Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer
Reporter
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.”
