Men’s Tennis: TCU Wins Indoor National Championship

For the second straight year, the TCU Horned Frogs are the ITA Indoor National Champions

National Champions! For the second straight year, the No. 3 TCU Men’s Tennis team hoisted the trophy as winners of the ITA Indoor National Championships. On Monday, playing in Chicago, the team played their instate conference foe No. 8 Texas. The Frogs swept the Longhorns 4-0 to win the Natty.

The ITA Indoor National Championship began last Friday. The Frogs played four duals against ranked opponents. Each victory had just a little extra meaning, giving extra joy to Frog fans.

Friday – Beat Baylor 4-0 – Always nice to see Baylor Tears

Saturday – Beat Georgia 5-0 – Did what the football team couldn’t do last month

Sunday – Beat Kentucky 4-2 – Avenged the team that eliminated TCU from last year's NCAA tournament, the last time this TCU team has lost.

TCU became the seventh program in the 50-year existence of the tournament to win back-to-back championships. The Horned Frogs are the first repeat winner since Virginia notched consecutive titles in 2010 and 2011. The 4-0 blanking of the Longhorns marked just the sixth shutout in Indoor Nationals Championship history.

TCU concluded the indoor season at a perfect 12-0, its first-ever undefeated mark in indoor program history. The Horned Frogs are now the only Division I program nationwide with an unblemished record. The triumph over the Horned Frogs also extended TCU's program record and nation-leading indoor winning streak to 24. Of the victories, 16 have come at the expense of ranked opponents. Texas, which entered the 16-team tournament as the No. 6 seed, represented the seventh straight ITA top-15 foe the third-ranked Horned Frogs have downed in the last two-and-a-half weeks.

In the finals match, TCU surrendered just two sets, all dual, both of which went to tiebreakers. This was the third straight win for TCU over Texas.

No. 3 TCU 4- No. 8 Texas 0

Doubles Play – TCU Won

Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington, on court two, got things started for the Frogs with an easy 6-2 win, including winning five of the final six games in the set.

Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba, the preseason ITA No. 1 doubles duo in the nation, beat the No. 4 pair of Cleeve Harper and Elliott Spizzirri 7-5. Harper/Spizzirri represented the highest-ranked duo that a TCU team has taken down this season.

On court three, Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives were up 6-5 when the doubles point was won.

TCU has now won 16 consecutive doubles points, dating back to last season. This is both a program record for the Frogs and leads the nation.

Singles Play – TCU won 3-0

Pinnington, playing on court three, had no problem in his set, easily winning 6-4, 6-0 to put the Frogs up 2-0.

Jong, playing on court four, attained the highest-ranked win of his senior season with a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 25 Siem Woldeab, making the score 3-0 in favor of the Frogs.

Gorzny came from behind in his first set on court five to win 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the championship for TCU.

Fearnley, on court one, won his first set 6-1 against No. 1 Spizzirri. He lost the second set in a tiebreaker and was getting ready to start the third when play was called.

Fomba and Tomas Jirousek were both up in their matches as well when play was called.

After winning the ITA Indoor National Championship on Monday afternoon, the TCU Men's Tennis team returned home and celebrated their victory during the TCU vs. Kansas men's basketball game on Monday night / Barry Lewis

Sander Jong – Big 12 Player of the Week

On Tuesday, because of his performance over the weekend in Chicago, Jong was named Big 12 Player of the Week. Jong posted a 6-1 combined singles and doubles record, helping TCU become the first repeat Indoor National Champion in more than a decade. He anchored TCU’s No. 4 singles post throughout the tournament. All three of his singles victories were sweeps of ranked opponents.

Next up: The Horned Frogs return home to begin the outdoor season. They will host UTA on Tuesday, February 28, at 5:30 pm. In a nonconference dual, TCU will again play Texas on Saturday, March 4, at 3 pm in Fort Worth.

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