Sunday, April 10
Waco, Texas
2PM
Baylor
6
vs
1
Oklahoma
No. 4 MT Routs No. 34 Oklahoma, 6-1
4/10/2022 10:26:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Bears defeat Sooners on Senior Day
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
As much as Michael Woodson wanted Baylor senior Matias Soto to finish off his Court 1 marathon with Oklahoma's Mason Beiler in Sunday's Senior Day match at the Hurd Tennis Center, he didn't really mind it lasting just a few minutes longer.
After getting broken twice when serving for the match, the 38th-ranked Soto had a deft drop shot to defeat Beiler, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5), and finish off the fourth-ranked Bears' 6-1 victory over the No. 34 Sooners.
"Those guys have been through so much over the last five years, it's hard for me to talk about it without getting emotional," said Woodson, whose team improved to 21-3 overall and 3-1 in conference. "It was really cool to see them finish it the way they did. I'm really proud of those guys."
Soto also ended a long day of tennis that started with the 21st-ranked Baylor women beating No. 25 Kansas State, 4-3, in a match that pushed the start time of the men's dual match from 2 to 3:30 p.m. With two rain delays and a post-match Senior Day recognition, it turned into a nine-hour day at the Hurd Tennis Center.
"Mati had so many chances to close it out, but it's tough," said fellow senior Sven Lah, who rallied to beat OU's Alex Martinez, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 2 in time to watch the end of Soto's. "We didn't want to finish the match, we wanted it to go as long as possible. The team win makes my day happy, but obviously the cherry on the top was both of us getting a win."
Soto and Lah, who were honored along with grad transfer Jacob Brumm, also had their parents in town from Chile and Slovenia, respectively. Aleksandra and Konrad Lah traveled to the United States for the first time.
"I've always wanted them to come. And for them to come on Senior Day is special," said Lah, who picked up his 100th-career singles win in Baylor's 7-0 sweep of Oklahoma State on Friday. "Showing them around and being with them all day might not have been the best preparation for a dual match. But, if this is what you need to do, obviously, you will do it."
Baylor actually made quick work in the doubles, getting wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. The fourth-ranked tandem of Finn Bass and Lah blanked Welsh Hotard and Alex Martinez, 6-0, then the No. 21 duo of Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Soto clinched the first point with a 6-3 win over Baptiste Anselmo and Mark Mandlik.
Jumping out to leads on all but one court, the Bears won four first sets before the first of two rain delays. The momentum seemed to swing Oklahoma's side after the second break, with Beiler forcing a third set and OU (13-7, 1-2) getting up a break on three other courts.
"Rain delays, starts and stops. Are we going inside or not?" Woodson said. "It's just taxing on your body and mind. And I thought Oklahoma at times used it to their advantage, as you would expect them to. But, for us to turn and close some of those matches and then allow the seniors to have the spotlight for a while was pretty cool. I was proud of the overall effort today."
Mazzuchi breezed to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Nathan Han at No. 6 to get Baylor's second point on the board before Oklahoma picked up its only point when Jordan Hasson beat Marko Miladinovic, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4. It was Miladinovic's first match in a month, filling in with Woodson opting to sit out Adrian Boitan after doubles.
"It was nothing serious. Just felt like once we finished the doubles, it would be good to give the other guys an opportunity to play," Woodson said. "We felt like we were in a good position. Not that it was going to be easy, but we have a really strong team. And to give him, after what was a difficult match on Friday night, an opportunity to sit out singles was smart. And thankfully, it worked out well from the guys' perspective."
Bass and Tadeas Paroulek were able to stem Oklahoma's tide of momentum and clinch the team match with wins at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively. Down a break at 2-4, Paroulek got two service breaks and finished off a straight-set win over Justin Schlageter, 6-4, 7-5, then Bass dominated a second-set tiebreaker in beating the 82nd-ranked Mandlik, 6-4, 7-6(1).
"I think we just ultimately tried to make it about the tennis," Woodson said. "Play smart, have positive body language and know that we are in a good position overall in the match. . . . I thought the pressure started to be applied to them. Once (Tadeas) broke, that put a lot of pressure on Finn's opponent. And then when Sven won the second set, it felt like we were in a good spot."
After that, the seniors took the spotlight and never gave it away. Soto got out to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker and used his serve-and-volley game to finally get to the finish line.
"I think one thing that kept me going today was I didn't want to lose on my Senior Day," Lah said. "No matter how badly I played, I felt like I was good enough to beat this guy. And I was fortunate enough to come back."
Baylor closes out the regular season next Saturday, April 16, with a match at No. 42 Texas Tech (14-9, 1-2).
