Top seed Baylor beats Pepperdine to win 2026 UTR Sports College Championships

UTR Sports College Championship is one of a number of initiatives created by UTR Sports to innovate and elevate college tennis

Baylor wins the 2026 UTR Sports College Championships
By UTR SportsPublished - Updated March 23, 2026

Sunday, March 15: 1) Baylor vs. 3) Pepperdine

Baylor dismissed Pepperdine 4-1 to win the 2026 UTR Sports College Championships on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. A year after finishing as the runner-up in the prestigious event, the Bears finished on top in 2026, taking the doubles point as well as the first singles point to gain an early 2-0 lead.

Watch: How the 2026 UTR Sports College Championships unfolded at BNP Paribas Open

"Our guys played a tough doubles point against a really good Memphis team (Saturday) and snuck it out. And I think that gave us a ton of confidence to come out and kind of play free today in the doubles. Getting that 1-0 lead for a complete singles lineup like ours is a huge advantage," Baylor head coach Michael Woodson said.

Pepperdine followed with a win at No. 5 singles to make it 2-1 in Baylor's advantage. But Baylor won two more courts to avenge their second-place finish from 2025.

"It's an unreal place to play when you're in college. It's a great experience, and it's just an amazing experience to clinch it right here," said Baylor's Zsombor Velcz, who clinched the match with a win at No. 2 singles.

Baylor heads into the Big 12 conference season, full of confidence after competing in the prestigious UTR Sports College Championships.

"Any opportunity to play programs like these and to collect victories on the road in difficult conditions is motivating for us," Woodson said. "We're super excited for the opportunity to come back to this tournament, to the grounds of Indian Wells. I think UTR [Sports] raised the bar again this year, and we're excited to continue to partner with them and with the BNP [Paribas Open] to elevate this event and increase the experience for everybody. So our student-athletes and our program are really excited to be here."

1) Baylor vs. 3) Pepperdine

Doubles
#1 Zsombor Velcz /Alexandru Chirita vs. Aleksa Pisaric & Lasse Poertner 6-1
#2 Connor Van Schalkwyk/Luc Koenig vs. Edward Winter & Hugh Winter 6-4
#3 Devin Badenhorst/Blake Anderson vs. Maxi Homberg & Gustavo Ribeiro De Almeida 3-4 DNF

Order finished doubles 
#1 doubles first 
#2 doubles second 

1-0 Baylor 

Singles 
#1 Devin Badenhorst vs. Edward Winter 7-6(3), 4-5 DNF 
#2 Zsombor Velcz vs. Lasse Poertner 6-2, 7-6 (4)
#3 Connor Van Schalkwyk vs. Aleksa Pisaric 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 
#4 Alexandru Chirita vs. Gustavo Ribeiro De Almeida 1-6, 6-3, 5-3 DNF  
#5 Luc Koenig vs. Maxi Homberg 3-6, 5-7 
#6 Louis Bowden vs. Photos Photiades 6-2, 6-2 

Order finished 
#6 singles Baylor 
#5 singles Pepperdine 
#3 singles Baylor 
#2 singles Baylor clinched

Baylor celebrates a big point at the 2026 UTR Sports College Championships

Third-place playoff: 2) Arizona State vs. 4) Memphis

In the third-place match, 2025 champion Arizona State and Memphis went the distance before the Sun Devils won the final singles match in a third-set tie-break.

Memphis claimed the doubles point to take the early lead. But Arizona State ripped off three consecutive singles matches to go ahead 3-1. Memphis, however, wasn't ready for their time in the desert to end.

The Tigers stayed tough and evened the match at 3-3 behind two three-set wins at the Nos. 3 and 4 singles spots.

It all came down to the No. 5 singles match, where Niels Villard (UTR Rating 13.00) beat Marko Milosavljevic (UTR 12.42) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5) to claim the dramatic third set and end the 2026 UTR Sports College Championships.

 

Doubles 
#1 Doubles Bor Artnak & Jelani Sarr vs. Dubouch /Moritz Kudernatsch 6-4
#2 Doubles Roi Ginat & Niels Villard vs. Sam Reeve/Lasse Rensing 5-7
#3 Doubles Ofek Shimanov & Milos Mikovic vs. Marko Milosavljevic/Obrad Markovski 3-6

Finished Match Order 
#3 doubles Memphis
#1 doubles ASU
#2 doubles Memphis

1-0 Memphis

Singles
#1 Sinlges Bor Artnak vs. Moritz Kudernatsch 6-2, 6-3
#2 Singles Ofek Shimanov vs. Maxime Dubouch 6-2, 6-4
#3 Singles Jelani Sarr vs. Obrad Markovski 6-4, 4-6, 1-6
#4 Singles Milos Mikovic vs. Leandro Zgraggen 6-4, 6-7(5), 3-6
#5 Singles Niels Villard vs. Marko Milosavljevic 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5)
#6 Singles Roi Ginat vs. Lasse Rensing  7-5, 6-4

Finished Match Order
#1 Singles ASU (1:1)
#2 Singles ASU (2:1)
#6 Singles ASU (3:1)
#3 Singles Memphis (3:2)
#4 Singles Memphis (3:3)
#5 Singles ASU (4:3)

Saturday, March 14: 1) Baylor vs. 4) Memphis

Baylor University and the University of Memphis delivered a thrilling semifinal battle on Day 2 of the UTR Sports College Championships at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Doubles was extremely close, with Baylor taking No. 2 doubles 6-4 and Memphis answering with a 6-4 win at No. 1. It all came down to No. 3 doubles, where Baylor edged it out in the tie-break to claim the crucial doubles point.

