The Baylor men’s tennis team, ranked 13th in the nation, starts the Big 12 Championship Saturday as the top seed. The Bears (19-4) will play the winner of TCU and Texas.

The team began the season with a rough start in a loss at Tulsa, but then went on an eight-match win streak. The team then lost three in a row to top-five teams, including top-ranked Virginia. However, the Bears found themselves in every third set against the Cavaliers, making for a close match.

They won their last nine matches, including a perfect conference record to win the regular season championship.

The top-ranked singles player on the team, junior Patrick Pradella at 30th, has thrived playing in the No. 1 spot this season. He boasts a 10-2 record in that spot and will look to continue his consistent play into the postseason.

Q: How has this team grown since the start of the season?

A: I feel like we’re getting better every day. We are like a big family. Everyone likes each other and everything we do is helping us to keep getting better and to grow as a team. It’s always good when you have success. That helps a lot. I think we are on a good streak right now, so that helps us a lot. So even on not-that-good days, we can still win.

Q: Was there a turning point where you realized the team could win the Big 12?

A: I think we knew from the beginning of the season that we are a good team. We saw in the match against Virginia that we can beat everybody in the country, even if it was 6-1, but we were close in every match. We started winning matches at home then, against Cal, and those gave us a lot of confidence. I think right now with the win against Oklahoma, that was just amazing. So that really helps.

Q: Are you preparing any differently for postseason play?

A: No, not at all.

Q: Do you think this team has all the pieces to win the national championship?

A: We need to keep getting better, I think. Because everyone is not at his limit, and we are playing together and cheering for each other. When everyone keeps fighting for every point, then we can be a really, really good team in the end. You never know if you win, but I think we have a chance.

Q: Do you feel ready to take on the top players in the No. 1 spot and do you feel comfortable there?

A: Yeah, for sure. I like the challenge and I hope I can help the program, but I think all the other spots are probably more difficult because everyone expects them to win in the lower spots. I feel like it’s an easy position for me.

Lukavac, Bosnia & Herzegovina sophomore Ema Burgic competes in a doubles match with Toronto, Canada redshirt freshman Victoria Kisialeva against the University of Texas on Friday, Apr. 19, 2013, at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

Despite his best efforts to evade being drenched, head coach Joey Scrivano was unsuccessful in avoiding the contents of the water jug as the Baylor women’s tennis team celebrated its ninth Big 12 title in 11 years.

“That was the best bath I’ve had in a long time,” Scrivano said. “I missed having that bath last year and I couldn’t wait to get it this year. To win any kind of championship takes a tremendous amount of work. We battled a lot of adversity this year and it was great to see a completely new team have this experience.”

The Lady Bears took down the 15th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders 4-3 on Sunday to clinch the title and extend the winning streak to 8 games. The win left both teams with an 8-1 conference record, leaving the Red Raiders and Lady Bears to share this year’s regular season Big 12 title.

“It was hard to believe in the middle of the season that this would happen right now,” sophomore Ema Burgic said. “But we believed it, we never gave up and now it’s paying off.”

In Sunday’s match, the Lady Bears pulled ahead early as Baylor’s 17th-ranked duo of freshman Victoria Kisialeva and Burgic pulled off an upset against Tech’s 15th-ranked Samantha Adams and Kenna Kilgo, 8-4. Shortly after, junior Alex Leatu and freshman Kiah Generette secured the doubles point with an 8-4 win over Caroline Starck and Elizabeth Ullathorne.

Momentum was on Baylor’s side going into singles action, and the Lady Bears would strike first with a victory in straight sets by Burgic, making it her 14th consecutive win on court 1.
Despite an answering point from Tech on court 6 to put the score at 2-1, Baylor kept the momentum going with another point from junior Jordaan Sanford. She got past Tech’s Rashmi Teltumbde 6-4, 6-3.

Freshman Victoria Kisialeva would clinch the win for the Lady Bears while also breaking her own five-game losing streak as she swept past Kilgo in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
The young team faced adversity from the start of the season. With four starters missing the fall season due to injuries, the team lacked experience on the court. The obstacles would keep coming throughout this season with the loss of sophomore Megan Horter to a broken arm. Still, the Lady Bears persevered. Scrivano is happy with the hard work and focus his players put in to winning this title, but he says the Lady Bears have yet to reach their peak.

“The biggest challenge we faced was having so many new players this season,” Scrivano said. “But the best is yet to come for us. This whole team will be back next year so the future is really bright.”

The team will head to Norman, Okla. for the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Lady Bears will look to continue their winning streak against the winner of the No.8 seed Kansas and No. 9 seed Iowa State match on Friday at 9 a.m.

Mens Tennis vs. TCU
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The 15th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team won the outright Big 12 Regular Season Championship after beating the 37th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs 5-2 Sunday. The team also celebrated senior Roberto Maytin’s “Senior Night.”

