By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
Baylor’s season came to a close Sunday afternoon as the Bears fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 3-ranked Texas A&M 4-1 in College Station.
The early close to the season for the Bears (14-10, 8-5 Big 12) came off the heels of a historic and hard-fought opening round victory Saturday morning against No. 25 Wisconsin.
Facing the Badgers (17-8, 9-4 Big Ten), Baylor’s doubles pairings struggled to control the ball early as sophomore Alian Zack and freshman Gabrielle Villegas dropped a 6-4 decision on Court 2. Junior Zuzanna Kubacha and freshman Neda Rahimkhani fell to their opposing pair by the same 6-4 margin on court one to put the Bears in an early 1-0 hole.
The Bears sat at the base of a deficit, seeking a comeback in singles play. Freshman Mu-Jie Tzeng sparked the turnaround for the young team, winning back-to-back sets to even the overall score. Senior Kennedy Gibbs kept the momentum rolling as she secured a commanding victory on court three in just two sets as well.
Kubacha suffered a defeat to No. 14-ranked ITA singles player Maria Sholokhova to tie the two teams. The Bears briefly grabbed back the lead as Zack took a three-set win on court four to throw momentum back toward Baylor.
After a narrow tiebreaker loss for freshman Luna Ivkovic on Court 6 (7-5, 7-6(7)), the match rested entirely on the shoulders of senior Na Dong. Dong battled through a tight second-set tiebreaker before running away with a hard-fought 6-0, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory over her opponent.
Dong’s marathon win clinched the duel and secured Baylor’s advancement to the NCAA second round for the fifth time in the past six years, leading to their Sunday contest against Texas A&M.
Baylor came out strong in Sunday’s second-round matchup against the Aggies (24-5, 13-2 SEC), capturing the doubles point to snag an early 1-0 lead.
The Bears’ momentum was swiftly stalled in singles play as the host team found its rhythm on the court. Texas A&M responded by sweeping Courts 1, 2, 3 and 6 in straight sets to end Baylor’s season.
Ivkovic was the first to fall, tying the overall score at 1-1. Kubacha faced a grueling test at the top spot against the No. 1 player in the nation, Lucciana Perez. The junior eventually dropped her match 6-4, 6-3.
Dong also struggled to find her footing as she fell 6-1, 6-4, while Gibbs was defeated in the clinching match on Court 3. Tzeng was the lone Bear to demonstrate any possibility for a win, mounting an impressive third-set comeback (3-6, 6-1, 2-0) when the day was officially called.
The young Baylor team will lose locker room leaders in Dong and Gibbs, both of whom are out of eligibility. With much of the team expected to return for 2026-27, the Bears but will look to develop and grow over the offseason.
