By Aidan O’Connor | Sports Writer
The last time third-seeded Baylor men’s tennis hosted the Big 12 Championships was in 2021. It won with a dominant 4-0 sweep over Texas in the final.
Hosting again this year, the Bears (21-9, 6-2) will look to repeat their success, facing off against No. 6-seed Arizona State in the quarterfinals 3 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
“It’s really nice to be able to host the Big 12,” sophomore Devin Badenhorst said. “I feel like it’s a big advantage for us. … This is what we’ve been working for all season. It comes up to this moment. All the guys are excited, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Friday’s match will be the third time the Bears and the Sun Devils (12-10, 3-5) have played against each other this year. The first matchup was close, as the Bears lost 4-3, with two matches decided by a tiebreaker. Days later, though, the teams had a rematch with Baylor sweeping an undermanned Arizona State 4-0. Since those matches, both teams ended the season on very different notes.
“We were able to make some positive adjustments from the first time to the second time,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “I think they’ll be a little bit stronger tomorrow than they were the second time we played them. I think we’re excited to kind of see some rematches on some individual courts, and hopefully make some improvements there.”
The green and gold ended the season strong after playing Arizona State, going on a 7-2 run with a seven-game win streak. The Sun Devils, on the other hand, ended their season with back-to-back losses and remained winless on the road.
“I think we’ve built a lot of momentum throughout the year,” Woodson said. “I think we’ve won 15 of our last 18 matches. We’ve had some solid results, and I think the guys have shown continued growth and maturation.”
Coming off a tough end to the season, the Sun Devils will look to sophomore Bor Artnak, who was key in their lone victory against the Bears. In the first match, he won both his doubles and singles matches. Artnak is dominant wherever he is put — ranking No. 36 in singles and No. 37 in doubles with sophomore Daniel Phillips as his partner. They are 3-0 on the season as partners, with all of their wins coming against ranked opponents.
“[Our seniors] laid a strong cultural foundation for us over the last — some four years, some two — Oskar [Brostro Pousen] two years, Quintan [Van Wijk] one year,” Woodson said. “They’ve all made an impact in their own way on the team, and you just can’t ask for better guys.”
While Arizona State and Artnak do present a threat to the team, the Bears feel confident they have the experience and manpower to handle any opponent. With four seniors compared to Arizona State’s two, the green and gold have players who have been on stages like this before and know how to handle the pressure.
“I feel like the guys are getting to their best level of the season,” junior Zsombor Velcz said. “We have a big confidence going in against Arizona State.”
The Bears also have the manpower, boasting one of the best doubles duos in the country with No. 27 seniors Marko Miladinovic and Brostrom Poulsen. In singles, the green and gold also have a deep rotation featuring players like Velcz, who has won 11 straight matches.
“I think the guys are gaining confidence for sure,” Woodson said. “They feel like they can compete with anybody in the country and beat any team … The guys are enjoying it. I think they’re more and more motivated over time. And they’re working on specific things that they need in order to make a deep run here and then in the NCAA Tournament.”
The Bears will take on Arizona State 3 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