"Anytime you can win in the Big 12, it's a great feeling," Woodson said. "It was good to get these matches under our belts, and we've obviously got a really difficult one coming up. So, anytime you can get tow Big 12 wins, you take them."
WACO, Texas – No. 4 Baylor men's tennis took the win on Sunday evening over No. 34th-ranked Oklahoma, 6-1, at the Hurd Tennis Center to close out the home slate and celebrate its seniors.
The Bears (21-3, 3-1 Big 12) finished out the regular-season home schedule with a 11-1 record with the win over the Sooners (13-7, 1-2 Big 12).
BU celebrated its three seniors postmatch, recognizing Jacob Brumm, Sven Lah and Matias Soto and their families on court one.
THE RUNDOWN
Despite an hour and a half delay in start time, the Bears started off hot in doubles play with No. 4-ranked Sven Lah and Finn Bass winning on court one at a swift 6-0 over No. 73 Welsh Hotard and Alex Martinez. Clinching the point was the No. 21-ranked Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Matias Soto, winning 6-3 over Baptiste Anselmo and Mark Mandlik. Court three with Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek went unfinished, up 4-3 over Mason Beiler and Nathan Han.
Singles started, with all first sets finishing, then went into a rain delay. Play resumed, with Grassi Mazzuchi finishing his match, 6-4, 6-0, over Han on court six to put the Bears up 2-0. It then went into a second short delay with rain. Marko Miladinović fell on court four, 6-4, 6-4, to Jordan Hasson to give OU their first point of the match. Finishing third was No. 121 Paroulek on court five, winning 6-4, 7-5 over Justin Schlageter to put BU up 3-1 over the Sooners.
No. 114 Bass won his first set 6-4, then his second went into a tiebreaker. He won the match over #82 Mark Mandlik, 6-4, 7-6(1). Finishing the match were the seniors on courts one and two: No. 38 Soto and No. 73 Lah, respectively. Lah finished first, defeating Martinez, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, for the win. Soto finished 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4) against No. 41 Beiler to complete the match at 6-1 for Baylor.
With the wins, Bass improves to 15-5 in dual play, Lah at 12-6 for the spring, Grassi Mazzuchi at 20-2, Paroulek at 11-1, and Soto at 11-6 for the spring. The doubles pairs improve to 17-4 for Grassi Mazzuchi/Soto while Bass/Lah improve to 10-6. With the match going unfinished, Boitan and Paroulek remain at 11-4 for the spring.
SENIORS
Jacob Brumm – 35-30 career doubles, 42-28 career singles
Sven Lah – 106-38 career doubles, 101-46 career singles
Matias Soto – 85-29 career doubles, 84-39 career singles
QUOTABLE – Head Coach Michael Woodson
"There were so many distractions today. Just the whole weekend, even. Everything that happened on Friday night, everybody's family coming in; some of them have never been in the states before, don't speak English. So, we're chauffeuring the families around and catering to their needs and trying to prepare for two very important Big 12 matches. Then, we get to the match, and we don't start anywhere near on time. Rain delays, starts and stops, are we going to go inside or not? It's just taxing on the body and mind. And I thought Oklahoma used it to their advantage at times, as you would expect them to. But, for us to turn and close some of those matches, and then to allow the seniors to have the spotlight for a while was pretty cool. I was proud of the effort overall today."
NEXT UP
The Bears finish out the regular-season in Lubbock when they face Texas Tech on April 16 with a 5 p.m. start time at the McLeod 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
#4 Baylor (6) vs. #44 Oklahoma (1)
Waco, Texas – Hurd Tennis Center
Big 12 Conference Match
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. #38 Matias Soto (BU) def. #41 Mason Beiler (OU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4)
2. #73 Sven Lah (BU) def. Alex Martinez (OU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. #114 Finn Bass (BU) def. Mark Mandlik (OU) 6-4, 7-6(1)
4. Jordan Hasson (OU) def. Marko Miladinović (BU) 6-4, 6-4
5. #121 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Justin Schlageter (OU) 6-4, 7-5
6. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Nathan Han (OU) 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #4 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. #73 Welsh Hotard/Alex Martinez (OU) 6-0
2. #21 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) def. Baptiste Anselmo/Mark Mandlik (OU) 6-3
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) vs. Mason Beiler/Nathan Han (OU) 4-3 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
- BaylorBears.com -
Baylor Bear Insider
As much as Michael Woodson wanted Baylor senior Matias Soto to finish off his Court 1 marathon with Oklahoma's Mason Beiler in Sunday's Senior Day match at the Hurd Tennis Center, he didn't really mind it lasting just a few minutes longer.
