By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
Baylor women’s tennis’ fifth-year senior Paula Barañano was given the keys to lead the team in 2023. Barañano had spent the last four years playing under prominent team leaders like Mel Krywoj or Alicia Herrero Linana.
Barañano was there for all those months, patiently waiting for her time in the spotlight. She’s seen the Bears (7-3) go from a 9-21 record during her freshman year to being a top-10 team two seasons later.
“She’s seen the good, bad and ugly,” head coach Joey Scrivano said. “And that’s what you really need for your seniors. You need them to just be really well-versed in a lot of different scenarios, and she definitely brings that. She has a lot of experience.”
After sitting in the shadows and watching Kyrwoj and Herrero Linana lead by example, Barañano said she wants to have that same impact on her younger teammates.
“I want to be loud, I want to fight [hard against] every opponent, I want to support the team in every possible [way] I can and just go out there and represent Baylor as best as I can,” Barañano said.
The Mar Del Plata, Argentina, native is coming off a 2022 spring season in which she went 16-6 individually and recorded 21 overall wins, the second most on the team. Scrivano called her a “warrior” after her momentous three-set thriller on Court Six against then-No. 25 University of Kansas on April 10, 2022.
Barañano showed that clutch gene and already started having an impact on her teammates before she even knew it.
“I think she’s done an amazing job,” sophomore Brooke Thompson said. “Even last year, I was always looking up to her, and I think a lot of the girls on the team still do. I mean, I do. She’s very positive, very confident. She’s always fighting.”
Since Barañano has been through the ups and downs, Scrivano trusts her to lead his group to wherever it’s destined to go.
“Pauli’s really developed, on and off the court,” Scrivano said. “I love her maturity. She’s been through a lot of battles.”
Barañano is 5-3 in singles play so far this spring, often taking on one of the top players from the opposing team. She said she likes the challenge of being one of the veterans on the team because she knows what it takes.
But at the end of the day, she just wants to enjoy her final semester of eligibility in the green and gold.
“[I want to] just give it my best in my last semester,” Barañano said.
Just like Krywoj and Herrero Linana paved the way for Barañano to become a leader, Thompson said it’s trickling down to the younger ones, too.
“I remember last year watching her play, I got goosebumps from just watching her and her energy on the court [and] how she carries herself,” Thompson said. “So, I think she’s a great role model for all of us and we all definitely look up to her.”
