No. 3 MT Prepares for No. 18 Stanford

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            When it came to the NCAA Championship bracket, third-ranked Baylor tennis certainly didn't get any favors from the selection committee.
            After surviving a second-round challenge from 25^th-ranked Texas A&M, the Bears (28-3) host 17-time national champion and 18^th-ranked Stanford (19-5) in the Round of 16 at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
            Baylor's path to the finals in Champaign, Ill., is strewn with land mines, including a sixth-seeded Tennessee team (24-7) that beat the Bears at the ITA National Indoor Championships and defending national champion Florida (25-2), which knocked off BU, 4-1, in last year's final in Orlando, Fla.
            "If you look at our road, it's not an easy one, from the first round all the way to the last," Baylor coach Michael Woodson said. "And we welcome that challenge. Stanford's going to be a really good challenge. But, when you're trying to create an experience and give these guys a memory that's going to hold for the next 20 years, I can't think of a lot of teams we'd rather play in a Super Regional at night on a Friday at home than a team like Stanford."
            The bluest of blue bloods in college tennis, Stanford has won 15 of the 44 national championships since the tournament changed to a bracketed team format in 1977. Making its 42^nd appearance overall and 14^th-straight, the Cardinal upset 14^th-seeded Harvard, 4-3, in the regional at Cambridge, Mass.
            "We don't look at the name on the jersey, we're just playing the guy across the team and trying to play our best tennis," Woodson said. "That being said, I think it really helps the name brand of promoting the match, frankly. I think it's a really exciting opportunity for college tennis in Waco and for the community and for our fan base.
"They continually have some of the best players in the world come there. And if you look at their pedigree, it's really, really strong. We're excited to test ourselves against some of the elite players in the country."
            This year is no different. The Cardinal struggled with injuries earlier in the year, but has won seven of its last eight matches and has four ranked singles players, led by sophomore Arthur Fery at No. 15 with a 21-6 overall record and 11-4 in dual matches. Senior Alexandre Rotsaert is 78^th, followed by freshman Max Basing (80^th) and fifth-year senior Axel Geller (112^th).
            Baylor also has four ranked singles players with junior Adrian Boitan (5^th), seniors Matias Soto (36^th) and Sven Lah (73^rd) and sophomore transfer Tadeas Paroulek (58^th). But, the Bears' strength is in doubles, with Lah and Finn Bass ranked 3^rd and Soto and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi ninth.
            At 21-0 when they win the doubles point, Woodson said "it's really hard to get four points against us in singles." And while the Bears are 7-3 when they drop the doubles point, they did come back to beat Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Arizona State.
            "We have taken great pride in working on it and then over time playing really good doubles," Woodson said. "I think there was a point at the beginning of the year where they were all worried that we weren't playing well enough in doubles, as well as we were in singles. But, I would say now we're playing as good of doubles as singles. And that's a great place to be."
            Although they are 21-5 at No. 2 doubles and ranked in the top 10, Soto said he and Grassi Mazzuchi "struggled at the beginning."
            "We were playing different games," Soto said. "He was coming from UCF playing a different game than we do here, or what I like to do on the court. So, we had to kind of find our way to play together. Today, I think we're playing unbelievable doubles and putting a lot of pressure on them. We have confidence to beat anybody."
            With that confidence and swagger, Soto said, "no one can beat us if we get the doubles point."
            "Before, I never felt that the doubles point was that important," he said. "I was always more focused on singles. I felt like the singles were going to decide it. But this year is something different. It's key to get that point, because then we know we can win all six singles. Having the doubles point, plus the first singles on the board, is a big advantage."
            As fifth-year seniors, Soto and Lah will play their final home match at the Hurd Tennis Center.
            "It might be (emotional) after the match. I will feel it," Soto said. "But hopefully, that brings me an extra edge to get it done. I don't want to finish losing my last match at home. But, I don't feel sad. It's just a stage of my life that is going to come to the end. I'm happy what I did here, and hopefully we keep going in Illinois. Even if it's not here, I still have that mentality that I'm going to play three or four more matches for Baylor. That's the ultimate goal."



WACO, Texas – Third-ranked and No. 3 national seed Baylor is set to host No. 18 Stanford on Friday with a start time of 6:30 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center. The match is free entry to all patrons.

The Bears (28-3) face the Cardinal (19-5) with the hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA Tournament in Champaign, Ill., hosted by the University of Illinois.

It is BU's 20^th time appearing in the round of 16 of the tournament and the third time in a row.

Going into Friday's matchup, Baylor is 61-21 in the NCAA Tournament overall and 33-1 when playing at home.

Prior to the match, there are many options for fans to take part in. There will be a tailgate tent featuring DJ Batman, a Kona-Ice food truck, inflatables and games will be available and free food will be offered. In addition, there are four items up for grabs in a free-entry raffle, including a navy YETI Tundra cooler, two navy YETI Rambler tumblers, AirPods, and a tennis swag bag. Winners will be announced between doubles and singles.

THE CARDINAL
No. 18 Stanford comes to Waco after sweeping No. 35 Mississippi State, 4-0, and slipping past No. 14 Harvard, 4-3, at the regional in Cambridge, Mass.

The Cardinal is in its 14^th-consecutive NCAA Tournament, where it has an all-time record of 113-25. Stanford is in its 42^ndtournament appearance, having won 17 team titles previously.

Against Stanford, the Bears are 11-2, with the last meeting coming in 2018. The Cardinal won each of the last two matchups.

HOW WE GOT HERE
The No. 3 national seeded Bears defeated Abilene Christian on Friday, May 6, with a 4-0 sweep over the Wildcats in the first round to advance to the second, where BU overtook No. 25 Texas A&M at 4-2 on May 7.

Against ACU, Baylor won the doubles point on courts two and one, with No. 3 Finn Bass and Sven Lah clinching. It was Bass, Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Lah who completed the sweep of the Wildcats, with Lah as the clincher.

BU took the doubles point against Texas A&M with courts one and two once again grabbing it, but with No. 9 Grassi Mazzuchi and Matias Soto clinching. In singles, the Aggies put up a fight, but for the Bears it was Grassi Mazzuchi, No. 58 Tadeas Paroulek and No. 5 Adrian Boitan putting the points up for the win.

Fans can watch the match for free on the TennisONE app or on their website. Live statistics can be found here.

A full recap and final statistics will be posted to BaylorBears.com after the conclusion of the match.

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

- BaylorBears.com -

No. 3 MT Prepares for No. 18 Stanford

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Players Mentioned

Finn Bass

Adrian Boitan

Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi

Sven Lah

Tadeas Paroulek

Matias Soto

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