Texas handles Baylor, advances to semifinals
ATHENS, GA — In the first 45 minutes of the quarterfinal matchup, Baylor followed its playbook to a T. Taking the doubles point and looking formidable early on, the Bears looked to be in control.
Then, Texas (28-6) took five of six first sets in singles competition and the Bears (25-10) were completely out of it. In their previous meeting at the National ITA Indoor Championships, Texas totally dominated 4-0. It wasn't much too different here in Athens, other than the doubles point win for the Bears.
No. 41 freshman Kalin Ivanovski secured the first point for Texas, taking down No. 51 senior Zsombor Velcz 6-3, 6-1. Soon, No. 35 sophomore Sebastian Eriksson extinguished No. 53 junior Connor Van Schalkwyk 6-2, 6-2.
It was another straight-set victory for the Longhorns on Court 4 as sophomore Oliver Ojakaar defeated graduate Alexandru Chirita 6-3, 6-3, and the Longhorns were up 3-1. Finally, the clinching point came on Court 6 as freshman Lucas Marionneau beat freshman Calvin Baierl in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to send his team to the next round.
It was a tough showing for a Baylor team that has shown plenty of fight this season with wins over No. 3 seed Ohio State and No. 1 seed Wake Forest. But for members of the team, the season and the program still brought much meaning.
"I've been doing this is my 14th year in coaching, I feel I love every group that I have and I'm always proud of them, but this group was really special," Baylor head coach Michael Woodson said. "I think in a transactional world they've been very transformational. They've been loyal to the program and to each other. They've built something special. I know there's a lot of staff that pours into it, but it's ultimately the student athletes that buy into it run, I really feel these seniors really every member of the team has committed to moving us forward leaving the jersey better than they found it. I'm really proud of that it's just a pleasure to be a part of it."
The Longhorns will play No. 6 seed TCU at 10 a.m. Saturday for a spot in the national championship game.
