By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Less than 24 hours after sweeping Tulsa in the NCAA Tournament opener, No. 11 Baylor men’s tennis capped its regional weekend with a 4-1 win over No. 22 Auburn on Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center to punch its ticket to the Super Regional.
On a perfect 75-degree evening, a clinched doubles point and a match-sealing finish from graduate Alexandru Chirita, Baylor’s rhythm across nearly all six courts proved the difference in edging an evenly matched Auburn squad.
“I have a ton of respect for Auburn. They compete hard, but we were a little bit more courageous than them under pressure in some big moments,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “I’m sure there were points they wish they could’ve flipped, but we played to win all of those. Our biggest focus was to play point-by-point and concentrate as hard as we could, and we did that today.”
In just 37 minutes, the Bears (24-9, 6-2 Big 12) captured the first match of the night after an impressive doubles outing on all three courts, as the nation’s No. 69 pairing, seniors Zsombor Velcz and Chirita, struck first with a 6-3 win.
The duo jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before Auburn answered, winning two of the next three games to cut the gap to 3-2. The Bears settled back in at the net from there, taking the next two games behind quick hands before overpowering Auburn down the stretch to secure the first doubles win of the day.
Within minutes of their teammates’ victory, freshman Calvin Baierl and junior Devin Badenhorst quickly followed suit, defeating the Tigers in similar fashion to give the Bears the first point of the night.
After the match sat even at 1-1 and again at 2-2, Baierl took over at the net to push the duo ahead 3-2. From there, Auburn errors and back-to-back aces from Badenhorst helped stretch the lead to 5-3 before the pair finished it the same way it built momentum — with a winner through the middle to seal it.
“We’re playing within ourselves in doubles, and there was a big stretch of the season where we were struggling, so it became such a focus of ours,” Woodson said. “When you start to win doubles points like they have, you gain confidence, and we’ve got three really good teams. It’s huge in a match like this to get that doubles point.”
From there, echoing its first-round form, the momentum stayed with Baylor as the Bears came out sharp across singles, winning the opening game on all but one court before senior Luc Koenig, Badenhorst and Chirita secured the next three singles points to seal the win.
Koenig set the pace, turning an early first-set edge into a 6-3 win behind sharp crosscourt drives and strong play down the sideline that forced Auburn into repeated errors. He carried that control into the second set, smashing back-to-back aces to help build an early lead before closing out a 6-2 win with another unreturnable serve to put Baylor ahead 2-0.
At the top spot, No. 10 Badenhorst delivered another steady performance, winning 6-3, 6-4 through long rallies and a lethal serve.
After facing his first deficit of the postseason at 3-2 in the second set, the co-Big 12 Player of the Year answered each Auburn push, tying it at 3-3 and 4-4 before ripping a forehand down the line and capitalizing on an Auburn error to take control for good, putting the Bears up 3-0.
Despite a defeat on Court 2, Baylor handled business when it mattered, as Chirita sealed the win at No. 5 with a dominant 6-2 first set and a gritty second-set finish. Auburn responded with a tighter second and took a 4-3 lead, but Chirita answered late, battling back to even it at 5-5 before delivering a crosscourt winner to secure the 7-5 victory to claim the day and keep Baylor’s season alive.
“Clinching is always a good feeling, but I tried not to focus on that as much,” Chirita said. “I saw I was about to clinch, maybe before Louis [Bowden], but I tried to stay focused on every point. Then you just enjoy the moment when it happens.”
After No. 27 Pepperdine upset No. 7 LSU Friday night, the Bears are now set to host the NCAA Super Regional at the Hurd Tennis Center against the Waves (17-9, 6-1 WCC) at 6 p.m. Friday.
“To be honest, [the Super Regional] is the coolest match in the country,” Woodson said. “It’s some of my favorite memories we’ve ever had. And I hate to say this, but the quarterfinals take a step back from the Super Regional match because we’re going to be at a neutral site. Being at home for it is pretty awesome.”
