Baylor University Team Page

WACO, Texas - Baylor men's tennis freshman Julian Lenz is set to open play in the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Center in Urbana, Ill.

The Giessen, Germany, native will face Cameron Silverman of Elon in the first round of the 64-man bracket at 8 a.m.

"Julian just needs to settle in and play his game," head coach Matt Knoll said. "It is his first time at this event and normally guys are a little nervous. He has an advantage of having played in the team tournament, so he has been on these courts before. He is excited to play, but we don't know anything about the guy he is playing, so we will spend some time today gathering some information to know what he is up against."

The 55th-ranked Lenz owns a 27-9 record overall and racked up a 16-5 mark in dual-match play. He tallied a 9-7 record against ranked opponents, including wins over No. 18 Tom Jomby of Kentucky and No. 36 Florent Diep of Florida.

This season, Lenz has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and the ITA Texas Region Rookie of the Year.

Silverman was the Southern Conference Player of the Year and led the Phoenix to the league's regular season title. He is currently ranked No. 67 nationally with a 14-8 record in singles action.

If Lenz were to advance past the first round, he would face the winner of Georgia's Nathan Pasha and Michigan's Evan King in the round of 32 on Thursday.

Baylor's Patrick Pradella was also selected for play in the event, but back soreness has forced the junior to withdraw. He finished his first season at BU with a 20-6 record.

"It was a long season for Patrick," Knoll said. "We just made a decision that he wouldn't be able to represent himself the way he wanted to with his back hurting him."

Follow the official Twitter account of the team: @BaylorMTennis for an inside look at the team with scores, notes and stories.