CLUTCH PERFORMANCE

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Watching as 10^th-ranked Baylor junior Devin Badenhorst courageously fought through body cramps into the third set of Friday's Round of 16 match against 27^th-ranked Pepperdine, Michael Woodson kept thinking, "There's no way this is going to happen again."

Just a year ago, Badenhorst dropped a three-setter in the final match on court in a 4-3 loss to Texas A&M in a second-round NCAA tournament match.

This time, though, Badenhorst closed out a 4-3 win over Pepperdine, rallying to beat the Waves' Edward Winter, 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5), collapsing on the court after a serve-and-volley winner before a crowd of 1,329 at the Hurd Tennis Center.

"To be honest, my mind goes immediately to Devin and what he was able to do," said Woodson, whose 25-9 and 10^th-seeded Bears advance to face second-ranked Texas (27-6) next Thursday, May 14, in the quarterfinals in Athens, Ga.

"Forget the pressure, just the adversity of cramping from the middle of the second set all the way to the end, that's a God thing. That's his dad and his sister looking over him in a very difficult moment. Last year, the season ended on his court in the third set, 4-3, last match on. it felt like the whole time, there's no way he's going to have that happen again."

Two years ago, Badenhorst got the tragic news that his dad and sister, Louwrense and Michelle Badenhorst, were killed in a car accident back home in South Africa the night before the Bears lost to No. 18 San Diego, 4-1, in a first-round matchup in Bryan/College Station.

"There was a stage after it happened where I didn't want to do it anymore," Badenhorst said. "But just for the love of the sport, the love for the game that my dad and my sister had, all the sacrifices they made for me. When it gets tight like that, I know that tennis is just a game. When something like that happens in your life, you realize that tennis is just a sport and family is so much bigger. That's why I do it, just for the love of the game."

Even after winning the doubles point and going up 3-2 with straight-set victories by Zsombor Velcz at No. 2 and Luk Koenig on Court 5, the Bears' season teetered on the edge with both Badenhorst and Old Dominion transfer Connor Van Schalkwyk dropping their first sets at No. 1 and 3, respectively.

A first-team All-Big12 pick in singles and doubles, the 53^rd-ranked Van Schalkwyk lost to the Waves' Aleksa Psaric in back-to-back hard-fought tiebreakers, 7-6(6), 7-6(6), with Pepperdine knotting the match at 3-3.

That put everything on Court 1, where Badenhorst had rallied from a 6-2 opening-set loss to take set two, 7-5, getting a service break in the last game. His cramping seemingly getting worse and worse throughout an extended third set, Badenhorst was noticeably wincing between every point.

"There was a point where I had some doubts and thought maybe I'm going to come up short," said Badenhorst, who hasn't lost a singles match since March 10. "But (athletic trainer) Kevin Robinson and them, they did a great job getting me through it, giving me the stuff I needed to get through it."

After both players held serve to get it to a third-set tiebreaker, Badenhorst jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never trailed in winning it 7-5 and finishing off the 3 ½-hour match at the Hurd Tennis Center.

"Dev, the three serve-and-volley plays, heck of an effort from him," Woodson said, "but great calls from (associate head coach Izak van der Merwe). He hasn't been doing that the whole set. To, all of a sudden, watch Ed back up, and he's coming in to do it, to not back down and not doubt himself and finish it off, was pretty incredible."

But it's what Woodson has come to expect from Badenhorst, who finished a 4-3 win over defending national champion Wake Forest in the ITA National Indoor quarterfinals by beating the 21^st-ranked Dhakshineswar Suresh in another third-set tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

"I think every single match we've needed him to win, he's won," Woodson said. "And he's not just the best player on the court, he's the best competitor maybe I've ever had. When he really focuses on something and puts his mind to it, he's going to accomplish it. It's really incredibly special just to be a small part of his journey, because he's going to be playing this sport for a very long time."

Advancing to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals for the 16^th time in program history, the 10^th-seeded Bears (25-9) will face second-seeded and top-ranked Texas (27-6) next Thursday, May 14, at the final site in Athens, Ga.

The Longhorns defeated Baylor, 4-0, in the ITA National Indoor semifinals three months ago, but four of the six singles matches went to third sets.

"I don't care who we play. If you're one of the final eight teams, you have a chance to win a national championship," said Woodson, whose team was the runner-up to Florida in 2021.

"It's right where these guys belong. They have set their minds to this the whole year. We've had some really high highs and some lows. But they've really learned what it takes to be elite and what it takes to suffer but believe in yourself that when your backs are against the wall, we produce our best stuff."

CLUTCH PERFORMANCE

Players Mentioned

Devin Badenhorst

Connor Van Schalkwyk

Zsombor Velcz

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