By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
The Bears were mostly on the road this past weekend, as only the two tennis squads had to defend home court. Since it was a light sports slate in Waco, here is everything you may have missed over the last couple of days.
No. 18 Arizona tops No. 10 Baylor men’s tennis, 5-2
No. 10 Baylor men’s tennis was unable to defend its home court against No. 18 University of Arizona Wildcats. They defeated the Bears 5-2 Friday night in the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
“I’m sure we’re mentally tired, but physically we’re in a really good spot,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “The tough schedule certainly took its toll at the beginning of the match, and tons of credit to Arizona. They came out with great energy, they played a solid doubles point, they backed that up with six first sets.
“The thing I felt the best about was that we just didn’t go away. Every second set score was better than the first. We kept playing; we kept fighting. Sure, we didn’t turn every set, but we turned enough of them, and I was pleased to see the resiliency we were asking for, especially after the doubles,” Woodson said.
The Bears (5-4) now head north to square off with No. 1 Ohio State University on Tuesday ahead of the ITA Indoor Team Championships in Chicago, Ill., which begins on Friday.
Baylor track and field produces pole vault winner Ben Conacher at Tiger Paw Invitational
Baylor track and field finished up the regular slate of the 2023 indoor season on Saturday at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, S.C. Junior pole vaulter Ben Conacher claimed the sole gold medal for the Bears over the two-day weekend. Graduate student Cole Hardan reset his own program record in the shot put.
“We got some great things accomplished in the field events today,” head coach Michael Ford said. “Cole Hardan’s big throw and new school record and Makayla Long’s toss in the shot put was huge. I was pleased with Koi [Johnson] in triple jump, with a new season best and personal best. Ben Conacher in the pole vault was special too. I thought we could’ve executed better in the 200, but we will work to get those ready for conference.
“I was happy with the relays – both the men and women – considering we had to make to last minute changes. Time to rest up, practice and prepare for the Big 12 Championships.”
Baylor now prepares for the postseason at Texas Tech University’s Sports Performance Center for the Big 12 Conference Championships, scheduled for Feb. 24-25.
No. 1 Baylor acro and tumbling routs Trine with 48.155 win
The No. 1 Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team pummeled Trine University on Saturday with a 284.200 to 236.045 win in the MTI Center in Angola, Ind.
“We made some adjustments since the last meet,” head coach Felecia Mulkey said. “I am proud of how the team responded with those adjustments. We improved overall today but we still have room for more. I am proud of how the team responded to the injury in [the] team event. They took a breath regrouped and finished strong. I like the trajectory we are on.”
The Bears (2-0) head back home to host Presbyterian College at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Ferrell Center.
Baylor women’s tennis falls to No. 25 Wisconsin in 6-1 decision
Baylor women’s tennis dropped its third top-25 matchup of the season, and this one came at the hands of No. 25 University of Wisconsin 6-1 in the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
Head coach Joey Scrivano was pleased with sophomore Alina Shcherbinina’s individual play.
“We’re proud of the way Alina is competing,” Scrivano said. “She has always been a fighter and is maturing tremendously as a player and as a person. That has been evidenced in her play so far this season. It was also exciting to have Liubov [Kostenko] in the lineup because she has put in a lot of work to prepare for this opportunity. Overall, there have been improvements on a lot of the courts, even though the results didn’t go our way today.”
The Bears (7-3) return to action next at 5 p.m. Friday to face the University of Arkansas at the Hurd Tennis Center.
OSU bests Baylor women’s basketball in worst loss since 2010
Baylor women’s basketball headed back on the road looking to keep its dominance in true road games intact. However, the Bears were no match for Oklahoma State University as they fell in historic fashion, 77-56.
“I saw a team that still had a hangover from losing a five-point lead with eighteen seconds to go against OU,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “That’s what I saw. I saw a team [that] didn’t really execute at either end of the floor.”
The Bears look to bounce back and get back in the win column against Kansas State University for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday in the Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.
No. 14 Baylor men’s basketball rallies, defeats No. 17 TCU, 72-68
No. 14 Baylor men’s basketball showed its resilience in its 72-68 comeback road victory over No. 17 Texas Christian University on Saturday afternoon in the Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth. The Bears’ backcourt combo of senior guard Adam Flagler and junior guard LJ Cryer combined for 51 points to help the team improve to 19-6 overall and 8-4 Big 12.
“That’s Big 12 basketball,” head coach Scott Drew said after the game. “We all know the importance of good guard play and LJ and Adam really came through. I thought the last eight minutes defensively we finally had a couple of stops. They do a great job executing their stuff.”
Up next, the Bears return home to host West Virginia University at 8 p.m. Monday in the Ferrell Center.
Baylor softball wraps up UNLV Kickoff, drops tough contest to No. 7 Arkansas, 11-7
Baylor softball lost to No. 7 Arkansas 11-7 Sunday morning in the Bears’ final game at the University of Nevada in the Las Vegas Rebel Kickoff in Las Vegas. Baylor is now 4-1 on the season and was within one run of the Razorbacks after a grand slam in the fourth inning.
“It was a good start,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “We got the nerves out [and] saw a lot of good things. The good thing is we certainly are improving offensively. We’ve been lacking in that area the last few years, and I’m really, really happy with the mindset of our hitters right now.”
Baylor gets back on the diamond at 3 p.m. Friday to take on Stephen F. Austin State University in the first game of the Getterman Classic at Getterman Stadium.
