By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Oklahoma State was riding high into its Thursday night matchup against Baylor, having won all 11 home matches this season.
Baylor (14-7, 2-1 Big 12) did not back down from the test, making quick work of the Pokes (14-7, 1-3 Big 12) in its 4-1 win in Stillwater, Okla.
“This is a super confident team at home,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “They were 11-0 going into this match at home, so we understood the test. It felt like it was going to be difficult.”
Baylor’s momentum started to form on Court 2 for doubles. The Bears recorded their first win of the match with junior Connor Van Schalkwyk and senior Luc Koenig’s 6-2 victory. Graduate Alexandru Chirita and senior Zsombor Velcz secured the doubles point with a tight 7-5 win on Court 1.
“We got ahead and stretched the lead at 2, and we were able to just keep battling at 1,” Woodson said. “I thought Alex did a great job with his energy, just lifting us when we were even.”
Van Schalkwyk finished his singles match first, securing his 10th consecutive singles victory, 6-3, 6-3. Junior Devin Badenhorst — the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week — followed right behind with a convincing 7-5, 6-3 win on Court 1.
Baylor was firmly in the driver’s seat, leading 3-0. Oklahoma State did not go down without any fight.
Koenig looked like he was going to finish the road sweep for the Bears, leading one set to none. Oklahoma State’s Aaron Williams put those efforts to bed with a comeback victory, taking the Pokes’ first point of the night by a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The Cowboys continued to gain momentum on the lower courts as Haydar Gokpinar took the first set over junior Louis Bowden 6-1. As Oklahoma State was one set away from making it a 3-2 match, Bowden blanked Gokpinar in the second set and secured the Baylor win with a final 7-6 (6) third-set victory.
“Fortunately, three guys were able to turn it, win their sets,” Woodson said. “Next thing you know, all the guys that lost the first set won the second. That’s a great effort from the guys, super happy with what they did there and how they responded to the adversity.”
The Bears return home for a ranked matchup against No. 12 UCF (17-2, 3-0 Big 12) at noon Sunday at the Hurd Tennis Center. The match will be streamed here.