“It is hard to win a conference championship,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “We certainly don’t take them for granted. There are so many great teams in this league and to have to travel around and to have to travel around and stick together and find a way to win one is awesome. TCU is a good team and it was a tough night for us. We had already won a share of the title and I think it is hard to feel some sense of accomplishment. We really changed ourselves to come out and play a great match and they came out and pushed us in every spot.”

The Bears clinched the doubles point after the team of sophomore Marko Krickovic and freshman Julian Lenz won their match 9-7. The winning point came on a crowd-pleasing Krickovic overhead. The team of junior Patrick Pradella and senior Roberto Maytin won 8-2.

Pradella, Maytin and Lenz also had strong singles performances. Pradella, ranked 29th, won 6-4, 6-4, Maytin won 6-3, 6-1 and 43rd-ranked Lenz won 6-4, 6-4. The fifth win came from Krickovic.

“We all knew that we had to compete really hard to win this match today,” Lenz said. “And we did a really great job of it. We absolutely didn’t want to share the trophy with Oklahoma, so we just focused on getting these four points and we obviously got it. So we’re all really happy right now and looking forward to the conference tournament.”

The Bears will play the winner of TCU and Texas Tech at noon Saturday in Norman, Okla. to begin the Big 12 Tournament.

The team finished the season with an 18-4 overall record while going 5-0 in conference play. They are also riding a nine-match win streak.

Baylor men’s tennis beat Purdue University 6-1 at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The 15th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team swept the Oklahoma State Cowboys 7-0 Sunday at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco. The Bears extended their win streak to seven matches and are now 3-0 in conference play.

“I think we’re playing better and better,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “It’s conference season and time to increase our focus level and energy level. I thought the guys came out and did a great job of that today and had a couple quick doubles and a couple quick singles. A couple of guys did a really nice job, and for the matches that were more competitive, we were resilient and bounced back from some tough situations and were able to finish.”

This was the team’s first match after its 6-1 win over Oklahoma on Friday.

The Bears (17-4) won the doubles action after the team of sophomore Marko Krickovic and junior Robert “Woody” Verzaal won 8-6 to the clinch the point. Junior Patrick Pradella and senior Roberto Maytin won their match 8-2 to start.

In singles play, No. 29 Pradella won 6-2, 6-0 in the top spot. Sophomore Mate Zsiga, ranked 91st, won 6-1, 6-1, and freshman Julian Lenz, ranked 55th, won 7-5, 6-0. Krickovic won 6-2, 7-5 and Maytin won 6-2, 6-4. Sophomore Diego Galeano won 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4).

The Bears will take on the No. 23 Texas Longhorns on Wednesday in Austin. The following Sunday will be the last match of the season as the team takes on the TCU Horned Frogs. It will be at 6 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center.

“I think we did well,” Maytin said. “It was a good win 7-0 before the Texas match so now we have two days of practice and we need to get ready and come back and win again.”

Baylor men’s tennis beat Purdue University 6-1 at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The No. 15 Baylor men’s tennis team will continue conference play against the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners at 6 p.m. today at the Hurd Tennis Center. The Bears (15-4) are 1-0 in conference play this season and are coming off of a 6-1 win at Texas Tech last week and a five-match win streak.

“I think it’s guys trying real hard to win tennis matches, which is great,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “Everybody just goes out and fights, and I think they do a great job with their guys. I feel like our guys are going to compete well and I think it’ll be just a great tennis match.”

After tonight’s match, the team will finish its regular season with matches against Oklahoma State, Texas and TCU.

“I think we should focus more on us than on them,” junior Patrick Pradella said. “Because if we do our job, I think we can beat everybody, so we shouldn’t think too much about our opponent. We just focus on our tennis, and we’ll be good.”

Pradella is the team’s top-ranked singles player at No. 29; also ranked are freshman Julian Lenz, sophomore Tony Lupieri and sophomore Mate Zsiga at 55th, 74th and 91st respectively.

“Oklahoma is a really good team,” Lupieri said. “In my opinion they’re a top-10 team in the country, and they have a really good coach also. It’ll be tough. We know it’s going to be tough on Friday. But I think with this team, we’ve shown we can beat top-10 teams.”

Lupieri has won his last seven singles matches.

“I think that we can win the conference, but we need to play good to beat Oklahoma,” he said.

The Baylor Women’s tennis team came up short on Wednesday night against 4th-ranked Texas A&M at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. The Lady Bears took an early lead after winning the doubles point, but were unable to keep the Aggies from taking control of the match in singles play and securing the 4-2 overall victory.

“We definitely competed harder in that particular match than we have lately, but ultimately we still fell short,” head coach Joey Scrivano said.

