COLLEGE STATION, Texas āĀ The No. 18 Baylor men's tennis team begins their 27th-consecutive NCAA postseason run facing the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday morning in the College Station regional at Mitchell Tennis Center.
Ā
The Bears (22-10) enter the tournament after falling to No.10 Arizona, 4-2, in the Big 12 Semifinal. The Cornhuskers (15-9) travel south with their third-ever NCAA bid, after dropping to Washington, 4-3, in the Big Ten Quarterfinal.
Ā
The teams have a longstanding history and will meet for the 31st time, with multiple encounters in both Big 12 conference play and NCAA tournaments. Their most recent face-off was earlier in the 2025 season in February where Baylor defeated Nebraska, 4-2, in a regular-season match held in Lincoln, Nebraska.Ā
Ā
The Bears recently earned multiple All-Big 12 honors including Newcomer of the Year. Graduate transfer
Alexandru Chirita was named the 2025 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, becoming the first Bear to win the award since Charlie Broom in 2021. Additionally,
Devin Badenhorst and
Zsombor Velcz were named on the First Team Singles list, both earning first-team honors in their careers. On the First Team Doubles, the duos of
Oskar Brostrom Poulsen/
Marko Miladinovic and Badenhorst/
Luc Koenig earned spots.
Ā
Both teams offer ranked singles play. The Cornhuskers bring 67th-ranked Calvin Mueller, who holds a 14-12 record overall on the season. Nebraska also holds the duo of Lars Johann and Anton Shepp, as the Cornhuskers' lone-ranked team at No. 70 with a 6-2 record.
Ā
With a first-round win, BU would face the winner of the hosting Texas A&M Aggies and Rice Owls in the second round on Sunday.
Ā
The No.16 Aggies offer three ranked singles and doubles duos. In singles, No. 29 Theo Papamalamis, No. 49 JC Roddick and No. 83 Alana Magadan. In doubles, No. 4 Togan Tokac/Papamalamis, No. 56 Luke Casper/Tokac and No. 89 Giulio Perego/Tokac. The Owls offer one ranked duo to combat this Aggie lineup, No. 85 Petro Kuzmenok/Santiago Navarro.
Ā
The Bears hope to advance further to come back home to Waco, Texas for the final weekend of the NCAA tournament hosted at the Hurd Tennis Center from May 16-18.
Ā
For the full bracket of the team championship, head to NCAA.com.
Ā
For the latest news on the Baylor men's tennis team, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorMTennis.