By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
No. 10 Baylor bagged arguably its biggest regular season win in program history Thursday night, upsetting No. 1 Ohio State 4-2 at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Junior Louis Bowden secured the deciding point, bageling the Buckeyes’ Brandon Carpico in the third set in front of the roars of a nearly sold-out home crowd.
“These are the moments he’ll never forget,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “He said, ‘I’m going to do it for the boys,’ and hell, that’s what he did. It was impressive. Really, really impressive.”
To kick off the doubles matches, the service team won every game through the first four games across all three courts. This trend was broken when the Buckeyes were able to send a winner into the back corner of the doubles alley to take a 4-2 lead on Court One.
The home pairing on Court One faced elimination, trailing 5-2, as they readied to return a deuce serve from the Buckeyes. The Bears responded by forcing an opponent error at the net to snag the game.
“Our guys just put their heads down and went right to work,” Woodson said. “Their ability to just keep battling and keep fighting was just massive, so I’m really proud of the guys.”
The Bears proceeded to get another game, knotting the scores across all three courts at five.
Baylor forced a tiebreaker on Court One, tying up the first set at six off an emphatic ground-slam at the net. A forced opponent error brought up a tiebreaker on Court Two as well.
The Bears lost their first set on Court Three, 7-5, and both tiebreakers on Courts One and Two. The doubles point gave Ohio State an early 1-0 lead.
“For it to go this way, and for the guys to step up in the way they did, was incredible,” Woodson said. “Especially after losing that tough doubles point, you never know.”
Kicking off the singles portion of the team match, graduate athlete Alexandru Chirita was the only Bear to win his first game.
A full home crowd had been silenced and treated to many Buckeye cheers. But fans rose to their feet and roared in support as junior Devin Badenhorst rifled a forehand down the line to secure his first game. Buckeye junior Aidan Kim fell to a knee in pursuit.
The green and gold cheers fueled the home team as nearly all the Bears across the six active courts found themselves knotted at one game apiece with their respective opponents.
Bouncing back just enough to keep things competitive became a trope for Baylor throughout the evening. Similar to the doubles sets, the Bears kept all their first singles sets within one or tied. Yet Baylor lacked the power to completely overtake the top-ranked Buckeyes.
That is, until junior Connor Van Schalkwyk helped the Bears turn the tide. Van Schalkwyk won the first set of his match 6-3 on a smash at the net.
The junior gave his best Russell Crowe impression as he raised his fists in the air and shouted to the crowd as though embodying a new-age gladiator.
“It’s just awesome,” Woodson said. “I saw so many people — like, the baseball team came and they nearly got thrown out during doubles play because they were so rowdy. It takes literally all of us to create an environment like this and I know the guys appreciate it and they definitely play better in front of it.”
Van Schalkwyk put away his competition in two sets, winning the second 6-1. The junior didn’t give up a single point on the set until the third game.
The Bears took a 2-1 lead as Badenhorst put Kim away in two sets. The Buckeyes soon tied it back up, though, as senior Luc Koenig dropped his match in two sets.
With three matches left, the now-rowdy crowd traveled to the west end of the facility as the Bears looked for a major home upset.
Chirita led his opponent on Court Four 1-0 in sets and was looking down the barrel of a victory when his serve found its rhythm. The graduate athlete delivered three straight aces to take a 5-2 lead.
“This was a big step for us because I saw a lot of let-down after the loss to Texas,” Woodson said, reflecting on the Bears’ ITA Indoor Championship semifinals loss last month. “I told them I would measure them on three things: if they matched their presence, if they played smart in the wind and if they have fun. They did them all today, so I just found out how much this team has grown.”
The upset rested on the shoulders of junior Louis Bowden after Chirita won his match 6-3. The crowd moved further down as the entire arena sat on the edge of its seats, watching Bowden command a 4-0 lead over his opponent.
Bowden provided the coup de grâce, skunking his opponent to secure the Bears’ biggest home win at the Hurd Tennis Center since 2011. The Bears won the day and upset the best team in the nation 4-2.
“How often do you even get to play the No. 1 team in the country?” Woodson said. “But then to beat the No. 1 team in the country at home in front of a great crowd, it makes it so much more special.”
The Bears’ next match will be against SMU at 12 p.m. Tuesday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
