Texas Tech University Athletics
Thursday, March 28
Waco, Texas
6:00 PM
Texas Tech Athletics
at
Baylor
Photo by: TEXAS TECH ATHLETICS
Red Raiders set to face No. 27 Baylor, No. 4 Texas this week
March 26, 2024 | Men's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech men's tennis is preparing to play its third and fourth-ranked matches in a row as the team first heads to Waco to face the No. 27 Baylor Bears at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, before hosting the No. 4-ranked Texas Longhorns on Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m. at the McLeod Tennis Center.
The Red Raiders (8-10, 0-2 Big 12) are looking to right a three-game skid and pick up their first conference win of the season after suffering losses to No. 17 Oklahoma, 0-7, and No. 25 Oklahoma State, 1-4, last week in Lubbock.
The No. 41 pairing of Sebastian Abboud and Piotr Pawlak continues to shine, as they helped capture the doubles point against Oklahoma State, defeating Alex Garcia and Tyler Zink on court one, 6-4. They are now 12-1 in dual matches and 8-1 at the one position.
In his last two outings, No. 56 Olle Wallin battled some serious competition. Against Oklahoma, Wallin lost the first set to No. 20 Alex Martinez, 3-6, but took him to a tiebreaker in the second, falling just short, 6-7 (4). Against Oklahoma State's No. 18 Tyler Zink, Wallin lost a lengthy first set, 6-7 (9), but was up 2-0 in the second before the match went unfinished. He is 9-4 in dual matches on court one.
Reed Collier and Pawlak are the other singles players with winning dual records for Tech. Collier (7-4) was the only Red Raider to capture a point in their match against San Diego State, beating Johannes Seeman in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (1), on court two. Pawlak (6-5) has gone to three sets in his last two matches. Against Oklahoma's Justin Schlageter, Pawlak narrowly lost, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 0-1 (7), but was on his way to victory against Oklahoma State's Alessio Basile before the match went unfinished. He lost the first set, 1-6, won the second, 6-3, then held a commanding 3-0 lead in the third when the Cowboys clinched.Â
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 27 Baylor (16-7) is looking for its first Big 12 win of the season, as the Bears are 0-2 with losses to No. 2 TCU and No. 34 UCF. They got things back on track after beating Prairie View A&M, 7-0, in their last outing on Sunday. While the two conference losses came at home, they still boast a 12-3 record when playing in Waco this season. The Bears have three ranked singles players in No. 50 Tadeas Paroulek (7-5), No. 74 Zsombor Velcz (8-5) and No. 88 Devin Badenhorst (11-3). Together, No. 40 Paroulek and Velcz are Baylor's sole ranked doubles team, with a dual record of 10-5. Texas Tech is 27-31 all-time against the Bears, losing four of its previous five matchups. They last played on April 1, 2023, when Baylor came away with a 5-2 victory in Waco.
The No. 4 Texas Longhorns are 14-3 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play heading into the week. The Longhorns' three losses have come against No. 1 Virginia (3-4), No. 14 Arizona (2-4) and No. 2 TCU (3-4) in the non-conference season. Texas is currently on a five-match win streak, highlighted by wins against No. 1 Ohio State (5-2), No. 2 TCU (5-0) and at No. 38 Georgia (4-3). Texas has four ranked singles players, including the top-two ranked athletes in Eliot Spizzirri (1) and Micah Braswell (2), followed by No. 41 Gilles-Amaud Bailly and No. 67 Jonah Braswell. In singles, M. Braswell leads Texas with 30 overall wins and a 14-0 dual record. Spizzirri is second with 21 overall wins and a 13-2 record at the top court. In doubles, Spizzirri is ranked twice as he checks in at No. 8 with Cleeve Harper and at No. 53 with Siem Woldeab. Two doubles teams lead Texas with six dual wins apiece in Gilles-Arnaud Bailly and M. Braswell, as well as Pierre Yves-Bailly and Eshan Talluri. The Longhorns will travel to BYU for a Thursday match before heading to Lubbock on Saturday.
