Baylor Gears Up for Clash with Wake Forest in Men's Tennis Showdown
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The stage is set for a thrilling encounter as No. 6 Baylor men's tennis team, boasting a 7-3 record, prepares to face off against No.
4 Wake Forest, who stands at 8-2. The action kicks off at noon CT on Sunday at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.
Baylor enters this matchup with mixed emotions. They recently fell to No.
7 University of Texas in the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championship. However, the Bears are still riding high from their impressive victories over No.
9 UCF in the opening round and a nail-biting win against No. 3 Wake Forest in the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinal clash with the Demon Deacons was a spectacle, clinched by Devin Badenhorst's gritty performance. He overcame Wake's No. 17 Dhakshineswar Suresh in a thrilling three-setter, finishing 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).
Wake Forest is no stranger to talent, boasting a formidable lineup of five ranked singles players. This includes No.
17 Suresh, No. 21 Luc Pow, No.
59 Mees Rottgering, No. 65 Aryan Shah, and No.
76 Andrew Delgado. Their prowess extends to doubles, with the duo of Delgado and Suresh holding the No. 2 spot.
Baylor, meanwhile, has been climbing the ranks. They lead the Big 12, currently sitting at No. 6 in the latest ITA rankings.
The Bears feature four singles players on the ITA list: No. 13 Badenhorst, No.
27 Connor Van Schalkwyk, No. 39 Zsombor Velcz, and No.
73 Alexandru Chirita. Velcz has been particularly impressive, skyrocketing 67 spots after a 5-1 run and earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
Fans can catch all the action through live stats and video streams available for Sunday’s highly anticipated match.