By AJ Werner | Reporter
Amidst the pressure in a tournament that includes some of the best in Texas, Baylor men’s tennis found itself squarely in the running to send players to the national stage. After four days of competing in the ITA Texas Regionals, the Bears saw junior Zsombor Velcz advance in singles main draw while the junior and freshman duo of Luc Koenig and Imran Daniel Hazli advanced into the doubles main draw semifinal on Sunday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Taking on a doubles duo from UIW, the Cardinal pair took an early 2-0 lead over the Baylor duo of Koenig and Hazli. Playing tough, the green and gold built momentum all throughout the match as they kept battling to eventually take the quarterfinal duel, 8-7(6). Koenig and Hazli have won each their previous matches in the tournament by the score of 8-1.
The Bears will now prepare for their semifinal matchup with the team of Kabeer Kapas and Arthus de la Bassetiere of Rice University on Monday.
Velcz took down the No. 124 singles player in the nation, Lucas Brown from the University of Texas, 6-2, 6-3, to stay alive in the ITA Texas Regional. Brown battled in the beginning of both sets but Velcz took over the reigns late to command the match. Coming off being named Big 12 MVP in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Velcz said he’s finding his groove after tending to an injury over the summer.
“During the summer I didn’t play much, I was a little bit injured so now I’m getting back to how I was playing last spring,” Velcz said. “Now I’m just feeling more confident, more comfortable on the court, especially at home.”
Velcz will now get ready for a tough matchup against Longhorn Timo Legout, but head coach Michael Woodson has lots of confidence in the junior as he moves on to the next round.
“His maturity and development with his mindset and his focus and intensity that he brings to everything he does, is now coming out on the match court,” Woodson said. “You’re seeing him in the big moments play calm and hard and it’s leading to a lot of success.”
The ITA Regional Championships are being held across the nation as players look to qualify for the ITA Singles and Doubles National Championships, which will be held in Waco in November. Veltz and sophomore Devin Badenhorst are already qualified as a doubles team for nationals, but making it to the finals match would also qualify Veltz for the singles portion.
Woodson also had high praise for his program and said they have put together solid performances here at home.
“I feel really good about the direction we’re headed,” Woodson said. “I don’t want them to get complacent, I think we still have room for growth and improvement which is really exciting, but I’m also seeing real growth from these young men. I think they’re starting to believe that they can be one of the best teams in the country and compete for championships.”
In addition to the players clawing their way further into the main draw, senior Oskar Brostrom Poulsen took down Rice sophomore Tommy Czaplinski in the singles consolation bracket finals. Brostrom Poulsen, who is also qualified for the ITA Doubles National Championships, won four straight matches in the consolation bracket to cap off his run in at the ITA Texas Regionals.
The Bears will host the semifinal matchups on Monday and the finals on Tuesday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
