Thursday, May 19
Urbana-Champaign, Ill.
3pm
Baylor
3
vs
4
Tennessee
No. 3 MT Finalizes Season in NCAA Quarterfinals
5/19/2022 8:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Bears fall to No. 6 Tennessee, 4-3
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Baylor was in the ideal position to close out sixth-seeded Tennessee in Thursday's NCAA quarterfinal, with the Bears leading 3-2 and fifth-ranked junior Adrian Boitan four points away from a three-set win over third-ranked Adam Walton.
But, in the blink of the eye, third-seeded Baylor's season came to a shocking and abrupt end.
Up 5-3 and serving, Boitan was broken twice and lost four-straight games in falling to Walton, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, just minutes before Tennessee freshman Shunsuke Mitsui clinched the 4-3 win by rallying from a set down to beat Finn Bass, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.
"That's one of the best college tennis matches that we will experience," said Baylor coach Michael Woodson, whose team finished 29-4 with its third-straight trip to the quarterfinals. "We had chances, they had chances, deep into the third on so many courts. We won some of them, lost some of them, and unfortunately, this one didn't fall our way."
Baylor bounced back from a doubles-point loss to put itself in position for another 4-3 win, taking four of the six first sets in singles and getting a couple quick straight-setters at Nos, 5 and 6 singles to go up 2-1.
Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi put the Bears' first point on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Pat Harper, followed closely by Tadeas Paroulek finishing off Angel Diaz, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 5.
Unable to come back from a first-set tiebreaker loss, senior Sven Lah fell to 74th-ranked Emile Hudd, 7-6(3), 6-3, at No. 3 to square the match at 2-all, with the remaining three matches going to three sets.
Getting late breaks in both the second and third set, senior Matias Soto gave the Bears the lead back with a tight 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over the Vols' Johannus Monday at No. 2. It was Soto's first win since getting the clincher to beat top-ranked TCU, 4-2, in the Big 12 Championship final in Fort Worth.
On the brink of avenging a 4-2 loss to Tennessee (26-7) in the ITA National Indoor semifinals and get back to the NCAA semifinals, the Bears couldn't close the door fast enough.
The Vols advance to face either second-seeded Florida or seventh-seeded Virginia in Saturday's semifinals, while Baylor awaits the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships that begin next week. Ninth-seeded Kentucky upset top-seeded TCU, 4-3, and will face fourth-seeded Ohio State in the other semifinal.
"The thing that I'm the most proud of is the way that our guys competed, the way they battled together," Woodson said. "They just represent the university and the program so well . . . showing what we really are about and who we are as people. That's so much more important to me than the result.
"My heart breaks that we're not going to get out there as a team with Matias and Seven anymore. I'm just excited to have had the opportunity and thankful for the opportunity to have worked with them for so long. This team has an extremely bright future. I know this one stings, and it's probably going to motivate all of us to work a little harder moving forward. But, the season is defined by so much success."
In the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships that begins Monday, Boitan is seeded fifth in singles and will be joined by Soto and Paroulek, while Bass and Lah are seeded third and Soto and Mazzuchi were an at-large selection for the 32-team doubles bracket.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 3 national seed Baylor fell to sixth-seed Tennessee in the quarterfinals, 4-3, on Thursday night in Illinois at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
The Bears (29-4) finalized their season with an elite eight appearance, the 15th time the program has competed in the quarterfinals. Baylor's record in the NCAA Tournament is now 65-23 and 13-2 when playing as the third national seed.
BU finishes the season with a National Indoors semifinals appearance, NCAA quarterfinals appearance and its third-straight Big 12 Championship.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor fell after a fight in doubles, winning on court one but being bested on courts two and three. With the quick 6-1 win on the top court with partner Finn Bass, senior Sven Lah broke Constantin Frantzen's career doubles wins record with 113. The pair bested tenth-ranked Adam Walton and Pat Harper. On court two, No. 9 Matias Soto and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi were downed by No. 21 Emile Hudd and Shunsuke Mitsui, 6-1. It came down to court three, where UT's Mark Wallner and Johannus Monday took the match, 6-4, over Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek.
The Bears revved up their engines and came out hot in singles, winning the first set on four of the six courts. Grassi Mazzuchi made quick work, winning 6-1, 6-2 on court six over Harper to tie it up for BU. Pushing Baylor further was No. 58 Paroulek, winning 6-2, 6-4 on court five over UT's Angel Diaz. Court three finished next, with No. 74 Hudd winning 7-6(3), 6-3, over No. 73 Lah to tie it back up at 2-2 overall.