The team came out with a new competitiveness and put the Aggies on their heels in doubles play. The Aggie duo of Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Wen Sun won the first match of the night against Baylor juniors Alex Clay and Jordaan Sanford 8-3. But the Lady Bears answered quickly with an 8-1 win from junior Alex Leatu and freshman Kiah Generette. The doubles point was secured by 29th-ranked Baylor duo of sophomore Ema Burgic and freshman Victoria Kisialeva when they upset 7th-ranked pair, Cristina Stancu and Stefania Hristov, 8-4.

Despite the early success, the Aggies came out with a vengeance and took an early handle on singles play. The Lady Bears lost the first two singles matches to give the Aggies a 2-1 advantage. Sanford would answer quickly with a 6-1, 6-0 upset against 55th-ranked Nazari Urbina tying the match at 2-2.

With the score even at 2, freshman Maria Biryukova and Leatu were heading into third sets on court 5 and 6, and on court 1, Burgic overcame 5th ranked Sanchez-Quintinar in the first set. The momentum was in favor of the Lady Bears and it looked as if they were going to make a push to upset the Aggies.

However, Sun and Hristov were able to close out their matches against Biryukova and Leatu in the third set and get the two points they needed to lock down the Aggie win.

“We’ve been down this road before and it’s a matter of just getting tough,” Scrivano said. “Losing close matches is a part of becoming a tougher tennis player. There’s a process you have to go through to become tough and this team is going through that process.”

The Lady Bears will look to bounce back with a double header tomorrow against Prairie View A&M and Kansas.

The Lady Panthers of Prairie View A&M are 8-16, winning their last match against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Baylor has been victorious the two times they met up with the Lady Panthers.

Kansas comes into the match after a loss against Kansas State. The Jayhawks are 8-5 overall and still looking for their first Big 12 win.

Although the next two matches are against unranked teams, the players are making sure neither opponent is taken lightly.

“How things work here is we take every match like it’s a top 5 team,” said Burgic. “The rankings don’t really matter. In tennis anyone can beat anyone so we are going to have to play well and compete.”

The Lady Bears will open play against Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center. They will play the Jayhawks afterward at 5 p.m.

Szeged, Hungary sophomore Mate Zsiga competes in the Baylor HEB Invitational Tournament on Sept. 23, 2011, at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Photo Courtesy of Matthew Minard | Baylor Photography

The 22nd-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team showed another strong outing in a 5-0 victory over the 34th-ranked Memphis Tigers.

“The scoreboard says 5-0, but it was tough out there,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “We had to fight hard, and I give Memphis a lot of credit for battling.”

The doubles team of sophomore Tony Lupieri and freshman Julian Lenz won 8-3, and the point clincher came from junior Patrick Pradella and senior Roberto Maytin winning an emotional 8-6 match. With Memphis serving down 6-7, Maytin hit a deep lob shot winner to secure the break in the last game.

The Bears (14-4) also fought hard in singles to get four victories.

Pradella and Lenz, ranked 33rd and 71st respectively, both won straight set-matches. Pradella won 6-4, 6-0 and Lenz won 6-1, 7-5.

“Those guys are doing great,” Knoll said. “I think that they’ve really improved. They’re playing with a lot of toughness and a lot of grit. They were able to win a lot of close games. Again, the matches were closer than the score indicated, but I’m really proud of both guys for fighting hard.”

The match clincher came from No. 80 Tony Lupieri with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory on Court 4. This is his sixth-consecutive singles win.

“Today the guys did a really good job,” Lupieri said. “Focus was at the top level, and I think if we continue playing like this, we will have a really good season.”

Sophomore Mate Zsiga, ranked 99th, also won 6-4, 6-4. Sophomore Diego Galeano’s and Maytin’s singles matches were unfinished.

The Bears will begin Big 12 play against Texas Tech at 1 p.m.on April 7 in Lubbock.

“We are so excited about it,” Lupieri said. “We know it’s not going to be easy there. It’s a lot of wind and they have a good team, but we’ll try to do our best and continue doing the same thing that we do. I think we have a good chance to win this match.”

Baylor men’s tennis beat Wichita State Shockers 6-1 on March 22, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The 29th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team beat the Wichita State Shockers 6-1 Friday. The win brings the Bears to 12-4 this season.

“I thought some guys played well,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “We had some good spots. Doubles was certainly great. I think after the first sets and halfway through the second, I thought it was a really good day. We kind of lost our momentum and focus down the stretch and didn’t finish as well as we would’ve liked, but a lot of guys got some wins and I thought it was a positive day.”

In doubles, the team of senior Roberto Maytin and junior Robert “Woody” Verzaal won 8-3. To clinch the point, sophomores Marko Krickovic and Diego Galeano won 8-3.

Singles was a similar story for the Bears, as they won five of the six matches.