FOLLOW ALONG
Against Baylor, fans can follow live stats here and the video stream here. There will also be a CrossCourt Broadcast by Cracked Racquets on ESPN+ for Thursday's match. Against the Longhorns, live stats and live video will also be available. Follow the @TexasTechMTEN X account for updates on the matches.
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The Red Raiders (8-10, 0-2 Big 12) are looking to right a three-game skid and pick up their first conference win of the season after suffering losses to No. 17 Oklahoma, 0-7, and No. 25 Oklahoma State, 1-4, last week in Lubbock.
The No. 41 pairing of Sebastian Abboud and Piotr Pawlak continues to shine, as they helped capture the doubles point against Oklahoma State, defeating Alex Garcia and Tyler Zink on court one, 6-4. They are now 12-1 in dual matches and 8-1 at the one position.
In his last two outings, No. 56 Olle Wallin battled some serious competition. Against Oklahoma, Wallin lost the first set to No. 20 Alex Martinez, 3-6, but took him to a tiebreaker in the second, falling just short, 6-7 (4). Against Oklahoma State's No. 18 Tyler Zink, Wallin lost a lengthy first set, 6-7 (9), but was up 2-0 in the second before the match went unfinished. He is 9-4 in dual matches on court one.
Reed Collier and Pawlak are the other singles players with winning dual records for Tech. Collier (7-4) was the only Red Raider to capture a point in their match against San Diego State, beating Johannes Seeman in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (1), on court two. Pawlak (6-5) has gone to three sets in his last two matches. Against Oklahoma's Justin Schlageter, Pawlak narrowly lost, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 0-1 (7), but was on his way to victory against Oklahoma State's Alessio Basile before the match went unfinished. He lost the first set, 1-6, won the second, 6-3, then held a commanding 3-0 lead in the third when the Cowboys clinched.Â
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 27 Baylor (16-7) is looking for its first Big 12 win of the season, as the Bears are 0-2 with losses to No. 2 TCU and No. 34 UCF. They got things back on track after beating Prairie View A&M, 7-0, in their last outing on Sunday. While the two conference losses came at home, they still boast a 12-3 record when playing in Waco this season. The Bears have three ranked singles players in No. 50 Tadeas Paroulek (7-5), No. 74 Zsombor Velcz (8-5) and No. 88 Devin Badenhorst (11-3). Together, No. 40 Paroulek and Velcz are Baylor's sole ranked doubles team, with a dual record of 10-5. Texas Tech is 27-31 all-time against the Bears, losing four of its previous five matchups. They last played on April 1, 2023, when Baylor came away with a 5-2 victory in Waco.
The No. 4 Texas Longhorns are 14-3 overall and 2-0 in Big 12 play heading into the week. The Longhorns' three losses have come against No. 1 Virginia (3-4), No. 14 Arizona (2-4) and No. 2 TCU (3-4) in the non-conference season. Texas is currently on a five-match win streak, highlighted by wins against No. 1 Ohio State (5-2), No. 2 TCU (5-0) and at No. 38 Georgia (4-3). Texas has four ranked singles players, including the top-two ranked athletes in Eliot Spizzirri (1) and Micah Braswell (2), followed by No. 41 Gilles-Amaud Bailly and No. 67 Jonah Braswell. In singles, M. Braswell leads Texas with 30 overall wins and a 14-0 dual record. Spizzirri is second with 21 overall wins and a 13-2 record at the top court. In doubles, Spizzirri is ranked twice as he checks in at No. 8 with Cleeve Harper and at No. 53 with Siem Woldeab. Two doubles teams lead Texas with six dual wins apiece in Gilles-Arnaud Bailly and M. Braswell, as well as Pierre Yves-Bailly and Eshan Talluri. The Longhorns will travel to BYU for a Thursday match before heading to Lubbock on Saturday.
FOLLOW ALONG
Against Baylor, fans can follow live stats here and the video stream here. There will also be a CrossCourt Broadcast by Cracked Racquets on ESPN+ for Thursday's match. Against the Longhorns, live stats and live video will also be available. Follow the @TexasTechMTEN X account for updates on the matches.
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Players Mentioned
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