Baylor, the event's overall No. 2 seed, will welcome LSU, UTSA and Bryant to Waco and the Hurd Tennis Center for play on Friday and Saturday, May 8-9. The two-seed is BU’s highest designation since being the No. 1 seed in 2005. Baylor was also the No. 2 seed in 2003.
“It’s been a great season,” head coach Matt Knoll said. “I think if you told me at the beginning of the season that we would be the two-seed, I would be excited about that. We are excited, it’s been a super year. Now it is time to get started with the real business.”
The Bears will be making their 18th-consecutive NCAA Championship appearance and be hosting for the 12th-time overall and 11th-time in the last 13 years.
“We take a lot of pride in Baylor,” Knoll said. “We take a lot of pride in Waco, and Central Texas. We want to put our best foot forward and make sure everyone understands what a special place this is, and understand what special people we have. That is going to take a big commitment from everybody around here.”
BU is currently 21-5 on the season, after winning its 13th Big 12 regular season title. Baylor has advanced out of the first two rounds of competition for 13 straight seasons and in 15 of the last 16 years.
Baylor currently has four singles competitors ranked in the latest ITA rankings including No. 1 Julian Lenz, No. 33 Tony Lupieri, 74th-ranked Max Tchoutakian and 110th-ranked Mate Zsiga.
The Bears are coming off a 4-3 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma in the finals of the Big 12 Championship.
The action in Waco gets underway on Friday, May 8, with third-seeded LSU (17-8) and No. 3 seed UTSA (17-8) meeting at 3 p.m. Head coach Matt Knoll's Bears will take on fourth-seeded Bryant (8-11) in first round action at 6 p.m. The winners of those two matches will then play on Saturday, May 9, at 5 p.m.
Baylor is one of 16-host sites around the country with the winner of each advancing to the final site of the NCAA Tennis Championships at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco. Team competition in Waco will be May 14-19, while the singles and doubles championship will take place May 20-25. Selections for those tournaments will be announced on Wednesday.
Baylor is 48-16 in NCAA Championship play all-time and has only lost twice in the opening two rounds in 1998 and 2001. When hosting, Baylor holds a 22-0 record in first and second round NCAA matches.
Bryant earned an automatic bid after winning the Northeast Conference Championship for a second-straight year. The Black and Gold currently own an 8-11 record, following eighth wins in their last 11 matches. Bryant defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 4-3, in last match out to claim the conference tournament title
The 27th-ranked and second-seeded LSU Tigers will also make the trip to Waco. The Tigers are an at-large bid out of the Southeastern Conference. LSU is returning to the NCAA Championships for the first time since the 2013 season and is currently 17-8 on the year.
No. 58 UTSA, the third-seed in Waco, earned an automatic bid after winning the Conference USA Tournament. The Roadrunners are making their fourth consecutive NCAA appearance and beat No. 54 Rice, 4-2, to claim the league crown.
Check out BaylorBears.com for schedule and ticket information. Stay up to date with men's tennis by following us on Twitter @BaylorMTennis.
NCAA TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, May 8
No. 27 LSU (17-8) vs. No. 58 UTSA (17-8) - 3 p.m.
No. 2 Baylor (21-5) vs. Bryant (8-11)- 6 p.m.
SATURDAY, May 9
Winner of match 1 vs. Winner of match 2 - 5 p.m.