After getting broken twice when serving for the match, the 38th-ranked Soto had a deft drop shot to defeat Beiler, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5), and finish off the fourth-ranked Bears' 6-1 victory over the No. 34 Sooners.
"Those guys have been through so much over the last five years, it's hard for me to talk about it without getting emotional," said Woodson, whose team improved to 21-3 overall and 3-1 in conference. "It was really cool to see them finish it the way they did. I'm really proud of those guys."
Soto also ended a long day of tennis that started with the 21st-ranked Baylor women beating No. 25 Kansas State, 4-3, in a match that pushed the start time of the men's dual match from 2 to 3:30 p.m. With two rain delays and a post-match Senior Day recognition, it turned into a nine-hour day at the Hurd Tennis Center.
"Mati had so many chances to close it out, but it's tough," said fellow senior Sven Lah, who rallied to beat OU's Alex Martinez, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 2 in time to watch the end of Soto's. "We didn't want to finish the match, we wanted it to go as long as possible. The team win makes my day happy, but obviously the cherry on the top was both of us getting a win."
Soto and Lah, who were honored along with grad transfer Jacob Brumm, also had their parents in town from Chile and Slovenia, respectively. Aleksandra and Konrad Lah traveled to the United States for the first time.
"I've always wanted them to come. And for them to come on Senior Day is special," said Lah, who picked up his 100th-career singles win in Baylor's 7-0 sweep of Oklahoma State on Friday. "Showing them around and being with them all day might not have been the best preparation for a dual match. But, if this is what you need to do, obviously, you will do it."
Baylor actually made quick work in the doubles, getting wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. The fourth-ranked tandem of Finn Bass and Lah blanked Welsh Hotard and Alex Martinez, 6-0, then the No. 21 duo of Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Soto clinched the first point with a 6-3 win over Baptiste Anselmo and Mark Mandlik.
Jumping out to leads on all but one court, the Bears won four first sets before the first of two rain delays. The momentum seemed to swing Oklahoma's side after the second break, with Beiler forcing a third set and OU (13-7, 1-2) getting up a break on three other courts.
"Rain delays, starts and stops. Are we going inside or not?" Woodson said. "It's just taxing on your body and mind. And I thought Oklahoma at times used it to their advantage, as you would expect them to. But, for us to turn and close some of those matches and then allow the seniors to have the spotlight for a while was pretty cool. I was proud of the overall effort today."
Mazzuchi breezed to a 6-4, 6-0 win over Nathan Han at No. 6 to get Baylor's second point on the board before Oklahoma picked up its only point when Jordan Hasson beat Marko Miladinovic, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 4. It was Miladinovic's first match in a month, filling in with Woodson opting to sit out Adrian Boitan after doubles.
"It was nothing serious. Just felt like once we finished the doubles, it would be good to give the other guys an opportunity to play," Woodson said. "We felt like we were in a good position. Not that it was going to be easy, but we have a really strong team. And to give him, after what was a difficult match on Friday night, an opportunity to sit out singles was smart. And thankfully, it worked out well from the guys' perspective."
Bass and Tadeas Paroulek were able to stem Oklahoma's tide of momentum and clinch the team match with wins at Nos. 3 and 5, respectively. Down a break at 2-4, Paroulek got two service breaks and finished off a straight-set win over Justin Schlageter, 6-4, 7-5, then Bass dominated a second-set tiebreaker in beating the 82nd-ranked Mandlik, 6-4, 7-6(1).
"I think we just ultimately tried to make it about the tennis," Woodson said. "Play smart, have positive body language and know that we are in a good position overall in the match. . . . I thought the pressure started to be applied to them. Once (Tadeas) broke, that put a lot of pressure on Finn's opponent. And then when Sven won the second set, it felt like we were in a good spot."
After that, the seniors took the spotlight and never gave it away. Soto got out to a 3-0 lead in the tiebreaker and used his serve-and-volley game to finally get to the finish line.
"I think one thing that kept me going today was I didn't want to lose on my Senior Day," Lah said. "No matter how badly I played, I felt like I was good enough to beat this guy. And I was fortunate enough to come back."
Baylor closes out the regular season next Saturday, April 16, with a match at No. 42 Texas Tech (14-9, 1-2).
"Anytime you can win in the Big 12, it's a great feeling," Woodson said. "It was good to get these matches under our belts, and we've obviously got a really difficult one coming up. So, anytime you can get tow Big 12 wins, you take them."
