By Ryan Hannegan
Reporter
The No.6-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team extended its unbeaten streak to six matches with a pair of 7-0 wins over Cameron and Louisiana at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center on Friday.
“Overall, there was great effort,” head coach Knoll said. “I thought the guys competed well. We are not yet able to control our concentration level throughout the day. Sometimes it can be a bit of a mental challenge to win a first set easy. You feel like you accomplished something when, in reality, you didn’t really accomplish anything. The ability to have your skill and intensity up over several hours is something we’re still trying to work on.”
In the first match of two in the doubleheader, the Bears stayed undefeated in doubles taking the point with wins on courts one and three. The pairing of Julian Lenz and Robert Verzaal defeated Angelo Lencioni and Felipe Oyarzun 6-1, before Tony Lupieri and Robbie Korth took down Rory DeBoer and Dean Weigelt, 6-2, to clinch the point.
Vince Schneider got the Bears off to a fast start in singles play securing the first point with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Lencioni. Soon after, No. 2 Julian Lenz defeated Merdan, 6-0, 6-4 followed by wins from Mate Zsiga, Diego Galeano, and Robert Verzaal. Robbie Korth clinched the match for Baylor with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Weigelt.
In the second match, Baylor again got off to a fast start in doubles play against Louisiana, claiming the point with wins on courts one and two. Diego Galeano and Tony Lupieri claimed the first Baylor victory on court two with a 6-2 win over Rick de Groot and Jake Wynan. Playing in the one spot, Patrick Pradella and Mate Zsiga clinched the point by getting past Hunter and Yates Johnson, 6-3.
Diego Galeano was back in action, playing his first match after competing in the Davis Cup.
“I think the Davis Cup was a really good experience,” Galeano said. “It was tough, and we played a lot of tennis in that weekend; but coming back here we have excellent trainers and coaches who got us ready to play two matches today, so I am really happy for that.”
In singles play, No. 92 Tony Lupieri completed a sweep of Will Huyton 6-0, 6-0 to give the Bears a 2-0 advantage in the match. Diego Galeano, Mate Zsiga, Vince Schneider and Patrick Pradella also secured victories for the Bears. No. 2 Lenz clinched the match for the Bears with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Damion Farinola.
Baylor senior Patrick Pradella is excited to show how good the team is to the rest of the tennis community.
“Everyone is just waiting to show how good we are,” Pradella said. “We know how good we are, but I don’t think everyone else does yet. We are excited to go to Houston and play some really good teams and prove ourselves.”
Baylor will take part in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Competition starts on Feb. 14 in Houston. The Bears opponent has yet to be determined.
