By Braden Simmons | Braden Simmons
The 12th-ranked and No. 8-seeded Baylor men’s tennis team was defeated by Wake Forest 4-1 in round one of the ITA indoor championships Friday at Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisc. This was the second match against Wake Forest this season.
In doubles play, Baylor started off strong. On court one, junior Sven Lah and senior Constantin Frantzen remained undefeated on the spring season with a 6-4 victory over their opponents. The Demon Deacons fought back and took the victory on court three over sophomore Finn Bass and freshman Sebastian Nothhaft 6-2. On court three junior Matias Soto and graduate transfer Ryan Dickerson battled Wake Forest to a tiebreaker and then clinched the doubles point for the Bears 7-6 (7-2.)
Baylor saw a familiar matchup from Thursday on court one, as No. 67 Soto squared off against No. 44 ranked Bar Botzer on court one for the second time this season. Going down in the first set, Soto fought hard and competed in the second set before eventually falling. The final score was 6-1,7-5.
On court three, No. 102 ranked sophomore Adrian Boitan made his return to the lineup after missing the last six matches with an injury and started strong in the first set but eventually fell to Taha Baadi 6-4, 6-0.
Both freshmen Alex Garcia and Dickerson were defeated in straight sets. Garcia lost to Melio Efstathiou 6-2, 6-2 on court three, while Dickerson lost to Eduardo Nava 6-2, 6-2 on court five.
Frantzen, ranked No. 82 in singles, won a tiebreak first set over Sid Banthia. The match went unfinished as the Demon Deacons clinched their fourth point over the Bears. Frantzen is still 3-0 in singles play in the spring season.
No. 25 ranked Sven Lah faced Henri Squire on court two and won the first set 6-4. Lah then lost the second set 6-4 and the match went unfinished. Lah remains undefeated in singles and doubles play on the season.
Baylor will face the tournament host, University of Wisconsin, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the consolation bracket. Wisconsin is coming off a 4-0 defeat by Ohio State.
