After crushing Texas A&M in a 4-0 rout on Saturday at the 2008 Big 12 Championships in College Station, top-seeded Texas couldn't seem to take the lead when it mattered on Sunday in the final round of the tournament, losing to Baylor by a 4-2 count in a match that just barely got away.
Sunday started with a rain delay and a severe Baylor disadvantage. The Bear's top-ranked player Lars Poerschke was out due to an injury suffered on Saturday, and all of the Bears had to play out of position to compensate. It seemed only fitting that due to extremely harsh conditions, the match was forced to begin in the singles session, where Baylor was at their weakest.
"I knew playing singles, and with Poerschke out, that we were significantly favored at No. 2 and No. 4, and that we need to get something at the other spots. We had chances, but we just didn't get them. It is disappointing, because I thought we had some opportunities to put [Baylor] away, but it just didn't happen today," Texas head coach Michael Center said.
Texas senior Luis Diaz Barriga put the Longhorns ahead early with a quick 6-2, 7-5 win at the fourth slot over Gwen Corches. Baylor's Denes Lukacs responded right back with a 7-5, 6-3 win at the first position over Texas sophomore and two time Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week Dimitar Kutrovsky.
Baylor added to its score when Attila Bucko at the fifth slot took Texas junior Miguel Reyes Varela to a third set, eventually winning the match by a 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 count. Freshman Kellen Damico responded in a big way for the 'Horns, defeating Baylor's David Galic in an intense 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 match at second singles that put the Longhorns in position to take the lead.
Texas freshman Ed Corrie competed well at third singles, winning his first set but eventually dropping the match as Dominik Mueller rallied from behind to push the match to a third set, then easily taking over from there. Mueller's 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-2 rally put the Bears in the lead 3-2 as the final match of the tournament was already underway.
With the Big 12 Championship on the line, Baylor's Jordan Rux defeated sophomore Josh Zavala in three sets after dropping the first. Rux's 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-3 victory eliminated the need for a doubles session, thus clinching Baylor's sixth conference title.
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