WACO, Texas – No. 4 Baylor men's tennis took the win on Sunday evening over No. 34th-ranked Oklahoma, 6-1, at the Hurd Tennis Center to close out the home slate and celebrate its seniors.
The Bears (21-3, 3-1 Big 12) finished out the regular-season home schedule with a 11-1 record with the win over the Sooners (13-7, 1-2 Big 12).
BU celebrated its three seniors postmatch, recognizing Jacob Brumm, Sven Lah and Matias Soto and their families on court one.
THE RUNDOWN
Despite an hour and a half delay in start time, the Bears started off hot in doubles play with No. 4-ranked Sven Lah and Finn Bass winning on court one at a swift 6-0 over No. 73 Welsh Hotard and Alex Martinez. Clinching the point was the No. 21-ranked Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Matias Soto, winning 6-3 over Baptiste Anselmo and Mark Mandlik. Court three with Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek went unfinished, up 4-3 over Mason Beiler and Nathan Han.
Singles started, with all first sets finishing, then went into a rain delay. Play resumed, with Grassi Mazzuchi finishing his match, 6-4, 6-0, over Han on court six to put the Bears up 2-0. It then went into a second short delay with rain. Marko Miladinović fell on court four, 6-4, 6-4, to Jordan Hasson to give OU their first point of the match. Finishing third was No. 121 Paroulek on court five, winning 6-4, 7-5 over Justin Schlageter to put BU up 3-1 over the Sooners.
No. 114 Bass won his first set 6-4, then his second went into a tiebreaker. He won the match over #82 Mark Mandlik, 6-4, 7-6(1). Finishing the match were the seniors on courts one and two: No. 38 Soto and No. 73 Lah, respectively. Lah finished first, defeating Martinez, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, for the win. Soto finished 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4) against No. 41 Beiler to complete the match at 6-1 for Baylor.
With the wins, Bass improves to 15-5 in dual play, Lah at 12-6 for the spring, Grassi Mazzuchi at 20-2, Paroulek at 11-1, and Soto at 11-6 for the spring. The doubles pairs improve to 17-4 for Grassi Mazzuchi/Soto while Bass/Lah improve to 10-6. With the match going unfinished, Boitan and Paroulek remain at 11-4 for the spring.
SENIORS
Jacob Brumm – 35-30 career doubles, 42-28 career singles
Sven Lah – 106-38 career doubles, 101-46 career singles
Matias Soto – 85-29 career doubles, 84-39 career singles
QUOTABLE – Head Coach Michael Woodson
"There were so many distractions today. Just the whole weekend, even. Everything that happened on Friday night, everybody's family coming in; some of them have never been in the states before, don't speak English. So, we're chauffeuring the families around and catering to their needs and trying to prepare for two very important Big 12 matches. Then, we get to the match, and we don't start anywhere near on time. Rain delays, starts and stops, are we going to go inside or not? It's just taxing on the body and mind. And I thought Oklahoma used it to their advantage at times, as you would expect them to. But, for us to turn and close some of those matches, and then to allow the seniors to have the spotlight for a while was pretty cool. I was proud of the effort overall today."
NEXT UP
The Bears finish out the regular-season in Lubbock when they face Texas Tech on April 16 with a 5 p.m. start time at the McLeod 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
#4 Baylor (6) vs. #44 Oklahoma (1)
Waco, Texas – Hurd Tennis Center
Big 12 Conference Match
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. #38 Matias Soto (BU) def. #41 Mason Beiler (OU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4)
2. #73 Sven Lah (BU) def. Alex Martinez (OU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. #114 Finn Bass (BU) def. Mark Mandlik (OU) 6-4, 7-6(1)
4. Jordan Hasson (OU) def. Marko Miladinović (BU) 6-4, 6-4
5. #121 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Justin Schlageter (OU) 6-4, 7-5
6. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Nathan Han (OU) 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 1
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #4 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. #73 Welsh Hotard/Alex Martinez (OU) 6-0
2. #21 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) def. Baptiste Anselmo/Mark Mandlik (OU) 6-3
3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) vs. Mason Beiler/Nathan Han (OU) 4-3 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 2
- BaylorBears.com -
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
Mason Beiler / 0 (41/-) [OU]
266
647
#2 Singles Match
123
Alex Martinez / 0 [OU]
644
466
#3 Singles Match
12
Mark Mandlik / 0 (82/-) [OU]
46
67
#4 Singles Match
12
Jordan Hasson / 0 [OU]
66
44
#5 Singles Match
12
Justin Schlageter / 0 [OU]
45
67
#6 Singles Match
12
Nathan Han / 0 [OU]
40
66
Order of Finish:
6,4,5,3,2,1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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