UNLEASHING THE BEAR

By: Christopher Frantzen

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Christopher Frantzen, a fifth-year senior from Augsburg, German, graduated with a degree in finance and entrepreneurship and is currently working on his MBA. The younger brother of former Baylor All-American Constantin Frantzen – who is currently ranked 62^nd in the world in ATP doubles – Christopher received the ITA Texas Region Arthur Ashe Award for outstanding leadership and sportsmanship in 2023. Frantzen and the 14^th-ranked Bears (12-1) will host No. 1 Ohio State (14-0) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Hurd Tennis Center:

Reflecting on the past five years, I find myself filled with a mix of emotions as my time at Baylor comes to an end. It's been a journey filled with great memories, personal growth and the unwavering support of my team, coaches and friends. Yet, the thought of leaving the place I've called home for half a decade is daunting, almost as if a piece of me is being torn away.

I am so thankful for all the memories I made at Baylor, and for all the people that made it so special. If you know me, you know I am a very direct guy and not the most emotional person, but just writing this article made me emotional.

Without my Family, I couldn't have done it!

We always speak about heroes or role models that are superstars like Roger Federer, Lionel Messi, etc., but in reality, they are always your parents. My parents, Gabi and Hubertus Frantzen, sacrificed nearly everything they had to fulfill my and my two older brothers' dreams in life. If you want to talk about selfless people, I would have to say they are the perfect example. Since I was young, my mum brought me and my brothers to practices six, sometimes seven, days a week; made sure we had good grades; took care of us while my dad was working; and much more. My dad worked his whole life so we could afford to play tennis, travel to tennis tournaments across Europe, and even go to Baylor. He sacrificed having family vacations or seeing the world with my mum for our happiness. There is nothing in the world that could describe how thankful I am for having them in my life and for all they did and do for me in my life.

My two older brothers, Max and Conni, are probably my biggest mentors and fans. Max, our genius in the family, carried me through high school. Max is a perfect example of an oldest brother everybody wants and needs. Whenever Conni or I need help with anything, we know that Max will be there for us, no matter what. If we need advice in our personal life, we know he will have some for us. If we have success, we know he is the first who will celebrate for us. What I didn't realize until I was about 16 was that Max was sacrificing a lot for me and Conni's tennis careers. He was mainly focused on school, which meant he often didn't get as much attention as Conni and me, because my parents had to drive us to practice and tournaments. So, without Max's sacrifice, Conni and I couldn't have come as far as we did in our tennis careers.

Conni is the reason why I came to Baylor. He is my inspiration in tennis. It is inspiring to see him play that well in college and now succeeding as a professional, playing the biggest tournaments in the world. For me, he is the guy that believes the most in my tennis skills. When I doubt myself or got injured again, he always motivates me and makes me believe in myself. It was special being a part of the same team for two years. Those are memories that nobody will ever take from us. On top of that, I am proud to continue to also be named captain this year, because it was always a goal of mine after seeing Conni as a captain in my first two years. If you ask the coaches, they will always say that I was a relatively mature freshman and sophomore. But if we are completely honest, that was just because of Conni. He was making sure that I took care of academics, told me all the tricks he learned in his five years of college, and much more.
Without my two brothers/my best friends, I don't know what I would do. I am so thankful for them!

The Road to Baylor

I come from a sports-loving family. My dad was a field hockey player, and my mum was a swimmer. So, it was clear that my brothers and me were going to be involved in sports, too. My brothers and I grew up playing several sports at the same time. We played handball, tennis and field hockey, raced on snowboards and also skied. In our free time, we played soccer and basketball. Around the age of 9, my parents told me that I would have to decide between the sports I was playing, because it became too much for me and my parents to keep up with all of it. I decided to choose tennis because of the way I felt when I was on the court, and it didn't hurt that Conni had chosen the same path, too . . . probably the best decision I ever made!

My tennis idol was Roger Federer since I was small, which was why my dream was always to play the biggest tournaments in the world. This led me to go to an academy from ages 13 to 18. The academy was just an hour away in Munich, but it required me to live there, which meant that I had to grow up relatively fast. I had to cook for myself, wash my clothes, take care of my apartment and more. After that, it helped me to be disciplined, take care of myself and take ownership of my actions.

I wasn't sure that I wanted to go to college for a long time. My brother, Conni, persuaded me to just take a recruiting trip to Baylor to have some fun, see him, and get to know the coaches at Baylor. At the time, the head coach was Brian Boland, the assistant coach was current head coach Michael Woodson and the second assistant was now associate head coach Izak van der Merwe. Those few days I spent in Waco persuaded me that I wanted to come to Baylor to play on a team and be part of something bigger than myself. Especially as a tennis player, where you always just play for yourself, I loved how I could play for a team for the first time in my life in tennis. It was pretty spontaneous, because I signed the contract two weeks before classes started and got my visa a day before my flight to America, but I knew this was where I was meant to be for the next four-plus years of my life. Then, my journey at Baylor started.

