Men’s Tennis: TCU Secures Spot in Indoor National Championships
Over the weekend, the TCU Men’s Tennis team was one of the 15 programs from across the country to host ITA Kickoff Weekend. Winners of each regional bracket advance to the ITA Indoor National Championships, which will be held February 17-20 in Chicago.
The Horned Frogs (5-0) swept both opponents they faced, Gonzaga, on Saturday and Texas Tech on Sunday, to advance to the championships for the fifth straight year. Last year, the team won the championship, bringing home the first Natty in program history. The victory over Texas Tech on Sunday not only ensured the Frogs would have a chance to defend their championship but also marked the 20th time in program history that TCU qualified for the event.
Other host sites for ITA Kickoff Weekend were Baylor, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Stanford, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Virginia, Wake Forest; all host programs won their bracket to advance to the championships.
Here are the highlights from both the Gonzaga and Texas Tech duals:
TCU 4 – Gonzaga 0 – January 28
TCU won its 11th consecutive ITA Kickoff Match on Saturday on the purple courts inside the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center with a 4-0 sweep over Gonzaga.
Doubles Play – TCU Won
The Frogs had no problem securing the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. They never trailed on any court en route to its fourth consecutive doubles point this season. The Sander Jong and Luis Maxted duo, the No. 4 ITA doubles pairing in the nation playing on the No. 1 court, won their set 6-2 and were the first to finish.
On Court No. 3, Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives raced out to a 5-1 lead before eventually winning the set 6-3 and clinching the doubles point for the Frogs. The All-American duo of Jake Fearnley and Baylor Fan at NCG, playing on Court No. 2, were up 5-2 in their set when the point was won.
Singles Play – TCU won 3-0
- Fearnley, the No. 8 singles player in the nation, played on the No. 1 court for the first time in his career. He was the first to win his match, winning 6-3, 6-2.
- Maxted, playing on No. 3, was the next to win, beating his opponent 6-3, 6-3. It was his fourth-straight sweep of the season and his second on court three.
- Tomas Jirousek clinched the match for TCU with a 7-5, 6-2 set on court four. It marked his first win of the season.
- Through Saturday’s dual with Gonzaga, Fearnley, Maxted, and Fomba, who did not play a singles match on Saturday, have yet to drop a set in singles or doubles this season.
- Jong, at No. 2, was up in his third set, having won the first 6-1 and lost the second in the tiebreaker, 2-1, when the dual was clinched.
- Gorzny was up 3-0 in his first set when the dual was clinched. Vives, at No. 6, did not need to take the court.
TCU 4 – Texas Tech 0 – January 29
The Frogs met conference mate Texas Tech in the ITA Kickoff Weekend final on Sunday. This dual was considered a nonconference matchup, as they will face each other in Big 12 play later in the season.
Doubles Play – TCU won
The Red Raiders won one set on one of the doubles courts, marking the first time that TCU gave up a set in doubles play all season. Jong and Maxted had no problem on court one, winning 6-2. This duo is now 10-3 when paired together, dating back to last season, and 31-9 all-time. The Tech duo of Piotr Pawlak and Franco Ribero, playing on court three, beat Gorzny/Vives 6-3. The point came down to the action on court two, where the Fomba/Fearnley duo found themselves tied at 5-5. The Frogs team won six of the last eight points to win the set 7-5.
Singles Play – TCU won 4-0
- Fomba, playing on court three, never trailed in his match, winning 6-3, 6-3. He was the first to finish.
- Fomba is now 10-0 combined in singles and doubles play. He has yet to lose a set and has the best record of anyone on the team.
- Fearnley, playing again on court one, swept his match, winning 6-3, 6-3.
- Jong, at court two, easily won his first set 6-1 but found himself in a jam at 5-5 in the second set. He snapped the back-and-forth he was having against Reed Collier and won the last two games to win the set 7-5. That win clinched the dual for the Frogs.
- Maxted was trending toward his fifth straight singles win on court four before play was halted. He dropped set one to Ribero 2-6 but fired back in the second set with a 6-2 win of his own. Maxted held serve amidst a 1-1 tie when TCU clinched.
- The Frogs did not need to take the courts for No. 5 and No. 6.
Next up: The Horned Frogs travel to No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday, February 2, for their first true test of the early season. Tennessee beat the Frogs in Fort Worth last January but defeated the Volunteers in the ITA Indoor National Championship final last February.
After the visit to Rocky Top, TCU heads to Chapel Hill to take on No. 17 North Carolina on February 5, then to Waco on February 8 to take on No. 12 Baylor in a nonconference dual.
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