Texas Tech University Athletics
Thursday, April 27
Norman, Okla.
10:00 AM
Texas Tech Athletics
vs
No. 6 Baylor
No. 41 Men's Tennis Faces No. 6 Baylor at Big 12 Championships
April 26, 2017 | Men's Tennis
The winner of Thursday’s first round match advances to face No. 8 Oklahoma State on Friday.
LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 41 Texas Tech men's tennis team will face a familiar foe in No. 6 Baylor during Thursday's opening round of the 2017 Big 12 Championships.
First serve is on-tap for 10 a.m. CT from the Headington Family Tennis Center on the University of Oklahoma campus. The match will have live video courtesy of FloTennis.com, a subscription-based service in addition to live match updates available @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
The Red Raiders (11-14, 1-4 Big 12) recently knocked off Baylor (21-6, 2-3 Big 12) in a thrilling 4-3 decision last Saturday as part of Senior Night at the McLeod Tennis Center.
Texas Tech has won four consecutive matches over the Bears, all by a 4-3 margin. The four-game streak against Baylor is the second-longest run in the nation since the two programs joined the Big 12. The Red Raiders will square off with their fifth Top 10 opponent over their last seven matches.
"This is the main part of the year that we prepare for," Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. "It might be a great thing that we are playing the same team that we just beat. The guys will have some confidence off of that. We've had a fair amount of success against Baylor these past two years. We're hopeful that the guys feel confident enough where they believe that what they did the other night was pretty special. We've been looking for depth all year long. The guys that lost at two, three and four last week disappointed because they had a chance to win, but the guys at five and six stepped up. We're looking to go out, duplicate the success we had ad make a run in postseason play."
Texas Tech's top four singles players in Jolan Cailleau, Connor Curry, Alex Sendegeya and Bjorn Thomson have racked up 48 of the team's 60 victories during dual match action.
Sendegeya and Thomson have posted a team-leading 13 wins apiece whereas Cailleau and Thomson enter the week ranked No. 29 and No. 79 in the ITA singles rankings, respectively.
The Red Raiders received a boost from Carlos DiLaura and Jackson Cobb at the bottom of the singles lineup during the Baylor match. It marked only the third time that Texas Tech won matches at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions in 2017.
Cobb dispatched of Tyler Stayer by a 6-1, 6-3 score line for his first career Big 12 victory, while DiLaura notched a drama-filled 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (8) win to break the 3-3 and capture the fourth point of the match.
Doubles action has been ignited by Curry and Thomson on the No. 1 line. The nation's No. 13 ranked pair has compiled a 13-4 record fueled by a team-leading quartet of wins over ranked opponents. Cobb and Sendegeya have split their four Big 12 outings en route to an 8-5 mark.
Baylor has won a Big 12-leading seven tournament titles, most recently in 2014. The Bears are sparked by a trio of singles players inside the ITA's Top 60 rankings which includes Juan Benitez at No. 14, Max Tchoutakian at No. 44 and Johannes Schretter at No. 59. The trio has accounted for 50 dual match victories highlighted by 24 triumphs over ranked opponents. Baylor's top doubles pair of Benitez and Will Little check in at No. 17 nationally.
"I enjoyed how much energy and poise we brought on each doubles court against Baylor," Masi said. "We have been really up and down at any spot all season long. The key in doubles is we have to stay even or slightly ahead. You can't fall too far behind because it's such a quick set. If you lose the first match, it puts a lot of pressure on the other two teams. When we're pretty close across the board, it helps the other guys play at a high level and puts the pressure back on the other team. Again, I think that was a huge thing for our guys to win at two and three against Baylor when our number one team has been doing so well this year. It's nice to see the other guys step up and clinch the point."
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's tennis program. Fans also can follow the program and live match updates on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TechMensTennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
First serve is on-tap for 10 a.m. CT from the Headington Family Tennis Center on the University of Oklahoma campus. The match will have live video courtesy of FloTennis.com, a subscription-based service in addition to live match updates available @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
The Red Raiders (11-14, 1-4 Big 12) recently knocked off Baylor (21-6, 2-3 Big 12) in a thrilling 4-3 decision last Saturday as part of Senior Night at the McLeod Tennis Center.
Texas Tech has won four consecutive matches over the Bears, all by a 4-3 margin. The four-game streak against Baylor is the second-longest run in the nation since the two programs joined the Big 12. The Red Raiders will square off with their fifth Top 10 opponent over their last seven matches.
"This is the main part of the year that we prepare for," Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. "It might be a great thing that we are playing the same team that we just beat. The guys will have some confidence off of that. We've had a fair amount of success against Baylor these past two years. We're hopeful that the guys feel confident enough where they believe that what they did the other night was pretty special. We've been looking for depth all year long. The guys that lost at two, three and four last week disappointed because they had a chance to win, but the guys at five and six stepped up. We're looking to go out, duplicate the success we had ad make a run in postseason play."
Texas Tech's top four singles players in Jolan Cailleau, Connor Curry, Alex Sendegeya and Bjorn Thomson have racked up 48 of the team's 60 victories during dual match action.
Sendegeya and Thomson have posted a team-leading 13 wins apiece whereas Cailleau and Thomson enter the week ranked No. 29 and No. 79 in the ITA singles rankings, respectively.
The Red Raiders received a boost from Carlos DiLaura and Jackson Cobb at the bottom of the singles lineup during the Baylor match. It marked only the third time that Texas Tech won matches at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions in 2017.
Cobb dispatched of Tyler Stayer by a 6-1, 6-3 score line for his first career Big 12 victory, while DiLaura notched a drama-filled 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (8) win to break the 3-3 and capture the fourth point of the match.
Doubles action has been ignited by Curry and Thomson on the No. 1 line. The nation's No. 13 ranked pair has compiled a 13-4 record fueled by a team-leading quartet of wins over ranked opponents. Cobb and Sendegeya have split their four Big 12 outings en route to an 8-5 mark.
Baylor has won a Big 12-leading seven tournament titles, most recently in 2014. The Bears are sparked by a trio of singles players inside the ITA's Top 60 rankings which includes Juan Benitez at No. 14, Max Tchoutakian at No. 44 and Johannes Schretter at No. 59. The trio has accounted for 50 dual match victories highlighted by 24 triumphs over ranked opponents. Baylor's top doubles pair of Benitez and Will Little check in at No. 17 nationally.
"I enjoyed how much energy and poise we brought on each doubles court against Baylor," Masi said. "We have been really up and down at any spot all season long. The key in doubles is we have to stay even or slightly ahead. You can't fall too far behind because it's such a quick set. If you lose the first match, it puts a lot of pressure on the other two teams. When we're pretty close across the board, it helps the other guys play at a high level and puts the pressure back on the other team. Again, I think that was a huge thing for our guys to win at two and three against Baylor when our number one team has been doing so well this year. It's nice to see the other guys step up and clinch the point."
Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the men's tennis program. Fans also can follow the program and live match updates on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/TechMensTennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.
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