WT Opens NCAA Tournament against SMU Friday

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            In a rematch of Baylor's 4-1 Senior Day win over SMU, a lot more will be on the line when the No. 39 Bears (16-13) face the 32^nd-ranked Mustangs (16-8) at 10 a.m. CT Friday in an NCAA first-round matchup at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station.
            Texas A&M (27-2), the regional host and No. 2 national seed, will face Quinnipiac (15-8) in the other first-round matchup at 1 p.m. Friday, with the winners meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday for a spot in the Round of 16.
            "Ultimately, there is a psychological component to it where you have to get yourself up to do it again," said Baylor coach Joey Scrivano. "But that's what great teams and great players do, and that's part of the process for our team is to learn how to do that. It's a reset. You have to learn from that last match – whether you won or lost – and be ready to play this one."
            While Baylor "did what we needed to do" with a four-match winning streak in April, highlighted by that homecourt victory over SMU, the Mustangs played their way into the NCAA Tournament with three 4-0 sweeps at the American Athletic Conference Championship in Orlando, Fla.
            "They did a really good job after that match. They went on a tear," Scrivano said of an SMU team that has won five-straight and climbed 22 spots in the rankings. "That's how they got themselves into it. But that was a big match. At the time, we were fully aware of the significance of that match. And the team just did a great job."
            In the March 10 match at the Hurd Tennis Center, Baylor won the doubles point and swept the Nos. 4-6 singles, with senior Paula Barañano getting the clincher by beating Lana Mavor, 7-6(5), 6-0, at No. 5.
            "It's always tough to play a team a second time," Barañano said. "We know the players, so that's a good point for us. But like I said, it's always hard and it's a new match, so we're going to give it all out there."
            SMU's lone ranked singles player is senior Hadley Doyle, a former Tennessee transfer who is ranked 88^th with a 25-6 record. The Mustangs' Taylor Johnson and Jackie Nylander are 86^th in doubles, while Baylor has a pair of ranked singles players in senior Isabella Harvison (85^th) and sophomore Alina Scherbinina (121^st).
            "I think we learned a lot from that match," said sophomore Brooke Thompson, who is 5-2 with Scherbinina at No. 3 doubles. "I think it gives us a lot of momentum since we beat them already. I think we're all excited and pretty confident that we're going to hopefully do well."
            Baylor holds a 22-11 all-time record against their former Southwest Conference rivals and have won 19-straight in the series dating back to 1995.
            Scrivano said the players "take away the feelings of that match, which they should. There's a lot of emotion when you have to compete at this level."
            "What our job is going to be (is) to now get to the facts," said Scrivano, whose team has won 13-consecutive first-round matches in the NCAA Tournament dating back to 2005. "Here's the reality of that match, and here's what we can do better.
            "The athletes have the hardest part. They have to go out there and play with their full mind, body and spirit, and the coaches just can't go, 'Well, here's how you win.' They have to actually go out there and execute. So, that's the challenging thing. And that'll be the challenge for both teams. Whoever shows up, whoever's really present, that's who will probably win."
            This is Baylor's 24^th NCAA Tournament appearance, including the Bears' 18^th in 21 seasons under Scrivano, with an overall record of 38-19. They made it to the semifinals in 2008 and 2011, knocking off SMU in the Round of 16 in the Mustangs' last previous postseason trip.
            "The postseason experience is huge for them," Scrivano said of a young Baylor team that includes two freshmen and four sophomores. "They need to go through that selection show, the excitement of that, and then kind of recover from that and now get ready for their first NCAA Tournament. There's a lot of anxiety with that and excitement and nerves. But now it's just channeling it the right way and getting them ready to compete and do what they do."

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Baylor women's tennis begins its NCAA Tournament run on Friday at the Mitchell Tennis Center when it takes on SMU at 10 a.m.

The two will be joined by Quinnipiac (15-8) and No. 2 national seed Texas A&M (27-2), the regional host. The winner of each opening-round match will square off at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

"Ultimately, we did what we needed to do, especially in the month of April, to get in," Baylor head coach Joey Scrivano said. "This team is very deserving."

The meeting between the Bears (16-13) and the Mustangs (16-8) will be the second this season. Baylor won the first contest, 4-1, highlighted by Paula Barañano's match-clinching win on No. 5 singles on Senior Night. The Bears earned the doubles point to start, while Liubov Kostenko and Daniella Dimitrov also picked up singles victories in the outing.

"I think there are always things you can do better. So, we've already started figuring that out," Scrivano said. "But there is a psychological component to it where you have to get yourself up to do it again. That's what great teams and great players do, and that's a part of the process for our team is to learn how to do that. It's a reset. You have to learn from that last match and be ready to play this one."

Baylor is making its 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and 17th appearance under the direction of head coach Joey Scrivano. The Bears are 38-19 all-time in the tournament and have advanced to at least the second round in each of their appearances dating back to the 2005 season, making the tournament every year since except 2019.

Tickets are $5 for the day and $8 for an all-session pass. Student and kid tickets are $3 a day. Tickets may be purchased in advance here or at the venue on the day of the match.

- BaylorBears.com -

WT Opens NCAA Tournament against SMU Friday

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Players Mentioned

Paula Barañano

Daniella Dimitrov

Isabella Harvison

Liubov Kostenko

Brooke Thompson

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