Men’s Tennis: TCU Advances to Indoor National Finals
The No. 3 TCU men’s tennis team (11-0) continued their indoor winning streak on Sunday by defeating No. 2 Kentucky in the semifinals of the ITA Indoor National Championships. The Frogs won 4-2 in a hard-fought battle that went to third sets on multiple courts.
With the win, TCU advances to the national finals for the second straight year. TCU won the title last year. They will play a familiar foe when they meet No. 6 Texas at noon on Monday.
TCU is the first defending champion to appear in consecutive national championships since 2011. The Horned Frogs joined Illinois, Stanford, UCLA, USC, and Virginia as one of just six programs to notch a return trip to the grand finale of indoor tennis as a defending national champion.
It was 30 years to the date since TCU had beaten Kentucky. The Wildcats were also the last team to have beaten TCU, eliminating the Frogs in last year’s NCAA quarterfinals.
TCU 4 – Kentucky 2
Doubles Play – TCU Won
TCU trailed for the first time all season in doubles after Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington lost 6-2 on court two. But the Frogs, in typical fashion, had an answer. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives rolled to their sixth straight win in the No. 3, 6-3, to even the score at one doubles set apiece. Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba, on court one, won their set 6-4, thus clinching the point for the Frogs.
Singles Play – TCU won 3-2
- Gorzny put TCU within two points of the finale as the match transitioned to singles play. He swept Weekes 6-2, 6-3 on court five. The freshman improved his season singles record to 8-0. The dual was still being decided, however. TCU and Kentucky split the first six singles sets.
- Fearnley lost his singles match 6-7, 4-6, putting the score at 2-1 in the Frogs’ favor.
- The remaining four head-to-heads then went to decisive third sets.
- Fomba won on court two 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, giving the Frogs a 3-1 edge.
- Pinnington then lost his match on court three, 2-6, 6-2, 2-6, making the score 3-2 TCU.
- Tomas Jirousek finished it off for the Frogs on court six, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Next up: The Horned Frogs will face No. 8 Texas at noon on Monday. The ITA Indoor National champion will be a Big 12 school from Texas. Will the Frogs make it two in a row?
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