By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
After closing out its regular-season slate Sunday, No. 11 Baylor men’s tennis heads to Orlando, Fla., for its first postseason push of the spring. The Bears are set to compete in the Big 12 Tournament at the USTA National Campus from April 15-18.
With only the top six teams qualifying for the conference tournament, No. 3‑seeded Baylor opens quarterfinal play against No. 6 Utah on Thursday morning, with first serve coming alongside the opposite‑side matchup between UCF (19–5, 5–3 Big 12) and Arizona State (17–9, 4–4 Big 12).
“We’re a top‑10 program, and I think we’ve shown it all year,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “We’re ready, and now we’re playing good doubles. We have a very strong lineup, and we can win at any position against anybody in the country, so we’re really excited for the postseason. I’m looking forward to what we can do.”
The Bears enter the tournament boasting a 21-8 overall record and a 6-2 mark in conference play. The team compiled an 83-38 team singles record this spring behind nationally-ranked junior Devin Badenhorst (No. 8), senior Zsombor Velcz (No. 44) and junior Connor Van Schalkwyk (No. 50).
In doubles play, Van Schalkwyk and Badenhorst each lead the way with 16-7 records. Freshman Blake Anderson has gone 12-4, senior Luc Koenig is 12-9, Velcz sits at 11-11 and graduate Alexandru Chirita is 10-10, helping Baylor compile a 44-25 team doubles record.
“I think the guys take it a little bit for granted to have the success that we’ve had over the last several weeks because I think their standard is very high for this program and for themselves,” Woodson said. “I appreciate that. We’ve had a good year.”
If Baylor advances past Utah, the team would earn another shot at second-seeded TCU in Friday’s semifinal at 1 p.m. The Bears fell 4-1 to No. 4-ranked TCU on Sunday in their final Big 12 match of the regular season.
“They outplayed us today,” Woodson said after the loss. “But there’s always the next time, and hopefully in a few days we’ll get to play them again.”
And play them they will — if Baylor takes care of business against the Utes, the same way it did in the teams’ first meeting, a 4-1 win in Waco.
Despite sitting behind TCU in the national rankings, Arizona claimed the top spot in the Big 12 after finishing unbeaten in conference play and 20-3 overall to win the regular-season title. If the Bears outlast TCU, they would advance to face either Arizona or the winner of UCF and Arizona State in the championship match, set to be played at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“At this point, we’re match-ready, battle-hardened,” Woodson said. “I think it’s about getting their minds and their bodies right. We know the conditions in Orlando pretty well, so we’ll spend a lot of time in the training room, stretching, fueling and hydrating properly, and then doing specific work on the court.
“These guys don’t need to practice a ton anymore. They just need to make sure they feel ready to go on Thursday morning.”
First serve for the Bears in the Big 12 Tournament is set for 9 a.m. Thursday. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
