By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
It has been almost 1,400 days since No. 20 Baylor men’s tennis beat No. 4 TCU. The Bears have lost the last nine matches going back to 2022.
Taking back the rivalry has been on their minds since the beginning of the fall season. Head coach Michael Woodson said defeating the Horned Frogs was one of his team’s goals.
“They want to beat TCU,” Woodson said of his team before the fall season. “That’s a big rivalry for us. We belong up there with them.”
This matchup is the next chapter for Baylor (4-1), which is riding a four-match win streak. The Bears have lost only one point since their loss against No. 8 San Diego, sweeping Lamar (twice) and Tulsa and beating Wisconsin 6-1.
Woodson wants his squad to keep the momentum going while gearing up for difficult competition.
“I want them to continue to increase in their competitiveness,” Woodson said. “They’re very relaxed and confident in themselves.”
TCU is also coming off a four-match win streak, sweeping Tennessee and UT-Arlington while beating Georgia and SMU 4-1. The Horned Frogs’ lone defeat came against No. 5 Virginia, 6-1.
They are only the beginning of Baylor’s February gauntlet. The Bears will face off against No. 8 Texas A&M four days after their date with the Horned Frogs. They will continue to climb opponent rankings Feb. 22 when they face off against No. 1 Wake Forest on Feb. 22.
The Bears are embracing the early-season challenge, hoping that it will propel them through their conference schedule.
“We’re going to play a lot of really good programs here over the next couple of weeks,” Woodson said. “I’m excited for them to have that challenge and see how they respond to it.”
The path does not smooth out much after the three consecutive top-10 matches in February. Baylor faces five more ranked opponents throughout the season, including No. 6 Ohio State (March 5) and No. 9 UCF (March 29).
The treacherous road ahead is not deterring the Bears. Junior Devin Badenhorst still believes his team can make a run at the end of the season.
“I want to do some big things with this team,” Badenhorst said. “We can go really far.”
Badenhorst credits Baylor’s cohesiveness as a reason why he has that faith it can compete for a championship.
“[It] is just such a brotherhood,” Badenhorst said. “We just want to go out there and compete for each other and do great things.”
The Bears have grown close even with a mix of newcomers and program staples. Badenhorst mentioned the acquisition of junior Connor Van Schalkwyk, who transferred from Old Dominion over the summer. Van Schalkwyk has already made his presence known in the spring, competing on Court Three in doubles and singles. Badenhorst also noted returning graduate Alexandru Chirita and his doubles partner, senior Luc Koenig, as guys who help make the team competitive on a national stage.
The Bears take on TCU at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth. The match will be streamed here.
