By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider 
            Nine days after Baylor knocked off a then-No. 1 TCU tennis team, 5-2, in a non-conference match in Fort Worth, the Horned Frogs returned the favor Sunday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center, beating the No. 4 Bears, 4-3, to move into the driver's seat in the Big 12 race. 
            "It's always hard to play a team two times in a row like this and expect to get them both times," said Baylor coach Michael Woodson, whose team fell to 19-3 overall and 1-1 in conference. "Credit to them, they earned it."
            In what proved to be a crucial swing point, third-ranked TCU (15-3, 2-0) put the first point on the board when the second-ranked duo of Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley won back-to-back games on deuce points and defeated Baylor's 30^th-ranked Finn Bass and Sven Lah, 7-5. 
            On the other two courts, Matias Soto and Juampi Mazzuchi breezed to a 6-1 win over third-ranked Sander Jong and Lui Maxted, while Juan Carlos Aguilar and Pedro Vives avenged a loss last week by beating Baylor's Adrian Boitan and Tadeaus Paroulek, 6-3, on Court 3. 
            "They got up on 1 and 3 doubles pretty quick, we got up on 2 quick," Woodson said. "Then, it was just a matter of who was going to battle and make it competitive. We were able to get that crucial break at 1 doubles, we just didn't convert with a hold after that. I thought we lost a little bit of momentum."
            Showing exactly how close these two teams are, three of the six first sets in singles were decided by tiebreakers. And that went the Frogs' way as well, winning two of the three breakers to split the first sets. 
            Fearnley used the momentum of a first-set tiebreaker to beat Bass, 7-6(5), 6-3, to give TCU a 2-0 lead. But, Baylor answered with straight-set wins at Nos. 1, 5 and 6 to go up 3-2 and needed just one more to clinch it. 
            Paroulek, a sophomore transfer, beat one of his former TCU teammates, Tomas Jirousek, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 5 singles to get the Bears on the board. Mazzuchi followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Tim Ruehl at No. 6, before Boitan gave Baylor its first lead with a straight-set win over the 18^th-ranked Fomba, 7-6(2), 6-2, at No. 1. 
            "Going into singles, I thought we battled hard for a lot of that," Woodson said. "That being said, I think the conditions were very different than what we've been used to. Obviously, we haven't played at home in a while, and it was very warm and lively. And I thought TCU managed that a little bit better than we did."
            Getting out to a 4-0 second-set lead after winning a first-set tiebreaker, the 18^th-ranked Aguilar held off a rally by Soto to pull out a 7-6(5), 6-4 win at No. 2 to knot the match at 3-all. By the time Aguilar finished off Soto, the 55^th-ranked Jong was in complete control of the third set and clinched the match by beating the 31^st-ranked Lah, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, at No. 3. 
            "I think in those situations, it's about, how are you going to find a way to play your level?" Woodson said. "You're tired, conditions are very difficult. And I'm sure there's immense pressure playing in a situation where it feels like it's coming down to you. Sander played well. Sven got broken early in the set there, and I think it got away from him a little bit. But, it's a good learning experience, for sure."
            With only three regular-season matches left, Baylor will host Oklahoma (13-5, 1-0) and Oklahoma State (11-6, 0-1) next weekend before a road trip to face Texas Tech (13-9, 0-2) on April 16 in Lubbock. 
            "We have bigger matches ahead of us than a regular-season match," Woodson said. "I think this is what we want. We want to play the best teams. We want to have opportunities to test ourselves against the best competition in the country. TCU is going to be No. 1 again next week. Credit to them, but we won't be too far behind. We just have to continue to improve."


WACO, Texas – No. 4 Baylor men's tennis fell to No. 3 TCU in a close match on Sunday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center, 4-3.
 
The Bears (19-3, 1-1) started out just behind after dropping the doubles point, made a triumphant return to lead, but ultimately fell to the Horned Frogs (19-3, 2-0) in the end.
 
THE RUNDOWN
The Frogs took the doubles point after winning on courts one and three, with Baylor winning on court two. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Matias Soto were the first to finish, winning 6-1 on court two. Next came court three, where Juan Carlos Aguilar/Pedro Vives bested Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek, 6-3. It came down to court one in a close match, but TCU came away with the win at 7-5 from No. 2 Luc Fomba/Jake Fearnley over No. 30 Sven Lah and Finn Bass.
 
In singles play, TCU took the first point with No. 65 Jake Fearnley besting Bass on court four, 7-6(5), 6-3. Bass is now 13-5 for the dual season and 39-13 in his career. On court five, it was a battle of the Czechs, with Paroulek defeating Tomas Jirousek, 6-4, 6-4, for Paroulek to improve to 9-1 for the spring. Keeping the momentum, Grassi Mazzuchi finished on top over Tim Ruehl, 6-3, 6-4 on court six to tie the Bears and Frogs at two apiece. Grassi Mazzuchi improved to 18-2 for the season and 2-0 in Big 12 play.
 
Feeding off the two wins on courts five and six, No. 15 Boitan finished with the victory on court one over No. 18 Fomba, 7-6(2), 6-2, to put BU ahead by one point. With the win, Boitan remains perfect at 15-0 for the spring on the top court and 2-0 in Big 12 play, as well as 7-1 over nationally ranked opponents. TCU's No. 18 Aguilar tied the match once again with the win over No. 50 Soto, 7-6(5), 6-4. Soto is now 9-6 for the spring and 11-7 for the season. Closing out the match was Horned Frog No. 55 Sander Jong, besting No. 31 Sven Lah on court three, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, despite Lah's comeback. Lah is 10-6 for the spring and 16-8 for the season. 
 
NEXT UP
The Bears will return to the Hurd on Friday, April 8, for a 6 p.m. matchup with Oklahoma State. It will be Hounds at the Hurd, where fans are welcome to bring their dogs to the tennis center and will receive free tennis balls while supplies last.
 
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 (3) vs. #3 TCU (4)
Waco, Texas – Hurd Tennis Center
Big 12 Conference Match
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. #15 Adrian Boitan (BU) def. #18 Luc Fomba (TCU) 7-6(2), 6-2
2. #18 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TCU) def. #50 Matias Soto (BU) 7-6(5), 6-4
3. #55 Sander Jong (TCU) def. #31 Sven Lah (BU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-0
4. #65 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. Finn Bass (BU) 7-6(5), 6-3
5. Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Tim Ruehl (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3
 
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #2 Luc Fomba/Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #30 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) 7-5
2. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) def. #3 Sander Jong/Lui Maxted (TCU) 6-1
3. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1