By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
No. 3 seed Baylor men’s tennis circled the calendar for its matchups against TCU before the fall season started. The Bears were looking to secure their first win over their rivals since 2022.
The two regular season matchups proved to follow the trend. The Horned Frogs took care of business, defeating Baylor 4-1 in both matches. The Bears hoped to see a change as the two squads met in the postseason.
TCU (20-5, 7-1 Big 12) did not have any issues Friday in Orlando, Fla., sweeping Baylor (22-9, 6-2 Big 12) in the Big 12 Championship semifinals.
The Bears started the match on the right foot. Senior Zsombor Velcz and graduate Alexandru Chirita took down the Horned Frogs’ No. 1 doubles pair 6-3, handing Cosme Rolland De Ravel and Duncan Chan their first doubles loss of the season.
TCU did not hold back after the No. 1 doubles pair in the nation went down. The Horned Frogs secured the doubles point win back-to-back victories on Court Two and Three. The team topped senior Luc Koenig and junior Connor Van Schalkwyk 6-4 along with defeating junior Devin Badenhorst and freshman Calvin Baierl 6-3.
With a 1-0 lead, TCU did not waste much time extending its advantage. Rolland de Ravel and Velcz were the first singles match to finish, with the Horned Frog coming out on top 6-1, 7-5 on Court Two.
TCU’s Oliver Bonding cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Koenig on Court Four, giving the Horned Frogs a 3-0 lead. Roger Pascual secured the sweep for TCU with a dominant 6-3, 6-3 win over junior Louis Bowden on Court Six.
While none of the Bears who finished their singles match won a set, the unfinished matchups told a different story.
Badenhorst led Chan 7-6 (1), 4-2 on Court One. Van Schalkwyk finished neck-and-neck with Cooper Woestendick 6-3, 5-7, 0-1. Chirita mounted a comeback against Albert Pedrico after dropping the first set 6-2. The Court Five singles ended 2-6, 6-3, 0-1 for Chirita.
Baylor now awaits its seeding at the men’s tennis selection show on April 27 at 4 p.m. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Championships run May 1-3.
