No. 4 MT Bests No. 12 Texas to Advance to Big 12 Championship

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            FORT WORTH – On the ropes and needing to pull out a pair of three-setters, the fourth-ranked and second-seeded Baylor males’s tennis crew did simply that, defeating 12^th-ranked and third-seeded Texas, 4-2, to earn a spot in Sunday’s ultimate of the Big 12 Championship. 
            Beaten convincingly in two earlier matchups, the Longhorns (16-10) pushed the Bears (25-3) in Saturday’s semifinal and had been truly in place to shut it out with Richard Ciamarra up 4-1 on Sven Lah within the third set on Court 3 and Eliot Spizzirri hanging with third-ranked Adrian Boitan at No. 1 singles. 
            “So much credit to Texas, it’s hard to overcome losing to a team twice,” Baylor coach Michael Woodson mentioned, “and they absolutely had us on the ropes there.”
            The momentum took an enormous swing the opposite method, although, when Lah received five-straight video games to defeat Ciamarra, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4. TCU switch Tadeas Paroulek obtained the clincher simply moments later, getting up a break early and ending off the Longhorns’ Chih Chi Huang, 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, on Court 5. 
            “That was a collective team effort,” Lah mentioned. “If one of us maybe gets a little sloppy, doesn’t finish it, there are still two guys out there to get the job done. I felt like we did a really good job of staying in there, helping each other when it was tough and I guess executing together.”
            Making their fourth-consecutive Big 12 event ultimate, the Bears will face top-ranked and top-seeded TCU (23-3) in Sunday’s championship on the Bayard Friedman Tennis Center, beginning no sooner than 1:30 p.m. Baylor cut up two matches towards TCU, profitable 5-2 on March 25 in Fort Worth and shedding 4-3 9 days later in Waco. 
            “It’s another huge battle between us and TCU,” junior Finn Bass mentioned. “We love playing them here. It’s going to be no different than any time we play TCU. Just looking forward to the challenge, and we’ll be ready to compete and give it our all.”
            In what proved to be a crucial level, Boitan and Paroulek beat TCU’s Huang and Eshan Talluri, 7-6(7), within the clincher after the sixth-ranked duo of Lah and Bass rolled over third-ranked Ciamarra and Cleeve Harper, 6-2, at No. 1. 
            “We’re catching the rhythm at the right time,” Lah mentioned. “If we continue to play like this – aggressive, hit our serves – I feel like we’re going to be in a good spot.”
            Trailing on 5 of the six singles courts at one level, Baylor was in a position to rally and win a pair of tiebreakers and cut up the primary units. Lah overcame a 1-5 deficit to pull out a tiebreaker towards Ciamarra, whereas Bass dug out of a 3-5 gap and saved 4 set factors at 5-6, love-40 earlier than profitable the primary of two breakers over UT’s Siem Woldeab at No. 4. 
            “One thing I did well was play the big points really well,” mentioned Bass, who received, 7-6(4), 7-6(5). (*4*)
            Texas truly took a 2-1 lead with straight-set wins at Nos. 2 and 6. Harper defeated Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi, 6-3, 6-4, and Pierre-Yves Bailly dominated the second set in a 7-5, 6-1 win over Matias Soto on Court 2. 
            Bass tied it at 2-2 together with his win over Woldeab, leaving it to be determined by three-setters on the remaining three courts. 
            “What an awesome college tennis match,” Woodson mentioned. “This is what it’s all about. Two teams, two national powers, competing at the very highest level, leaving everything they have out on the court with an awesome atmosphere. Great crowd that was into it. It was fun. You could cut the tension with a butter knife.”
            While the Bears closed it out with the wins by Lah and Paroulek, Boitan remained unbeaten in dual-match play, main Spizzirri, 4-6, 7-5, 4-3, when the match was clinched. 
            “They’re so well-coached and just a world-class group of guys,” Woodson mentioned of Texas. “They compete their hearts out, and it was powerful to see them go down, however I do know they are going to make a fantastic run within the (NCAA) event. 
            “We’re just excited to have another opportunity to play TCU. This is what it’s all about, and we’re looking forward to it.”
            Top-seeded Oklahoma faces No. 2 seed Texas within the girls’s ultimate at 11 a.m. Sunday, adopted by Baylor versus the TCU males. 
 

WACO, Texas – The No. 4-ranked and second-seeded Baylor males’s tennis crew took the win over third-seeded and 12^th-ranked Texas on Saturday afternoon on the general public courts of the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, 4-2, within the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship.

