The Baylor men’s tennis team lost to the No. 2 UCLA Bruins Sunday, ending its eight-match win streak. The final match count was 6-1.

“They beat us up pretty good,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “We’ve got a lot to learn. There are a lot of opportunities to grow from this and that’s the key. If we take it as learners and make improvements, than it’s been a fantastic day. It’s still March, we got a long way to go and this is a great chance for us to see where we stand.”

In a high-intensity event involving a rain delay, sportsmanship warnings and the biggest win of the season for the Baylor men’s tennis team, the No. 38 Bears defeated the No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats 6-1 Friday at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Tennis Facility.

The 26th-ranked men’s tennis team will face its toughest test of the season, taking on the No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center.

This is the start of a three-game stretch in which the Bears (9-1) will take on three top-five teams in three days.

The red-hot men’s tennis team beat Laredo Community College and Abilene Christian Saturday with 7-0 victories in both matches.

The 26th-ranked Bears (9-1) have extended their win streak to seven with these two wins.

“It felt great,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “14-0, wonderful day to be a Baylor Bear.”

The men’s tennis team is coming off of a come-from-behind 4-3 win over the Florida Gators on Saturday.

“We’re pleased,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “It’s tough to play there. We’ve struggled down there for years and I thought the guys did a great job of battling from beginning to [the] end and finding a way to win.”

After clinching the doubles point, the Bears were down early with straight-set losses from sophomores Tony Lupieri and Diego Galeano.

The 20th-ranked men’s tennis team beat the North Florida Ospreys 6-1 Thursday in Jacksonville, Fla.
The win brings the Bears to 6-1 and extends the team’s winning streak to four.

Sophomore Diego Galeano has played as many matches as anyone on the 20th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team this season.

He readily accepted his role as a utility man, playing with different doubles partners and in various singles spots when head coach Matt Knoll calls his name.

The 18th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team defeated Texas-Pan American and UT Arlington 7-0 in a doubleheader Saturday.

“In terms of our energy, our focus level, our execution, I think all those things are way better than they’ve been,” said head coach Matt Knoll. “I’m really optimistic about what’s coming up next.”

The Baylor men’s tennis team is defined by hard work, discipline and excellence, and sophomore Mate Zsiga lives up to them all.

He was born in Germany and went to high school in the small city of Szeged, Hungary, and tennis was a pivotal part of his life from the very beginning.

“My whole family played tennis,” Zsiga says. “Both of my parents played at a high level. My dad became a coach and was coaching my brother, and I was there too.”

“We won.”

That’s all Baylor men’s tennis head coach Matt Knoll cared about last weekend in a dominant victory over Purdue.

The 18th-ranked Bears will play a doubleheader against Texas Pan-American at 11 a.m. and UT-Arlington at 3 p.m. this Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center. The team (3-1) is looking to carry over its momentum from last weekend and a good week of practice.