No. 36 Soto had a tooth and nail match with No. 10 Monday but came out on top with the 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win on court two. Back up by a point, two other three-set matches were carrying on. On court one, the Volunteers' No. 3 Walton came away with the win over No. 5 Boitan, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, after a battle among the nation's best. It all came down to court four, where Bass and UT's Mitsui were in a war as well. Mitsui bested Bass, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 to finalize the match.
QUOTABLE – Head Coach Michael Woodson
"That's one of the best college tennis matches that we will experience. It had absolutely everything. We had chances, they had chances. Deep into the third set on so many courts. We won some of them, we lost some of them, and unfortunately, this one didn't fall our way. The thing that I'm the most proud of is the way that our guys competed, the way they battled together. They just represent the university and the program so well. Our fans, our coaches, our staff just do an incredible job of representing Baylor and showing what we really are about and who we are as people. And that's so much more important to me than the result. My heart breaks that we're not going to get out there as a team with Matias and Sven anymore. I'm just excited to have had the opportunity and thankful for the opportunity to have worked with them for so long. This team has an extremely bright future. I know this one stings, and it's probably going to motivate all of us to work a little harder moving forward. But the season is defined by so much success. Another Big 12 championship, another semifinal run at Indoors, quarterfinals here, 29 wins. We're the best of the best, it just didn't fall our way today, but that's tennis, that's life. I'm just more happy about the way we handled it and how we consistently went through the season. This is a first-class group of guys, and I'm just proud to be a part of it."
UP NEXT
The Bears have a group of players competing in the individual singles and doubles competition, beginning on May 23 in Champaign. More information will be released as it is obtained regarding the brackets.
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
#3 [3 seed] Baylor (3) vs. #6 [6 seed] Tennessee (4)
NCAA Quarterfinals
Champaign, Ill. – Khan Outdoor Tennis Center
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. #3 Adam Walton def. #5 Adrian Boitan (UT) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
2. #36 Matias Soto (BU) def. #10 Johannus Monday (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. #74 Emile Hudd (UT) def. #73 Sven Lah 7-6(3), 6-3
4. Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Finn Bass (BU) 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4
5. #58 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Angel Diaz (UT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Pat Harper (UT) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 2, 1, 4
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #3 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. #13 Adam Walton/Pat Harper (UT) 6-1
2. #21 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. #9 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) 6-1
3. Mark Wallner/Johannus Monday (UT) def. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
- BaylorBears.com -
Baylor Bear Insider
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Baylor was in the ideal position to close out sixth-seeded Tennessee in Thursday's NCAA quarterfinal, with the Bears leading 3-2 and fifth-ranked junior Adrian Boitan four points away from a three-set win over third-ranked Adam Walton.
But, in the blink of the eye, third-seeded Baylor's season came to a shocking and abrupt end.
Up 5-3 and serving, Boitan was broken twice and lost four-straight games in falling to Walton, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, just minutes before Tennessee freshman Shunsuke Mitsui clinched the 4-3 win by rallying from a set down to beat Finn Bass, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.
"That's one of the best college tennis matches that we will experience," said Baylor coach Michael Woodson, whose team finished 29-4 with its third-straight trip to the quarterfinals. "We had chances, they had chances, deep into the third on so many courts. We won some of them, lost some of them, and unfortunately, this one didn't fall our way."
Baylor bounced back from a doubles-point loss to put itself in position for another 4-3 win, taking four of the six first sets in singles and getting a couple quick straight-setters at Nos, 5 and 6 singles to go up 2-1.
Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi put the Bears' first point on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 6 over Pat Harper, followed closely by Tadeas Paroulek finishing off Angel Diaz, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 5.
Unable to come back from a first-set tiebreaker loss, senior Sven Lah fell to 74th-ranked Emile Hudd, 7-6(3), 6-3, at No. 3 to square the match at 2-all, with the remaining three matches going to three sets.
Getting late breaks in both the second and third set, senior Matias Soto gave the Bears the lead back with a tight 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over the Vols' Johannus Monday at No. 2. It was Soto's first win since getting the clincher to beat top-ranked TCU, 4-2, in the Big 12 Championship final in Fort Worth.
On the brink of avenging a 4-2 loss to Tennessee (26-7) in the ITA National Indoor semifinals and get back to the NCAA semifinals, the Bears couldn't close the door fast enough.
The Vols advance to face either second-seeded Florida or seventh-seeded Virginia in Saturday's semifinals, while Baylor awaits the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships that begin next week. Ninth-seeded Kentucky upset top-seeded TCU, 4-3, and will face fourth-seeded Ohio State in the other semifinal.
