Men’s Tennis: No.4 TCU Defeats Mississippi State, Virginia

TCU served up an ace of a weekend on the purple courts inside the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Horned Frogs faced two ranked opponents and won both duals. On Friday night, the Frogs defeated No. 17 Mississippi State by a score of 6-1. Then on Sunday afternoon, they defeated No. 6. Virginia by a score of 4-1.

TCU is now 8-1 on the season and is ranked at No. 4. The two wins were their third and fourth victories this season over ranked opponents. And the Virginia win was their second over a Top 10 opponent. The Horned Frogs won both of the doubles points over the weekend, taking their season record in doubles to 9-0, the best start under head coach David Roditi and the longest since 2004 when the team went 10-0.

Here is a recap of each of this past weekend’s matches:

No. 17 Mississippi State – TCU wins 6-1

The Frogs had to fight to win the doubles point after Mississippi State was up a break on two of the three courts. Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley, playing at No. 1, were down 3-5 before winning four straight games to win the match 7-5. The team they defeated was the No. 34 ranked doubles team. On the No. 3 court, Juan Carlos Aguilar and Tim Ruehl were down a break 3-4. They then won a break to tie the match at 5-5 only to break their opponent’s next serve to also win their match 7-5. This secured the doubles point for the Frogs. Sander Jong and Lui Maxted, playing on court No. 2, were tied 6-6 when the doubles point was won.

In singles play, TCU won three of the four opening sets. Jong, on court No.3, went on to win in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 for the first singles point. Fomba won the next singles point at No. 1 winning in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. He defeated No. 20 Florian Broska for his first ranked win of the season.

Mississippi State got on the board on the No. 2 court with Aguilar losing in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. Pedro Vives, playing in only his second dual of the season, won his match on court No. 4 in three sets, 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2. Maxted and Fearnley won later matches, giving the Frogs the 6-1 victory.

FROGS WIN‼️

Five wins in a row! Two Top 25 wins in a row! 😤🤠😈#GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/SoAZeqDhXH
— TCU Men's Tennis (@TCUMensTennis) February 12, 2022

No. 6 Virginia – TCU wins 4-1

TCU followed up the win over the Bulldogs with another ranked opponent, No. 6 Virginia, on Sunday afternoon. It was another Super Sunday as the Frogs won 4-1. It was their third straight win over a ranked opponent, their fourth win over a ranked opponent for the season, and their second win over a Top 10 team this year.

In doubles play, Fomba and Fearnley were again paired together at No. 1. They were the first to win their set, winning 6-4. They are now 6-1 as a pair at No. 1 this season. On Court No. 2, Maxted and Jong fell behind 2-4 but were able to break back to tie the match at 5-5. They went on to win their match 7-5 and secure the doubles point for the Frogs. They are now 6-0 as a pair this season. Aguilar and Ruehl were ahead in their match 5-4 when the point was won. TCU is now 18-2 in doubles matches this season, outscoring their opponents 146-97.

It took a big rally from the Frogs in the singles matches. TCU was down 3-0 in the opening sets on three courts (courts one, three, and four) before fighting back to win three of the four opening sets. Vives was the first to secure a point winning 6-4, 6-4 on court No.3. UVA won the next match on court No. 4 with Jong losing 3-6, 6-7 (3-7). This put the dual score at 2-1. Fomba had to go to three sets but got the win, and the third point, winning 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-3. He defeated No. 17 Chris Rodesch. This was the first time Fomba has defeated ranked opponents in back-to-back matches. Fearnley clinched the dual win with a straight-set 6-2, 6-4 win on No. 5.

FROGS WIN‼️ We take down No. 6 Virginia!

8-1 overall 🤠
FOUR ranked wins 😈
TWO Top 10 wins 🐸#GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/BNchN0bNmf
— TCU Men's Tennis (@TCUMensTennis) February 13, 2022

Next up: TCU travels to Seattle, Washington for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. This will be the first road trip of the season for the Horned Frogs. The draw for the championships has not yet been announced.

2022 men’s Tennis Schedule/Results

January 12 vs. UTRGV – Won 6-1

January 14 vs. Florida – Won 4-3

January 16 vs. Tennessee – Lost 3-4

January 27 vs. Abilene Christian – Won 4-1

January 29 vs. Portland – Won 4-0

January 30 vs. Tulsa – Won 4-0

February 6 vs. Ole Miss – Won 4-3

February 11 at Mississippi State – Won 6-1

February 13 vs. Virginia – Won 4-1

February 18 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Nationals Championship

March 2 vs. Michigan

March 5 at Illinois

March 10 at UCLA

March 19 vs. USF

March 21 at SMU

March 25 vs. Baylor

March 27 at Tulane

April 1 vs. Texas Tech

April 3 at Baylor

April 9 vs. Texas

April 14 at Oklahoma State

April 16 at Oklahoma

April 22 vs. Big 12 Champion

May 19 NCAA Championship

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