Men’s tennis faces Baylor with a spot in the NCAA quarterfinal on the line

An away victory is all that stands between the Bruins and a quarterfinal berth.

But their opponents haven’t lost at home the entire season.

No. 11 seed UCLA men’s tennis (19-5, 8-0 Pac-12) will face No. 6 seed Baylor (24-5, 3-2 Big-12) in Waco, Texas, on Friday. The Bruins and Bears are playing for a chance to compete in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

Should the Bruins win, they will advance to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight year. The last time the Bruins failed to advance past the round of 16 was in 2015.

The Bears emerged victorious over several top teams in the country this season, including No. 2 Texas and then-No. 3 Mississippi State. Baylor has recorded 10 shutout wins over the course of the season and has lost one point in the first two rounds of NCAA play.

“Baylor’s definitely up there (as some of the stiffest competition we’ll face),” said coach Billy Martin. “We’re going to have to play as well as we possibly can to have a chance.”

UCLA faced Baylor in the NCAA championship match in two consecutive years during the 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 season. The Bruins won the latter match by a score of 4-3 and were crowned national champions for the first time since 1984.

The match will feature the No. 1- and No. 2-ranked doubles teams in the nation. Baylor’s tandem of Sven Lah and Jimmy Bendeck is the top-ranked team and has held that spot over its last nine dual matches. Sophomore Keegan Smith and senior Maxime Cressy reached a season-high ranking of No. 2 last week and remain undefeated on the season.

“Both the No. 2 and No. 3 teams can’t expect (Cressy and Smith) to go out and win every match, even though that’s what they’ve done,” said redshirt sophomore Connor Rapp. “If they have a bad day or get a little unlucky, (the No. 2 and No. 3 teams) need to win to get the doubles point.”

Martin said the fate of the match will ultimately fall on the bottom of the singles lineup.

“What usually decides an NCAA championship is usually the bottom two or three spots,” Martin said. “I don’t think I’ve seen one match in the front three courts in any of the home matches this year. I’ve been in the back with our young Bruins trying to secure at least one point back there.”

Freshman Patrick Zahraj fills the No. 4 singles spot for the Bruins and has yet to win an NCAA match thus far while leaving seven unfinished this season. Despite this, Zahraj said he is in good form for Friday.

“I hope they let me finish a match sometime,” Zahraj said after the team’s win against No. 25 Oklahoma State. “I had a good month in April, and I’m happy where my game is. The confidence is definitely a booster, and to beat Oklahoma State today really gives us confidence for the next matches.”

UCLA’s last meeting against Baylor saw the Bruins emerge victorious with 4-0 sweep in 2017. In NCAA play, the Bears hold a slight edge of the Bruins with a head-to-head record of 2-1. UCLA has also never been seeded No. 11 in the tournament, which is its lowest seed since the 2014-2015 season.

“It’s probably not our strongest year,” Martin said. “(The team is young) and freshmen generally don’t know what to expect. From a coaching standpoint, you don’t know how they’ll handle the pressure.”

The match will take place at Hurd Tennis Center at 4 p.m.