Men’s tennis reaches 12th straight Sweet 16 to headline spring sports’ success
The spring semester is rapidly drawing to a close, which means it’s postseason time for Baylor’s spring sports.
After winning the Big 12 Conference regular season title (the program’s 11th in 14 years) and advancing to the finals of the Big 12 tournament, Baylor men’s tennis won its first- and second-round NCAA tournament matches over the weekend to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 12th straight season. The 13th-ranked Bears now face No. 4 USC Thursday at the NCAA final site in Urbana, Ill.
Baylor women’s tennis also won the Big 12 regular season title, the program’s ninth in 11 years, led by Big 12 Coach of the Year Joey Scrivano and Big 12 Player of the Year Ema Burgic. When the postseason began, however, the 19th-ranked Lady Bears were sent on the road as a No. 2 seed, however, and lost to No. 11 Northwestern in the NCAA tournament’s second round.
Both Baylor track teams placed fourth at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in February, and the women improved on that finish at the Outdoor Championships earlier this month in Waco, finishing third. (The men came in seventh.) At the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, the women tied for 25th and the men tied for 32nd; they’ll look to improve on those finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 5-8.
Freshman Lauren Taylor won the Big 12 Women’s Golf Championship individual title in April and led the Lady Bears to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA West Regional last weekend, one stroke shy of advancing to the NCAA Championship. Men’s golf is headed to an NCAA Regional for the 16th straight year and will compete in Pullman, Wash., Thursday through Saturday.
After finishing third in the Big 12, Baylor softball is headed to the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in 10 years. The Lady Bears will play in College Station this weekend, beginning against Arizona Friday at 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2). Baseball has one more week of regular season play before the Big 12 tournament May 22-26 in Oklahoma City.
Outside the NCAA, acrobatics and tumbling claimed two individual national titles at the NCATA National Championship last month, and equestrian lost in the hunter seat semifinals of the NCEA National Championship.