TCU Men's Tennis Hosts No. 4 Duke Wednesday

March 15, 2005

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MATCH #10:

#32 TCU (5-4) vs. #4 Duke (10-2)
March 16, 2005 • Fort Worth, Texas • Noon CST

ABOUT THE MATCH
The No. 32 TCU Horned Frogs (5-4) are hoping to snap a three-match losing skid when they host the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils (10-2) Wednesday in Fort Worth, Texas, at noon CST. The Horned Frogs took on California and Pepperdine last weekend in Berkeley, Calif., and fell 6-1 to the Golden Bears and 4-0 to the Waves. Duke has run off five victories in a row, including three against teams that were ranked in the top 20 at the time of the match (Georgia, Texas and Texas A&M). The Blue Devils' two defeats came to No. 1 Baylor and No. 3 Illinois. Wednesday marks the 13th meeting between the two schools, with Duke holding a 7-5 edge in the series. Duke has also won three straight over the Frogs. Blue Devils Ludovic Walter, Stephen Amritraj and Jonathan Stokke are among the singles rankings at Nos. 5, 65 and 74. Stokke and Peter Rodrigues are rated 46th in doubles. TCU's Fabrizio Sestini is 21st in singles and 13th in doubles with partner Rafael Abreu.

LIVE MATCH SCORING
Live match scoring for home matches via the Internet is back for a second season this spring. It is featured on the official Web site of TCU athletics, www.GoFrogs.com. Updates from the match are given periodically as the players progress and the order of finish, along with match notes, are also available on the page.

A RICH NCAA HISTORY
The Horned Frogs have a rich tradition of excellence in the NCAA Tournament. TCU has made 19 appearances in the event since the current team format was adopted in 1977. TCU has been in every tourney since 1991 and made 17 of the past 18 NCAAs. The Purple and White owns a record of 25-19 in the tournament and has made three appearances (1989, 1996, 2001) in the national semifinals. TCU has also reached at least the NCAA quarterfinals on seven occasions (1982, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001). In the individual championships, TCU had a string of 27 consecutive appearances from 1975 to 2001. During that span, TCU won one doubles title, coming in 1981 with Karl Richter and David Pate. In 1996, Ashley Fisher and Jason Weir-Smith finished as the runner-ups. Several Horned Frogs reached the round of 16 in singles, but Esteban Carril is the only one to advance to the quarterfinals. Carril made his run his sophomore year in 1999.

HORNED FROGS IN THE RANKINGS
Fabrizio Sestini is the lone Horned Frog among the current singles rankings, coming in at a career-high 21st. He is also listed in the doubles ratings at No. 13 with Rafael Abreu. Sestini and Abreu have been as high as eighth.

RIVE RECORD BREAKDOWN
Head coach Joey Rivé is in his fifth season with TCU, boasting a 74-36 (.673) record with the Horned Frogs. In his five years, the Frogs have gone 48-10 (.828) in home matches, 9-18 (.333) in away matches and 17-8 (.680) when playing on neutral ground.

C-USA PRAISE THIS SEASON
TCU is once again cleaning up on the Conference USA awards this season. Fabrizio Sestini won at least a share of Player of the Month honors for September, October and November. He shared the honor with his doubles partner, Rafael Abreu, in November. Sestini took home the first Player of the Week accolade in January as well.

Schedule