin at 6-2.

On the singles side, Grassi Mazzuchi once again finished first in singles, winning 6-3, 6-0 over UM's Juan Martin Jalif on court six, making him 6-0 on the season. On court five, Bass bested Katz, 6-3, 6-1. His win improved his overall record for the year to 7-2 and 5-0 in dual matches. Clinching the match for the Bears was Marko Miladinović in just his second match in the green and gold after going unfinished against William & Mary. He won 6-1, 6-3 over Miami's Oren Vasser on court four for his first win at Baylor after coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set.

BU is joined by Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, USC, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Virginia, Wake Forest and Washington in the ITA Indoor National Championships, set to be held in Seattle by UW. The Bears will find out their matchups at a later date, with the tournament taking place February 18-21.

QUOTABLE – head coach Michael Woodson
"I thought we did a good job this weekend. There are so many difficult regionals, anyone that's playing in this tournament is a very good team, is very well coached, have experienced players and it's hard. We knew it was going to be tougher today and going from outside to inside is never easy, but our guys did a good job of locking it in early, even during the warmup. Guys who got ahead were able to extend leads and guys that were behind were able to slow down and work their way into the match which is all we can ask for. We have to survive and advance and the guys are excited to go to Seattle."

NEXT UP
The Bears face conference foe Texas at home on Friday night at 6 p.m. in a non-conference matchup, with the location set for Hurd Tennis Center.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor men's tennis, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorMTennis.

TENNIS RESULTS
#2 Baylor (4) vs. Miami (0)
Waco, Texas – Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. Adrian Boitan (BU) vs. #121 Dan Martin (UM) 3-6, 3-1 unfinished
2. Matias Soto (BU) vs. Bojan Jankulovski (UM) 6-4, 4-1 unfinished
3. #48 Sven Lah (BU) vs. Benjamin Hannestead (UM) 6-0, 1-6, 2-0 unfinished
4. Marko Miladinović (BU) def. Oren Vasser (UM) 6-1, 6-3
5. Finn Bass (BU) def. Martin Katz (UM) 6-3, 6-1
6. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Juan Martin Jalif (UM) 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4

DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #18 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) vs. #7 Franco Aubone/Benjamin Hannestad (UM) 3-4 unfinished
2. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) def. Martin Katz/Juan Martin Julif (UM) 6-2
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek def. Oren Vasser/Dan Martin (UM) 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3

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