By Ben Everett | Sports Writer
Baylor men’s tennis competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Championships in College Station this weekend, compiling a 13-4 singles record and a 3-2 doubles record.
Junior Johannes Schretter earned singles runner-up honors while junior Jimmy Bendeck lost in the quarterfinals.
Baylor opened the tournament with a 4-0 record in singles play.
Schretter, the No. 3 seed, earned a 6-0, 6-2 win over Carlos Paton Canal of Lamar and No. 10 seeded junior Will Little defeated Incarnate Word’s Sebastian Mortier with a 7-5, 6-4 win.
No. 4 seed Bendeck picked up a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Texas’ Johnny Goodwin before sophomore Constantin Frantzen, the No. 16 seed, closed out singles action with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Abilene Christian’s Jackson Fine.
In doubles, Little and Bendeck teamed up to take down Incarnate Word’s Francisco Bendana and Joey Vatanadilok 8-6 before taking an 8-6 loss to UTSA’s Gabriel Bugiga and Juri Reckow in the round of 16.
Frantzen and sophomore Bjoern Petersen went 2-0 on the day with an 8-2 win over Andre Russo and Eduard Simo of UT-Arlington before defeating Incarnate Word’s Mortier and Gabriel Evans 8-5.
Schretter continued to impress on day two of the event, grabbing a 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 win over Reckow and grinding out a 6-2, 0-6, 6-1 victory over Texas Tech’s Matheus Leite to advance to the quarterfinals.
Bendeck joined Schretter in the quarterfinal round with a 6-1, 6-0 drubbing of Texas Tech’s Jackson Cobb and a 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 win over TCU’s Reese Stalder.
Meanwhile, Little snuck past Eduardo Roldan of TCU, 7-5, 7-6 but fell to No. 2 seed Jordi Arconada of Texas A&M 6-2, 6-2. Frantzen also bowed out of the tournament with a 6-4, 7-5 loss to No. 1 seeded Harrison Scott of Texas after a 6-4, 6-4 win over Rice’s Eric Rutledge.
In doubles play, Frantzen and Petersen were knocked out in the quarterfinals 8-4 to Arconada and Kevin Lam of Texas A&M to conclude day two.
On day three, Schretter earned a spot in the singles final following win a 7-6(5), 6-4 win over Alastair Gray of TCU before defeating Arconada 6-4, 7-5.
Bendeck earned a 6-1, 6-1 win over Abilene Christian’s Joshua Sheehy before falling 6-1, 6-0 to Leonardo Telles of Texas.
Texas head coach Michael Center said Telles, who also took down Scott in the quarterfinals, played excellent tennis on Sunday.
“Leonardo just played unbelievable tennis today,” Center told Texassports.com. “He played a great match against Harrison, and he beat a really good player in Jimmy Bendeck in the semifinals. Leonardo just didn’t miss a ball. Just a tremendous effort on his part, and he’s excited about playing tomorrow.”
In the singles championship match, Telles continued his stellar play, knocking out Schretter 6-4, 6-3 to win the title.
Despite the loss, Baylor head coach Matt Knoll said the weekend was successful for the Bears.
“It was a super weekend for the Bears,” Knoll said. “We saw lots of improvement across the board. The guys and coaches loved every minute of it. There’s nothing better than competing. We’ll get right back to work.”
The Bears compete in the Birmingham Futures from Oct. 27 to Nov. 2 in Birmingham, Al.