"The thing that I'm the most proud of is the way that our guys competed, the way they battled together," Woodson said. "They just represent the university and the program so well . . . showing what we really are about and who we are as people. That's so much more important to me than the result.
"My heart breaks that we're not going to get out there as a team with Matias and Seven anymore. I'm just excited to have had the opportunity and thankful for the opportunity to have worked with them for so long. This team has an extremely bright future. I know this one stings, and it's probably going to motivate all of us to work a little harder moving forward. But, the season is defined by so much success."
In the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships that begins Monday, Boitan is seeded fifth in singles and will be joined by Soto and Paroulek, while Bass and Lah are seeded third and Soto and Mazzuchi were an at-large selection for the 32-team doubles bracket.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 3 national seed Baylor fell to sixth-seed Tennessee in the quarterfinals, 4-3, on Thursday night in Illinois at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
The Bears (29-4) finalized their season with an elite eight appearance, the 15th time the program has competed in the quarterfinals. Baylor's record in the NCAA Tournament is now 65-23 and 13-2 when playing as the third national seed.
BU finishes the season with a National Indoors semifinals appearance, NCAA quarterfinals appearance and its third-straight Big 12 Championship.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor fell after a fight in doubles, winning on court one but being bested on courts two and three. With the quick 6-1 win on the top court with partner Finn Bass, senior Sven Lah broke Constantin Frantzen's career doubles wins record with 113. The pair bested tenth-ranked Adam Walton and Pat Harper. On court two, No. 9 Matias Soto and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi were downed by No. 21 Emile Hudd and Shunsuke Mitsui, 6-1. It came down to court three, where UT's Mark Wallner and Johannus Monday took the match, 6-4, over Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek.
The Bears revved up their engines and came out hot in singles, winning the first set on four of the six courts. Grassi Mazzuchi made quick work, winning 6-1, 6-2 on court six over Harper to tie it up for BU. Pushing Baylor further was No. 58 Paroulek, winning 6-2, 6-4 on court five over UT's Angel Diaz. Court three finished next, with No. 74 Hudd winning 7-6(3), 6-3, over No. 73 Lah to tie it back up at 2-2 overall.
No. 36 Soto had a tooth and nail match with No. 10 Monday but came out on top with the 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win on court two. Back up by a point, two other three-set matches were carrying on. On court one, the Volunteers' No. 3 Walton came away with the win over No. 5 Boitan, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, after a battle among the nation's best. It all came down to court four, where Bass and UT's Mitsui were in a war as well. Mitsui bested Bass, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 to finalize the match.
QUOTABLE – Head Coach Michael Woodson
"That's one of the best college tennis matches that we will experience. It had absolutely everything. We had chances, they had chances. Deep into the third set on so many courts. We won some of them, we lost some of them, and unfortunately, this one didn't fall our way. The thing that I'm the most proud of is the way that our guys competed, the way they battled together. They just represent the university and the program so well. Our fans, our coaches, our staff just do an incredible job of representing Baylor and showing what we really are about and who we are as people. And that's so much more important to me than the result. My heart breaks that we're not going to get out there as a team with Matias and Sven anymore. I'm just excited to have had the opportunity and thankful for the opportunity to have worked with them for so long. This team has an extremely bright future. I know this one stings, and it's probably going to motivate all of us to work a little harder moving forward. But the season is defined by so much success. Another Big 12 championship, another semifinal run at Indoors, quarterfinals here, 29 wins. We're the best of the best, it just didn't fall our way today, but that's tennis, that's life. I'm just more happy about the way we handled it and how we consistently went through the season. This is a first-class group of guys, and I'm just proud to be a part of it."
UP NEXT
The Bears have a group of players competing in the individual singles and doubles competition, beginning on May 23 in Champaign. More information will be released as it is obtained regarding the brackets.
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
#3 [3 seed] Baylor (3) vs. #6 [6 seed] Tennessee (4)
NCAA Quarterfinals
Champaign, Ill. – Khan Outdoor Tennis Center
SINGLES COMPETITION
1. #3 Adam Walton def. #5 Adrian Boitan (UT) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
2. #36 Matias Soto (BU) def. #10 Johannus Monday (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. #74 Emile Hudd (UT) def. #73 Sven Lah 7-6(3), 6-3
4. Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Finn Bass (BU) 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4
5. #58 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Angel Diaz (UT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) def. Pat Harper (UT) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 2, 1, 4
DOUBLES COMPETITION
1. #3 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. #13 Adam Walton/Pat Harper (UT) 6-1
2. #21 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. #9 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) 6-1
3. Mark Wallner/Johannus Monday (UT) def. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
- BaylorBears.com -
Players Mentioned
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