By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
In pursuit of its 13th-straight trip to the ITA Indoor Nationals, No. 24 Baylor men’s tennis will head back to Tucson, Ariz., for step one: ITA Kickoff Weekend at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.
Head coach Michael Woodson and the Bears (3-0) opened up the season with three-straight wins and were scheduled to clash with No. 13 Arizona (2-0) on Sunday before the match was canceled due to inclement weather. However, if Baylor makes it past Tulane — which will be opening its season on Saturday — it may have a shot to take on the tournament’s host.
“I think not playing [Arizona] gives us a little bit of extra motivation to just go out there and take those two matches,” junior Oskar Brostrom Poulsen said. “They were ranked No. 16 in the country (now No. 13), so it’d be a really good statement for us to make — kind of show the rest of the teams that we belong in the top because that’s where we want to be and that’s where we believe we are.”
Brostrom Poulsen played the hero role for the Bears in their last victory by breaking a three-all tie and clinching a victory against Arizona State (2-1) days prior to Baylor’s canceled match against the in-state rival.
“We’ve had success [in Arizona] in the past, and we like our chances in those conditions,” Woodson said. “Tulane is a very, very experienced team. They’re going to pretty much have the same top-six guys that they had last year, so we’re going to have our hands full there.”
After plenty of days of training at high altitude and navigating how best to play in the light oxygen conditions, Baylor will head northwest once more with the mentality that it can use the conditions in its favor.
“I think we have a bit of an advantage, having been there already and being comfortable in those conditions as opposed to Tulane,” Woodson said. “Then, if we get the opportunity to play Arizona, that’s a tough place to play against the home team. We’re the only team that’s beaten them in the last six years. So it’s not easy, but we know we know how to do it.”
The Bears are one of four teams in the Arizona pool with the tournament winner advancing to Indoor Nationals. Brostrom Poulsen said ITA Kickoff Weekend can be crucial in terms of nonconference momentum.
“Kickoff is the biggest weekend in the beginning of the season. It’s huge to make it to the Indoor Nationals,” Brostrom Poulsen said. “We’ve been looking forward to this kind of weekend since fall, because it’s the first real big weekend.”
Baylor will take on Tulane at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will play a second match on Sunday to close out the tournament and chase a trip to Brooklyn for the Indoor Nationals.
