By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
It hasn’t been an easy season for No. 5 seed Baylor men’s tennis, but through the struggles, confidence never wavered. Now the Bears are back to full strength and feel ready to make a run in the Big 12 Tournament.
“In all kinds of negative situations, there are positives that come out of it,” sophomore Ethan Muza said. “A lot of guys had to step up to home plate and take a swing for the fences, and I think a lot of our guys have really done a great job of doing that.”
Head coach Michael Woodson and the Bears (17-14, 2-3 Big 12) fought through injuries throughout a large part of the season. In early February, senior and captain Finn Bass dealt with an injury that kept him out for multiple months. In light of the injury, all players shifted up the courts.
“I found myself playing some of the best players in the country and it was a bit of a wake-up call,” freshman Luc Koenig said. “It wasn’t the easiest going through so many different positions, but it was a great experience and I loved it.”
Koenig and Muza entered the year as a high-energy doubles team and often used the crowd to their advantage. Woodson preached the importance of keeping the energy high and “looking like you’re winning,” throughout the season.
“The guys are learning match after match, especially the young guys, how much their actions, behaviors, emotions and how they carry themselves out there affect everybody else,” Woodson said.
No one embodied that more than Muza, who let out a yell or a fist pump after set wins or key moments.
“That’s what I play for,” Muza said. “I play to play in front of big crowds and great fans here at Baylor. Playing to the crowd is something I always love to do, and I like to give that energy back to the fans and engage them more as well. I feel like it helps the team as well, to see more noise and more of a chaotic scene.”
When Koenig arrived at Baylor in January, he was paired with Muza, but showing emotion didn’t come easy for him.
“When I came to Baylor, I wasn’t screaming and shouting [on the court],” Koenig said. “Whenever I win a big point now, I love to show emotion. College tennis is different from the professional tour. The energy is letting the guy on the other side of the net know I’m here to play and I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Shortly after Bass got back into the lineup, junior Tadeas Paroulek missed a few matches with an injury. Woodson said Paroulek feels good now and that he should be good to go moving forward.
With the team back to full strength, the Bears have several pieces of experience to compete for their fourth-consecutive Big 12 title. Baylor will match up with No. 4 seed University of Oklahoma in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament at 9 a.m. Friday at the Jayhawk Tennis Center at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kan.
Woodson said “we’re going to use that experience” in order to hopefully bring that trophy back to Waco once again.
“We’re still the three-time defending Big 12 tournament champions and we’ve played in four straight finals,” Woodson said. “Half of our lineup that will be playing Friday morning has played in and won a Big 12 championship. [Paroulek] was the MVP of last year’s tournament. Oklahoma doesn’t have any of that, so we’re going to use that to our advantage.”
The Bears will be facing the Sooners (13-10, 2-3 Big 12) exactly a week after they met in Norman, Okla., in conference play. Oklahoma won that match 4-0, but that was one of the contests Paroulek, Baylor’s No. 1 singles player, missed.
If the green and gold is able to make it out of the first round, the second round will be against No. 1 seed University Texas (21-2) on Saturday.
Muza said the team is buzzing with confidence to get payback against the Sooners.
“There’s definitely a different energy surrounding us now that we are now — for the first time since really early February — fully healthy,” Muza said. “That just breeds a different confidence for us. We know everyone’s ready to go and we’re ready to battle and send a message.
“We learned a lot along the way, but now we’ve got everyone back and we’re ready to go do some damage at the Big 12 tournament. It’s going to be a war this weekend. Everyone is back, the troops are ready, and we’re going to battle.”