My Academic Road

When I first came to Baylor, my English was rough – for perspective, I was always a C- or D student in language class in high school. So, I struggled a lot at the start, understanding my professors and what they wanted from me. So, I have to thank all my academic advisors, especially Christina Johnson, who was my academic advisor in the first two semesters in my college career. I spent several hours in my first and second semester in her office, where she was just helping me to figure out what I had to do. After that, it went much smoother. I graduated in Finance and Entrepreneurship and am now pursuing my MBA at Baylor.

My Ups and Downs

My freshman year at Baylor started with great promise. I performed well in both singles and doubles, setting the stage for what seemed like a bright debut season. However, fate had other plans, as I soon found myself caught in a spiral of injuries.

At the end of my first semester, I reaggravated a shoulder injury that I'd been battling off and on for a while. After taking care of my shoulder injury over the winter break and getting back to playing, I got diagnosed with scapular bone inflammation that took me out for about five months. At that point, it wasn't actually too bad, because I was able to redshirt my first year and the season ended early due to Covid-19.

After coming back from that injury, I played a relatively solid season, but it was hard to get in the starting lineup due to it being one of the best seasons since 2004 and 2005, when Baylor made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Championship finals. In 2021, we ended up winning the Big 12 Conference regular-season and tournament titles and finished second at the NCAA National Championships. At the end of the season, my shoulder injury came back, which required surgery this time. I stayed in Waco the whole summer to focus on rehab for my shoulder and try to come back as quickly as I could.

The road in my journey took a sharp turn in the Fall 2021.

After I was cleared to start practicing again, I began passing out every time I tried to stand up, move, or really do anything. I probably had 15 doctor appointments in three weeks with different doctors, and nobody knew what was going on. I was losing weight rapidly to the point where I was around 164 pounds, which is nothing for a 6-foot-4 guy.

It was scary being in the dark on what I was suffering from. After spending a week in the hospital, doctors figured out that I have Addison's Disease, which is a rare genetic disease where your adrenal gland doesn't work anymore. They said it had gotten to the point where it could have shifted for the worse, but I'm thankful for Baylor Scott & White and Baylor Athletics for finding it when they did.

After figuring out my medication, I had to start gaining muscle again, since I had lost so much during those few weeks. I started "jogging" at intervals for about 10 yards at a time, and I was completely gassed. It probably took me a little bit over a year to get to a point where I was able to compete seriously again. I remember having conversations with Coach Woodson that the road to making the lineup seemed rough, but I was just so thankful to even be on the court again.

Then in my junior year, I established myself in the doubles lineup again and now continue in my last year as a captain of the team.

I want to thank Emily Buccigross (athletic trainer at the time), Carrie Rubertino-Shearer (Associate AD for Athletic Medicine) and Dr. Laura Irvin for taking care of me in a very hard time of my life. Especially Dr. Irvin, who was my doctor for several weeks to months. I also want to give a special thanks to my girlfriend, Hannah Pinto, who was always there for me, no matter my highs and lows. She had to wake up several times in the middle of the night because I had a problem with my sickness and had to pick me up and drive me to the hospital. She would stay with me for the whole night and support me. I also wanted to thank her parents, Brian and Lori, who welcomed me into their home as a family member and became my second family in America. They take care of me in the hard times and the good times as well, when my family is across the world.

A Special Thanks to My Coaches

I am immensely grateful for the opportunity afforded to me by my first head coach, Brian Boland, to join the Baylor men's tennis team. His belief in my potential and willingness to take a chance on me allowed me to join the best program in the country.

Izak van der Merwe, a genius in the tennis game, helped me to understand the tennis game from different perspectives and challenged me in my academics and to push myself in all aspects of life. He was here for all of my five years. He was a great inspiration, and I knew I could always count on him when I needed him. I am very grateful for everything Izak has done for me.

Head coach Michael Woodson had one of the biggest impacts on my life at Baylor, especially off the court. He helped me understand different teammates and how to approach them to help them, which I struggled with a lot, because I am a very direct person and sometimes too direct. I would say he had a major impact on the person and leader I am today. I want to thank Mike for always being there for me and dealing with the many meetings we had, where I was for sure not always the easiest.

Tribute to the Journey

As Mike always told us: it's not the trophies we are lifting or the matches we win that are the best memories, it's the journey itself. The reason for this is all the people that make it so special. The relationships I gained during my time at Baylor will last a lifetime and are what made my time here so special. Going through good and bad times together made us become even closer.

I couldn't have wished for better teammates in my five years here. They became my brothers and friends I will have for life. No matter where I go in my life, I know I can and will always count on them to have my back. Love you guys!

Thinking again that my journey as a student-athlete will end soon makes me very sad, but I know that I will be a Baylor Bear for life. And I can, and will, contribute in different ways in the future.

Sic'em For Life!

UNLEASHING THE BEAR

Players Mentioned

Christopher Frantzen

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UNLEASHING THE BEAR

Players Mentioned

Christopher Frantzen

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