By Braden Simmons | Reporter
In the final game at the ITA Indoor Championships, the 12th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team was defeated by the ninth-ranked Columbia University Saturday 4-2 in the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisc. The Bears have lost two straight to the Lions in the tournament and fall to 8-3 on the season.
The Bears dropped the doubles point for the first time in the spring season two sets to one. The 17th ranked duo of senior Constantin Frantzen and junior Sven Lah remained undefeated with a 6-2 victory over the Lions. Junior Matias Soto and graduate transfer Ryan Dickerson dropped a close match on court two 6-4. On court three, sophomores Adrian Boitan and Finn Bass lost to their opponents 6-2.
The Bears tied it up quickly after the first match of singles play. No. 25-ranked Lah defeated his opponent Jackie Tang in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 on court two.
The Lions fought back to take a 2-1 team lead as freshmen Alex Garcia fell in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. No. 82 Frantzen followed shortly after, as he fought in two competitive sets against Austen Huang. Frantzen eventually fell 7-5, 7-5 for the first loss of his spring play this season.
On court five, the Bears earned their second point when Bass defeated Alex Kotzen in straight sets 7-6(2),6-4.
Columbia sealed their final point on court one with a comeback win by Jack Lin over No. 67 Soto. The first set was quick and decisive for Soto at 6-3, but the junior dropped the next two sets 6-3, 6-2.
The only unfinished match in singles play was No. 102 Boitan. After dropping the first set, he came back and defeated Rian Pandole 7-5 in the second set. The third set went unfinished
Baylor is back in Waco for a doubleheader Saturday against Omaha and Grand Canyon at the Hurd Tennis Center. The first match will begin at 2 p.m. with the second starting at 5 p.m. This will be the first matchup between Baylor and Omaha, while Grand Canyon will meet Baylor for its second time in history.
