By AnnaGrace Hale | Sports Writer
Despite the closure of senior night on April 10, No. 4 Baylor men’s tennis (23-3, 4-1 Big 12) returns to the Hurd Tennis Center for two more matches before competing in the Big 12 Tournament on Saturday. Their first match against Midwestern State University (14-7, 6-0 LSC) was a success, as the Bears swept past the Mustangs 7-0.
“It’s just an opportunity to give some guys a few extra reps that want to work on a couple of things, then some guys that haven’t got as much competition, the opportunity to play, compete and test themselves in case they’re called upon in the postseason,” head coach Michael Woodson said.
As usual, the No. 5 duo of senior Sven Lah and junior Finn Bass took the top court, but the rest of the doubles pairings looked a little different this match. Senior Matias Soto linked up with freshman Marko Miladinović on court two, and sophomore Christopher Frantzen was paired with freshman Ethan Muza on court three.
Finishing first, Soto and Miladinović refused to drop a set and snatched a seemingly easy win 6-0. Soon after, Bass and Lah clinched the doubles point 6-1. Playing out the doubles portion, Frantzen and Muza fought until the end, completing the set on top 7-6 (2).
Moving into singles, the same six players stayed on the court, grabbing all six of the remaining points.
Miladinović found the first victory on court four with identical set scores 6-1, 6-1. It was then No. 71 Lah who took the third point for the green and gold 6-0, 6-1. No. 123 Bass clinched the victory on court three 6-0, 6-4.
The remaining singles points were found on courts one, five and six, with No. 39 Soto putting another point on the board for the Bears winning 6-0, 7-5. Next, Muza secured a 6-3, 6-3 victory. To finish the match off for the green and gold, Frantzen finished on top on court six, 6-4, 7-5.
Not expecting to play in the Hurd Tennis Center again after senior night, Soto said that it was good to be back on the home courts.
“Thank you to Mike [Woodson] again,” Soto said. “It’s good for us to practice, to get ready for play at home, to have our people around. It was just a nice experience. It’s about to finish, so to have two more is amazing.”
As Baylor continues to be successful, Woodson is impressed with the progress.
“The guys that play every day did a great job,” Woodson said. “It’s a tall task to get them to come out and put out their best effort day in and day out, but that’s the mark of a great team – that they’re consistent and give their best every single day. These guys are doing that and it’s really impressive. I’m proud of the group and excited for tomorrow.”
Next up, the Bears take on the University of Texas at Tyler (9-8, 5-1 LSC) at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the Hurd Tennis Center for the final match of the regular season.
