By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
No. 19 Baylor, in the midst of one of the best runs in college tennis, ran into No. 7 Texas in the ITA Indoor Championship semifinals on Monday night in Dallas.
The Longhorns (8-3) held control from the beginning of the match, sweeping the Bears (7-3) and ending the Bears’ three-match winning streak against top-10 opponents.
Baylor beat No. 8 Texas A&M on Feb. 9, swept No. 9 UCF in the first round of the ITA Indoor Championships on Friday and mounted a comeback victory over No. 3 Wake Forest in the quarterfinals on Saturday, all in Waco, before the loss to the Longhorns. It was the first time since 2021 that the Bears toppled three top-10 teams in a row.
Texas did not waste time on Court One doubles. The Longhorns jumped out to a 5-2 lead behind a pair of breaks and defeated junior Connor Van Schalkwyk and senior Luc Koenig 6-3 to start the night.
Neither side on Court Two was giving up a service game. Both went back-and-forth until Texas broke graduate Alexandru Chirita and senior Zsombor Velcz to grab a 6-5 lead. The Longhorn pair secured the doubles point with a 7-5 victory.
The Bears found themselves in a similar situation to the match against Wake Forest. They started slow, but hoped to find a second wind in singles like they did on Saturday. That was not the case on Monday night.
Chirita held a 4-2 lead in the first set on Court Four. Coming off a break, he dropped the following four games to lose that set. He did not recover, falling 4-6, 5-7 in the first singles match to finish.
Velcz also jumped out in front in his singles match. He made quick work of Kalin Ivanovski 6-3 in the initial frame. He did not fare as well throughout the rest of the matchup. Velcz was no match for Ivanovski’s nine aces in the last two sets as he lost 6-3, 2-6, 3-6 to give Texas a 3-0 lead.
It was down to junior Louis Bowden on Court Six to keep Baylor’s championship dreams alive. He could not overcome a first-game break in set one, losing 6-4. Bowden had an opportunity to keep the match on life support, finding himself at a deuce while trailing 6-5 in the second set. He sent a forehand shot into the net to complete the Longhorns’ sweep.
Three matchups that went down to a third set did not finish. Junior Devin Badenhorst was tied 1-1 on Court One, Van Schalkwyk trailed 4-2 on Court Three and Koenig led 2-1 on Court Five.
The road does not get easier for the Bears as they face off against Wake Forest at noon Sunday at Wake Forest Tennis Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.
