By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Baylor men’s tennis came out firing on all cylinders and swept Southern Methodist University, 4-0, Thursday night in the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas.
After taking down Prairie View A&M University at home on Sunday, head coach Michael Woodson and the Bears (10-11) hit the road and looked to continue winning against SMU (11-10). The Mustangs found the board first in doubles play, taking a 6-3 decision on court one, but the green and gold battled back.
The Bears took wins on each of the other two courts to take the doubles point and the 1-0 overall lead. On court two, freshman Luc Koenig and senior Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi crushed the competition and took the lone set 6-2. On court three, sophomore Justin Braverman and junior Christopher Frantzen rattled off their fourth win of the season together, 6-4.
“I feel like everybody contributed today,” Woodson said. “That was a huge win for Chris [Frantzen] and Justin [Braverman]. I mean, they played unbelievable tennis and they were so competitive.”
In singles play, Baylor stayed strong after taking the doubles point. Freshman Ethan Muza took the first singles point of the evening, 6-3, 6-1, on court six. Soon after, Grassi Mazzuchi delivered the third point of the game by snagging the match 7-5, 6-2, on court four.
With the green and gold one point away from victory, things got tough. All four courts still in play battled on for almost an hour, until Koenig bounced back in the third set and took down the opponent 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, to give the Bears the 4-0 sweep.
At the time play was ceased, freshman Zsombor Velcz and sophomore Marko Miladinović were leading in their third seats, while junior Tadeas Paroulek was tied 3-3 on court one in his third set.
“In singles Ethan Muza did an incredible job and Juampi [Grassi Mazzuchi] battled some frustration early and got through,” Woodson said. “That’s just good stuff. We needed this one and we’re going to celebrate it.”
Baylor men’s tennis will hit the road once again and take the court against the University of Tulsa at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
