By Michael Haag | Sports Writer
In their third matchup of the season, No. 4 seed Baylor women’s tennis dropped a 4-1 contest to No. 5 seed University of Kansas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship Friday at Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth.
“Credit to the Jayhawks,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “They competed really hard and brought the energy. For us, we definitely didn’t play our best match. Our mindset wasn’t where it needs to be.”
The Bears (15-8, 6-3 Big 12) lost the doubles point to the Jayhawks (15-9, 4-5 Big 12) and never fully recovered.
Baylor had promise after freshman Alina Shcherbinina made quick work of her opponent with a 6-3, 6-1 success, her 18th singles win of the spring.
The Bears were close to getting another point with junior Paula Barañano holding a 7-5, 5-2 lead, but KU snagged three quick matches before she could finish to secure the overall win.
With the Baylor loss, the program moved to 37-17 all-time in the Big 12 Championships. The team now looks ahead to the selection show, scheduled for Monday, March 2 at 5:30 p.m. CT and streaming on NCAA.com.
Scrivano and the squad know they will learn from this and believe they will make the cut.
“Ultimately we’ll learn from it,” Scrivano said. “We’ll have a couple of good weeks of training and get ready for the NCAAs. This team has earned a spot in the field, and that’s always a big deal. We’re going to get back, get our minds right and be ready to play in the postseason.”