Junior Patrick Pradella, ranked 64th in the nation, won 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8) on Court 1. Freshman Julian Lenz, ranked 49th, also won 6-2, 6-4 on Court 2.

“You have to beat these teams,” Lenz said. “We are just trying to focus on the things we can control.”

He also made a mysterious reference to “Fred H. Cat,” which was on the team’s new warm-up shirts, but refused to reveal the meaning. Coach Knoll also jokingly declined to comment on the topic.

In the other singles matches, Galeano was dominant in a 6-0, 6-3 victory, as was sophomore Tony Lupieri, who won 6-0, 6-2. Sophomore Mate Zsiga, ranked 98th, won 6-2, 6-2.

The lone loss came from Krickovic, who lost 1-6, 7-6, 0-1 (8-10). Ranked 97th, a frustrated Krickovic hurled his racquet to the court after the match.

The Bears’ next match will be against the California Golden Bears at 1 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center on Mar. 26.

“They have a great team,” Knoll said. “They’re having a good season. I know they just beat Duke, so they’re going to be tough. It’s going to be a big step up for us and we’re going to have to play a lot better.”

Szeged, Hungary sophomore Mate Zsiga surves the ball in his singles match at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013. The team ended up walking away with a 6-1 victory over Purdue.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The 29th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team will take on the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns at 3 p.m. today at the Hurd Tennis Center.

The Bears (10-4) have lost three straight matches, which have been against top-5 teams.

“We’re just excited for another opportunity to get better,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “We’re not really paying attention to who we’re playing. We’re just trying to get one day better.”

The Bears’ were close to beating No. 1 Virginia last week, taking all of their singles losses to a third set.

Their most recent match was a 4-2 road loss to No. 7 Mississippi last Thursday.

The Bears hope that competing in these tough matches will prepare them to win once the Big 12 Tournament and NCAA Tournament begin in later in the season.

“I think the most important thing we learned is that we can beat everybody in the country,” junior Patrick Pradella said. “It was really close. We just have to finish the matches and finish the close sets and then we are going to be fine.”

Pradella, ranked 64th in the nation, is one of four ranked players Baylor brings to face Louisiana-Lafayette. Freshman Julian Lenz is ranked 49th and sophomores Marko Krickovic and Mate Zsiga are 97th and 98th, respectively.

The team had three days off after the most grueling portion of the schedule.

“We’ve played a lot of tennis,” Zsiga said. “I think this break helped us a lot to get some rest and be fresh for the future.”

The Bears will face another short turnaround after the match today. They will take on the Wichita State Shockers at 3 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.

“We think that we’ve got enough players to be good everywhere,” Knoll said. “We feel like we’ve just got to get over the hump in a couple of matches. I feel really good about the process we’re going through.”

Baylor men’s tennis at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

By Phillip Ericksen
Reporter

The Baylor men’s tennis team showed a valiant effort against the top-ranked Virginia Cavaliers Monday, but ultimately lost 6-1. The Bears (10-3) lost five of their six singles matches, and all losses were three-set thrillers.

“I thought we came out today and really came out swinging,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “We made a match out of it. Unfortunately we weren’t good enough to get a ‘W’, but we’re getting better.”

The Bears lost the doubles point after the team of junior Patrick Pradella and freshman Julian Lenz lost 5-8, and the team of sophomore Marko Krickovic and sophomore Diego Galeano lost 7-9.

In singles, Pradella took on the top-ranked player in the nation in Alex Domijan and lost 6-4, 3-6, 4-6. Ranked 122^nd, Pradella broke Domijan’s serve in the third set to increase his lead to 3-1, but his opponent broke back and ultimately won the match.

Pradella views it as a learning experience.

“I think it was a good match,” Pradella said. “It was an unlucky end. I got a little bit tight in the end. I can win this match, and everybody was so close today and we really saw that we can be a really good team. We can go really, really far in the rest of the season.”

Lenz, ranked 43^rd, lost to No. 3 Jarmere Jenkins 7-6 (2), 4-6, 3-6.

No. 77 Krickovic lost an emotional match 4-6, 6-4, 5-7, as well as No. 78 Mate Zsiga, who lost 6-4, 4-6, 2-6. Senior Roberto Maytin also lost 4-6, 6-2, 2-6.

The lone win came from sophomore Tony Lupieri, who beat No. 24 Ryan Shane 6-3, 6-2.

“I’m looking at it as an indication that we’ve improved,” Knoll said. “That’s really what it’s all about. We just want to get one day better every day, and if we keep doing that and keep improving as much as we have the last couple months, we’re excited to see how things go in May.”

The second week of May marks the start of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bears’ next match will be another tough test. They will take on the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels at 1 p.m. Thursday in Oxford, Miss.

“We can take confidence for Mississippi,” Pradella said. “That’s another great opportunity to win a good match. If everybody works and tries to fight hard every point like today, then we can win this match.”