Men’s Tennis: No. 1 TCU Beats No. 11 Texas

The Horned Frogs remain undefeated in conference play as the end of the season nears

Barry Lewis

Last weekend, the baseball matchup was not the only battle the TCU Horned Frogs had with the Texas Longhorns. There was a tennis dual in Fort Worth full of tension and excitement. The Frogs had to come from behind after losing the doubles point to win four straight singles matches to beat Texas 4-1.

The Frogs are now 3-0 in Big 12 play with wins over Texas Tech, Baylor, and Texas. This weekend, they wrap up the regular season with a road trip to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. TCU sits on top of the Big 12 standings, but Baylor is not far behind at 3-1, making the two duals this week in Oklahoma especially important to TCU.

The win on Saturday was the 20th win of the season. The Frogs are now 20-3. The last time the Frogs had 20 wins in a season was 2016. That season featured Cam Norrie, and the team won 22 duals. This year’s team has a winning percentage of .870, which is second in program history only to 1996 when both current head coach David Roditi and assistant coach Devin Bowen were on the team. TCU is 11-3 this season against Top 25 opponents.

Here is a recap of the dual on Saturday with Texas:

The doubles matches were all very tense. It took a tiebreaker in the third match to determine the point, which Texas won. It marked only the fourth time this season TCU lost the doubles point.

Juan Carlos Aguilar, one of the two seniors who celebrated on Senior Day, and his partner Pedro Vives were on No. 3 and won their match 6-1. Moments later, on No. 1, Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley lost a serve, resulting in a 4-6 loss. Sander Jong and Luis Maxted were playing on No. 3. When they tied the set 6-6, they forced the tiebreaker. Texas won the tiebreaker 7-3, giving the Longhorns the early advantage.

In the singles matches, Fearnley quickly put down his opponent playing on No. 4, winning 6-4,6-0 and tying the dual at 1-1. Jong was next winning his 17th singles match of the season, a team-best, on No. 3. He won 6-4, 6-2. Pedro Vives, playing on No. 5, won his match in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.

The score was now 3-1, with TCU in the lead and three matches still being played. Texas would have to win all three. Fomba had lost his first set and was on serve 5-6, so that match was unknown. Tim Ruehl, the other team member who was honored on Senior Day, was playing on No. 6 in a match that was moving very slowly. Ruehl had won his first set 7-6 (7-5). They were on serve in the second set, and if it was like the first, it could take a while to finish.

It came to court No.2, where Aguilar was playing. He won the first set 6-4 but had lost the second set 0-6. It took him breaking serve twice in the third set to win it 6-3 and clinch the win for the Horned Frogs.

"I'm very proud of the way our guys handled losing the doubles point and dealing with a lot going on with Senior Day, Alumni Day, and being ranked No. 1," TCU head coach David Roditi said. "I'm also proud of our guys playing in tough conditions with a lot of wind for everybody. It wasn't the best tennis on either side, but it was all about competing, and I thought we did a good job of that.”

Next up: TCU travels to Oklahoma State on Thursday, April 14, then to Oklahoma on Saturday, April 16, to conclude the regular season. The Big 12 Conference tournament will be held on the purple courts in Fort Worth on April 22. TCU looks to play in the NCAA Championships next month and will try to add an outdoor national championship to the indoor championship they won earlier this season.

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 – Won 4-1

March 2 vs. Michigan – Lost 4-1

March 5 at Illinois – Won 4-2*

March 10 at UCLA – Won 4-2

March 19 vs. USF – Won 6-1

March 21 at SMU – Won 4-1*

March 25 vs. Baylor – Lost 2-5

March 27 at Tulane – Won 7-0

April 1 vs. Texas Tech – Won 6-1

April 3 at Baylor – Won 4-3

April 9 vs. Texas – Won 4-1

April 14 at Oklahoma State

April 16 at Oklahoma

April 22 vs. Big 12 Championship

May 19 NCAA Championship

*Match played indoors due to weather

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