Singles stayed competitive, but Baylor proved strong at the top of the lineup, winning No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 singles in straight sets to secure the victory and advance to Sunday's final for the second consecutive year.

Last year, the Bears fell to Arizona State in the final. On Sunday, they'll face Pepperdine for the title of the 2026 UTR Sports College Championships.

Lineups and results: Baylor vs. Memphis

No. 1 Doubles: Memphis wins
Maxime Dubouch /Moritz Kudernatsch vs. Zsombor Velcz /Alexandru Chirita 6-4 

No. 2 Doubles #2: Baylor wins
Marcos Castro Fabra /Sam Reeve vs. Connor Van Schalkwyk/Luc Koenig 4-6 

No. 3 Doubles: Baylor wins
Marko Milosavljevic/Obrad Markovski vs. Devin Badenhorst/Anderson 6-7(5)

Baylor wins the doubles point, leads 1-0.

No. 1 singles: Baylor wins 
Maxime Dubouch vs. Devin Badenhorst 4-6 4-6 

No. 2 singles: Baylor wins 
Moritz Kudernatsch vs. Zsombor Velcz 2-6, 2-6  

No. 3 singles: Baylor wins 
Marcos Castro Fabra vs. Connor Van Schalkwyk 4-6, 5-7 

No. 4 singles
Obrad Markovski vs. Alexandru Chirita 3-6. 6-1. 0-2 DNF 

No. 5 singles
Leandro Zgraggen vs. Luc Koenig 6-3, 4-6 0-0 DNF

No. 6 singles
Lasse Rensing vs. Louis Bowden 6-7(3), 1-1 DNF 

Friday, March 13: 2) Arizona State vs. 3) Pepperdine

The 2026 UTR Sports College Championships at the BNP Paribas Open began with a come-from-behind upset as the third-seeded Pepperdine Waves crashed the return party for defending champions Arizona State University.

Pepperdine, which finished in third place at the championships last year, won the doubles point but then proceeded to lose the opening set in five of the six singles matches.

Arizona State, No. 25 in the UTR Sports College Team Rankings, looked well on their way to returning to the title match of the UTR Sports College Championships. But, despite competing in 97-degree weather, Pepperdine did not relent.

The teams were even at 2-2. Arizona State then pulled ahead for 3-2 but Pepperdine tied it up at 3-3. In the final set of the final singles match, Lasse Poertner for Pepperdine (UTR Rating 13.40) was down 0-3 and took a medical timeout for leg cramps on Court 2.

But then Poertner reeled off six consecutive games as cramps affected Shu Matsuoka (UTR 13.03) for Arizona State, sending the Waves into the championship.

Saturday's action will feature top seed Baylor (No. 20) against fourth seed Memphis University. The winner will meet Pepperdine in Sunday's final, with the third-place playoff following the final. Click here to listen live on RadioTennis.com.

Pepperdine 4, Arizona State 3

Lineups and results: Pepperdine vs. Arizona State

No. 1 Doubles: Aleksa Pisaric & Lasse Poertner vs. Bor Artnak & Shu Matsuoka 6-4 
No. 2 Doubles: Edward Winter & Hugh Winter vs. Roi Ginat & Niels Villard 6-3 
No. 3Doubles: Maxi Homberg & Gustavo Ribeiro De Almeida vs. Ofek Shimanov & Milos Mikovic 5:5 DNF 

Pepperdine wins the doubles point.

Singles 
Pepperdine University vs. Arizona State University 
#1 Edward Winter vs. Bor Artnak 3-6, 1-6 
#2 Lasse Poertner vs. Shu Matsuoka 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3 
#3 Aleksa Pisaric vs. Ofek Shimanov 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4
#4 Maxi Homberg vs. Jelani Sarr 4-6, 4-6 
#5 Gustavo Ribeiro De Almeida vs. Milos Mikovic 6-2, 6-4 
#6 David Fix vs. Roi Ginat 2-6, 3-6 

Order of Finish Singles 
#1 singles (1:1) 
#5 singles (2:1) for Pepperdine 
#4 singles (2:2) 
#6 singles (2:3) for Arizona State 
#3 singles (3:3) 
#2 singles (4:3) for Pepperdine

Teams were seeded according to their placement in the March 4 UTR Sports College Team Rankings.

View 2026 UTR Sports College Team Rankings

The UTR Sports College Championship is one of a number of initiatives created by UTR Sports to innovate and elevate college tennis. UTR Sports, a global leader in tennis, has helped college programs generate millions of dollars each year through innovative events and propelled student-athletes everywhere to experience life-changing moments on the court. 

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