By Braden Simmons | Reporter
The 26th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team defeated Omaha and Grand Canyon Saturday at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. These two matches give Baylor their 25th straight victory at home, and are 40-1 in Waco since the start of the 2017 season.
In doubles action against Omaha, Baylor decisively earned the first point of the match. On court one, junior Sven Lah and senior Constantin Frantzen stayed unbeaten by winning 6-4. The duo is now ranked ninth nationally in doubles. Junior Matias Soto and freshman Sebastian Nothhaft clinched the Bears’ first point with a 6-2 victory on court two.
In singles play, Omaha was no match for the No. 26 Bears. No. 93 ranked Frantzen finished first on court four with a straight-set victory 6-1,6-3. No. 122 ranked sophomore Adrian Boitan won his first home match since his injury 6-0, 6-2 on court three.
Frantzen said his performance as of late is due to his treatment and outlook on each match.
“I just want to embrace each game, and enjoy myself when I’m out there,” Frantzen said. “It’s a competition and there’s a lot on the line, and we just want to enjoy playing in front of our home court.”
Nothhaft clinched the Bear’s winning point with a straight-set victory 6-2,6-1. The remaining matches were played out. On court two, No. 30 Lah defeated his opponent 6-2, 6-0. Freshman Rahul Dhokia was back in the lineup on court five and won in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 for Baylor’s sixth point of the match. Finishing off the 7-0 sweep for the Bears, No. 60 Soto won on court one 6-3, 6-3
After a competitive weekend at the ITA Indoor Championships, head coach Brian Boland said it was good for his team to get back out on the court.
“I was pleased to get back on the court and provide an opportunity for guys that struggled last weekend a chance to get back out there and compete,” Boland said.
Baylor started out with the same energy in the 6 p.m. match against Grand Canyon. On court three, sophomore Finn Bass and Dhokia cruised to a 6-1 victory. The Bears’ first point was earned on court one when Frantzen and Lah defeated their opponents 6-3.
On court six of singles play, Nothhaft won his second singles match of the day and the Bears’ second point of the match in straight sets 6-0, 6-0.
“Sebastian — to win as convincingly as he has and his professionalism during both matches was great to see,” Boland said.
The Bears’ third point came on court five. Frantzen took another straight-set match 6-1,6-2. Bass shortly added the Bears game-winning fourth point with a straight-set victory 6-1, 6-3 on court four.
Frantzen, who has been making quick work of his opponents as of late, said he attributes it to the way he plays when serving.
“I get a lot of free points from my serve where other guys may have to grind a bit more to gain their points,” Frantzen said. “I play very aggressive as well which keeps rallies short which contributes to a quicker game.”
Lah won in straight sets on court one 6-4, 6-2 for the Bears’ fifth point. Boitan followed Lah with the Bears’ sixth point on court two in a 6-3, 6-3 victory. The sweep was completed by graduate transfer Ryan Dickerson on court three in straight sets 7-5, 6-4.
According to Boland, the Bears are getting healthier every match and highly touted freshman Jenson Brooksby could be making his return in the next few weeks.
“Hopefully it’s only a couple weeks away,” Boland said. “We have to get him on the court and give him a chance to get some reps and sets, but I don’t think we are too far away. When we get him on the court, we want to make sure he’s 100 percent healthy and ready.”
Baylor is on the road in their next contest against Illinois University in the Atkins Tennis Center on February 29th at 6 p.m. The Bears won the matchup last season 4-0 in Waco.
