Baylor tennis teams reach Sweet 16 together for 9th time in 10 years

For the ninth time in 10 years, Baylor’s men’s and women’s tennis teams are together in the Sweet 16.

Each team earned the right to host first and second round action this past weekend, and each team rode the home crowd to a pair of wins. Head coach Joey Scrivano’s women, ranked No. 13 nationally, defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 20 Rice — the Lady Bears’ 15th and 16th straight wins — to move on, while head coach Matt Knoll’s No.6-ranked men beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Tulsa to reach the NCAA Championship Round of 16 for the 13th consecutive season.

Next up for the Lady Bears? No. 4 Virginia, this Thursday at 11 a.m. CT. The Bears, meanwhile, will face No. 12 Illinois on Friday at 11 a.m. CT. Both matches (in fact, all remaining matches this year) will be played at the University of Georgia, this year’s finals site for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. (Bookmark this page for live stats, live video and more from the matches.)

Next year, the eyes of the collegiate tennis world will be focused on Waco, as Baylor’s Hurd Tennis Center (pictured above) will host the 2015 NCAA Tennis Championships. With 12 outdoor courts (including six with covered grandstands), renovated locker rooms, and a newly updated scoreboard, the Bears’ and Lady Bears’ home is one of the nation’s finest collegiate tennis facilities. The addition last spring of the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center as a respite from poor weather gave Baylor the final piece it needed to host the national championships.

Sic ’em, Baylor tennis!