Badenhorst Clinches Baylor Men's Tennis' Thrilling 4-3 NCAA Tournament Win Over Pepperdine

WACO, Texas – No. 11 Baylor men’s tennis punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals with a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 27 Pepperdine in the Sweet 16 on Friday night at the Hurd Tennis Center.

The 10th-seeded Bears improved to 25-9 on the season after securing the doubles point and earning singles wins on Courts One, Two and Five. Baylor’s hard-fought victory sends the program to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2022, while Pepperdine ends its season at 19-10.

Junior Devin Badenhorst delivered the match-clinching moment in front of 1,329 fans, rallying for a dramatic 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) victory on Court One.

The Rundown

Baylor came out strong in doubles play, capturing wins on Courts One and Two to take an early advantage. The No. 89 pairing of Luc Koenig and Connor Van Schalkwyk secured the first win with a 6-4 decision on Court Two.

Shortly after, the 69th-ranked duo of Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz earned an upset victory on Court One, defeating Pepperdine’s No. 27 tandem of David Fix and Edward Winter, 6-3. The doubles point marked Baylor’s 23rd of the season and gave the Bears a 1-0 lead heading into singles competition.

In singles play, senior captain Velcz quickly added another point for Baylor with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win on Court Two. Pepperdine responded on Court Four, where Chirita fell 6-1, 6-2.

Koenig then extended Baylor’s lead to 3-1 with a commanding performance on Court Five, winning 6-1, 6-4.

The Waves fought back as Louis Bowden dropped his match on Court Six, 6-1, 6-2, before Van Schalkwyk narrowly lost a pair of tiebreak sets on Court Three, 7-6(6), 7-6(6), evening the overall score at 3-3.

All attention then turned to Court One, where Badenhorst rebounded after losing the opening set 6-2. The junior battled back to claim the second set 7-5 and force a deciding third set against Winter.

The final set remained tight throughout, eventually moving into a tiebreaker. Badenhorst held his nerve and secured the 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) comeback victory, sending Baylor to the NCAA Elite Eight.

RESULTS

Doubles

1. No. 69 Alexandru Chirita/Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. No. 27 David Fix/Edward Winter (PEP) 6-3

2. No. 89 Luc Koenig/Connor Van Schalkwyk (BU) def. Gustavo Almeida/Lasse Poertner (PEP) 6-4

3. Devin Badenhorst/Calvin Baierl (BU) vs. Maxi Homberg/Aleksa Pisaric (PEP) 4-5, UF

Order of finish: 2, 1

Singles

1. No. 10 Devin Badenhorst (BU) def. Edward Winter (PEP) 2-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)

2. No. 51 Zsombor Velcz (BU) def. Lasse Poertner (PEP) 6-1, 6-1

3. Aleksa Pisaric (PEP) def. No. 53 Connor Van Schalkwkyk 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6)

4. Gustavo Almeida (PEP) def. No. 69 Alexandru Chirita (BU) 6-1, 6-2

5. Luc Koenig (BU) def. Maxi Homberg (PEP) 6-1, 6-4

6. David Fix (PEP) def. Louis Bowden (BU) 6-1, 6-2

Order of finish: 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 1

WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor travels to Athens, Ga., for the first time since 2017 to face No. 2 Texas in the Quarterfinals at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Thursday, May 14. The time of the match will be announced later.