By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Coming into the day with three-straight wins to open the season, No. 11 Baylor men’s fell to No. 1 University of Virginia by a score of 4-0 at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears (3-1) had an opportunity to knock off the top team in the nation on Sunday, but the Cavaliers (4-0) wound up victorious.
The duel of the day was between No. 3 doubles duo fifth-year senior Finn Bass and senior Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi, who gave the Bears the best chance to gain a point in doubles play. However, the tandem was edged out 7-6 by No. 17 doubles partners junior Chris Rodesch and graduate student Bar Botzer.
Despite the captains’ loss, Baylor junior Tadeas Paroulek and freshman Zsombor Velcz were able to take a doubles victory against UVA, as they quickly won 6-2. However the final match was a Cavaliers success. Baylor freshman Luc Koenig and sophomore Ethan Muza couldn’t outlast their opponents and lost 6-4, giving UVA the doubles point.
Baylor stuck with Virginia for most of the afternoon on each court in singles play but were unable to finish out games. This allowed the Cavaliers to gain leads that were difficult to overcome.
Singles play wound up being more decisive in favor of UVA as both Bass and sophomore Marko Miladinović were quickly defeated on courts one and three during clinch the overall win for Virgina. Bass fell 6-2 in consecutive sets against Rodesch, while Miladinović fell 6-3 in both sets against junior Jeffrey von der Schulenburg.
The green and gold will be back in Waco for ITA Kick-Off Weekend starting Jan. 27 at the Herd Tennis Center. The Bears will look to get back on track and bounce back following the tough loss.
