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TCU Men’s Tennis to Play for a National Championship on Monday
TCU’s Men Tennis team has been playing some incredibly hot tennis of late. On Sunday, in Seattle, they dramatically beat No. 1 Ohio State by a score of 4-3 in the semifinals to advance to Monday’s final match versus Tennessee. The Frogs last played in the championship match in 1992.
Sunday’s win was the ninth win in a row and the sixth straight over a ranked opponent, the longest streak over ranked opponents since 2018 Seven of TCU’s 11 victories this season have come against Top 20 opponents. And, the Frogs have now defeated the nation’s No. 1 team twice this season – first on January 14 at home over Florida (4-3) then on Sunday over Ohio State (4-3).
The ITA Indoor Nationals began on Friday. TCU faced No.12 Virginia in the first round. The Horned Frogs beat the Cavaliers 4-1. It was déjà vu for the Frogs as they had beaten the same team by the same score last Sunday at home.
On Saturday, the Frogs played another familiar foe, No. 13 Texas, in the quarterfinals. TCU swept the Longhorns 4-0 to advance to Sunday’s semi-final match with Ohio State. TCU is 11-1 on the season, with the only loss to Tennessee back on January 16 at home by a score of 3-4. Tennessee is now ranked at No 3; TCU is ranked at No. 4.
Here is a recap of each of this past weekend’s matches:
#12 Virginia vs #4 TCU – TCU wins 4-2
For the first time this season, TCU lost the doubles point. But the team fought back and was able to win four of the singles matches to secure the victory for the Horned Frogs. The Frogs had won nine straight doubles points to start the season, the second-longest streak in program history.
In the doubles matches, TCU’s only victorious set was at No. 3 with Juan Carlos Aguilar and Tim Ruehl winning 6-2. This was their 6th win as doubles partners this season. At No. 1, Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba lost their set 6-3, and at No. 2, Sander Jong and Lui Maxted lost 6-0.
The singles matches were a back-and-forth battle. Fearnley on No. 5 was the first to finish; winning his match in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. Then UVA won a match in straight sets with Jong losing at No. 3 6-7 (3-7), 2-6 AT No. 3. This put UVA back up 2-1 in the dual. Maxted won at No. 6 6-2, 6-7, 6-1. Pedro Vives won for the Frogs on No. 4 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. This put the Frogs up 3-2. Aguilar clinched the match for the Frogs on No. 2 beating the No. 17 player in the nation Chris Rodesch 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
#13 Texas vs. #4 TCU – TCU wins 4-0
It’s always a great day when you can beat your instate and conference rival. Not only did the Frogs beat the Longhorns in the quarterfinals, but they also swept them 4-0.
“Anytime you beat Texas, it’s a good day for the Frogs,” head coach David Roditi said. “It was an absolute battle like we thought it would be.”
In doubles, Fomba and Fearnley won at No. 1 6-2 and Jong and Maxted won at No. 2 6-3. Aguilar and Ruehl’s set at No. 3 was unfinished when the point was won.
The Frogs started strong in the singles matches winning five of the six first sets. Vives won the first point with a 6-3, 6-3 match at No. 4. He is now 5-0 for the season in singles matches. And 6-0 overall. Jong was next winning 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 3. This win gave Jong a tie with Fearnley for the most singles matches of the season at seven. Aguilar completed the sweep at No. 2 with another straight-set win 6-4, 6-4.
#1 Ohio State vs. #4 TCU – TCU wins 4-3
This match was intense as both teams were battling to advance to the finals. It came down to the third set for Jong, after losing his second set in a tiebreaker. He clinched the victory with a 6-0 bagel in that third set.
“This is a very exciting day, not just for our team, but for our whole program,” said Roditi. “I am happy and proud of the guys to come through like that. Obviously, Ohio State, indoors, is always really tough to beat. Our guys got it done.”
TCU won the doubles point with a pair of convincing wins over the Top 2 ranked doubles pairing in the nation. Jong and Maxted finished first at No. 2 with a 6-2 win over the No. 2 ranked pairing in the nation. Jong and Maxted are the No 25 ranked pairing and are now 8-1 this season. Fomba and Fearnley clinched the doubles point with a win over the No. 1 ranked pairing 6-4.
TCU is now 23-5 in doubles matches this season and is outscoring opponents 184-133. TCU has won the doubles point in 11 of 12 matches this season
Ohio State won the first three singles matches, going up 3-1 in the dual. Vibes lost 0-6, 2-6 at No.4. Aguilar lost 4-6, 0-6 on No. 2. Then Fearnley lost 3-6, 4-6 on No. 5. Maxted won a point for TCU on No. 6 winning 7-5, 6-2. And Fomba got another point with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 1.
The dual was tied 3-3. It came down to Jong’s match on No. 3. He won the first set 6-4. The second set went to a tiebreaker with Ohio State winning the tiebreaker 7-3. So, it came down to a winner-take-all third set on the final court. Jong pulled off the bagel with a 6-0 third set to clinch the match and the berth in the National Championship.
TCU is now 40-16 in singles matches this season and has won 31 of its 40 matches in straight sets. The Horned Frogs improved to 10-1 for the season and 7-1 versus Top 25 teams.
Next up: TCU faces Tennessee in the finals at 2 p.m. CT at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle.
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 18-21 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Nationals Championship
February 18 vs. Virginia – Won 4-2
February 19 vs. Texas – Won 4-0
February 20 vs. Ohio State – Won 4-3
February 21 vs. Tennessee
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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