 

The Bears (25-3) defeated the Longhorns (16-10) to advance to Sunday’s championship match and proceed their six-match profitable streak.

 

THE RUNDOWN

The first doubles match was received by Texas on courtroom two, with No. 17-ranked Eliot Spizzirri and Siem Woldeab profitable 6-3 over No. 15-ranked Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Matias Soto. Court one evened it up with a 6-2 choice from No. 6-ranked Sven Lah and Finn Bass over No. 3 Richard Ciamarra and Cleeve Harper. The Bears took the doubles level with a 7-6(7) choice on courtroom three from Adrian Boitan and Tadeas Paroulek over Chih Chi Huang and Eshan Talluri.

 

With the wins, Boitan and Paroulek enhance to 13-4 whereas Lah and Bass improved to 13-6, all on courtroom one. Grassi Mazzuchi and Soto are actually 18-4, all on courtroom two.

 

In singles, courtroom six completed first, with UT’s 114^th-ranked Cleeve Harper besting Grassi Mazzuchi, 6-3, 6-4 to even the rating at 1-1. No. 41 ranked Pierre-Yves Bailly bested No. 43 Soto, 7-5, 6-1, on courtroom two to give the Longhorns the slight benefit at 2-1. Bass got here roaring again and defeated No. 95 Siem Woldeab on courtroom 4, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), to even out the match.

 

Carrying that momentum, No. 77 Lah defeated No. 95 Ciamarra on courtroom three, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, to push the Bears to 3-2 over UT. Clinching the match for BU was Tadeas Paroulek on courtroom 5, profitable 7-5, 3-6, 6-2, over No. 114 Huang. Third-ranked Boitan went unfinished within the third set on courtroom one with No. 60 Eliot Spizzirri, 4-6, 7-5, 4-3.

Boitan stays 17-0, all on courtroom one, whereas Bass improves to 18-6 in twin play, Lah to 15-6 on the spring, and Paroulek to 12-2 for twin season. Grassi Mazzuchi is now 22-3 whereas Soto is 12-8.

 

NEXT UP

The Bears will face quantity one-seeded, top-ranked TCU on Sunday, not earlier than 1:30 p.m. CT. The males’s championship match will play proper after the ladies’s championship is accomplished.

 

This would be the third match of the season between TCU and BU, the primary approaching March 25 in Fort Worth the place the Bears received 5-2. The two groups met once more in Big 12 play, this time on the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, with the Frogs profitable, 4-3.

 

Baylor has received 4 out of the final 5 matches towards TCU, two happening on the Friedman Tennis Center.

 

Boitan received each his matches towards the Frogs, each on courtroom one. The first was towards Juan Carlos Aguilar, whereas the second got here towards Luc Fomba. Paroulek additionally went 2-0 towards his former crew, the primary towards Pedro Vives Marcos who retired within the third set, and the second towards Tomas Jirousek. Rounding out the undefeateds was Grassi Mazzuchi, who received each his matches on courtroom six, towards Jirousek and Tim Ruehl, respectively. Bass went 1-1 towards TCU on courtroom 4 towards the Frogs.

 

The match shall be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Kris Budden offering play by play and Craig Karseno offering commentary. Live stats for the match might be discovered right here.

 

To keep up to date all through the season on all issues Baylor males’s tennis, comply with the crew on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorMTennis. 

 

TENNIS RESULTS

#4 [2 seed] Baylor (4) vs. #12 [3 seed] Texas (2)

Fort Worth, Texas – Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center

SINGLES COMPETITION

1. #3 Adrian Boitan (BU) def. #60 Eliot Spizzirri (UT) 4-6, 7-5, 4-3 unfinished

2. #41 Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #43 Matias Soto (BU) 7-5, 6-1

3. #77 Sven Lah (BU) def. #95 Richard Ciamarra (UT) 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4

4. Finn Bass (BU) def. Siem Woldeab (UT) 7-6(4), 7-6(5)

5. Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. #114 Chih Chi Huang (UT) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2

6. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU) 6-3, 6-4

 

Order of end: 6, 2, 4, 3, 5

 

DOUBLES COMPETITION

1. #6 Sven Lah/Finn Bass (BU) def. #3 Richard Ciamarra/Cleeve Harper (UT) 6-2

2. #17 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (UT) def. #15 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi/Matias Soto (BU) 6-3

3. Adrian Boitan/Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Chih Chi Huang/Eshan Talluri (UT) 7-6(7)

 

Order of end: 2, 1, 3

 

 

  

– BaylorBears.com –