• Baylor men’s tennis completes undefeated home season, rolls into Elite Eight

    Baylor men's tennis team celebrates a victory

    All season long, winning the doubles point and protecting the home court have been formulas for success for the Baylor men’s tennis team, a combination that proved to be a winning one again in in the team’s biggest home match of the year.

    Buoyed by a season-high crowd of more than 1,000 Baylor fans, the No. 6-seeded Bears defeated No. 11 UCLA by a 4-1 score Friday night in the NCAA Super Regional (essentially, the Sweet 16) at Hurd Tennis Center. The win capped off an undefeated home season for head coach Brian Boland’s team — a perfect 16-0 — and allowed Baylor to advance to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals (elite eight) in Orlando later this week.

    In a matchup that featured the nation’s two best doubles teams, it was Baylor’s No. 2 and 3 doubles teams setting the tone, with Will Little and Matias Soto claiming a victory in No. 2 doubles, and No. 3 Johannes Schretter and Constantin Franklin following suit. In singles play, Sven Lah claimed the first of three singles victories to complete the win for Baylor. The victory improved the Bears’ record to 21-1 this season when winning the doubles point.

    Next up for Baylor is a matchup with No. 3 Florida Thursday at 6 p.m. in Orlando. It’s the Bears’ 13th trip to the Elite Eight, but their first since 2015. On the heels of a Big 12 tournament title in April and a sweep through the Waco Regional earlier this month, the Baylor men will now seek to advance to the NCAA semifinals (final four) for the first time in four years. [5/21/19 update: The Bears lost to Florida in the NCAA quarterfinals, 4-0.]

    Sic ’em, Baylor Men’s Tennis!