29th-ranked TCU men's tennis opens conference play
4/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 6, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas, - The 29th-ranked TCU men's tennis team will open conference play Friday when it heads to Albuquerque, N. M., to take on New Mexico in the first of three Mountain West Conference matches scheduled to take place this weekend. Friday's match will be the MWC opener for the Horned Frogs as they search for their second conference title under head coach Joey Rivé.TCU is fresh off a loss to Metroplex foe SMU on Tuesday. Sophomore Andrei Mlendea jumped 24 spots in this month's ITA singles poll, coming in at No. 40. Senior Rafael Abreu also appears in the polls, holding the 96th-ranking and the No. 48 spot in doubles while paired with senior Jordan Freitas.
New Mexico (9-4) is riding a four-match winning streak and boasts a No. 74 ITA ranking. The Lobos are set to take on BYU on Thursday in their Mountain West Conference season opener before battling the Frogs at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday. TCU holds an 11-1 advantage in the all-time series and has prevailed in the previous five meetings with the last victory coming on Jan. 30, 2000, in Albuquerque.
Saturday's match, slated to begin at 10 a.m. (CST), will feature the Horned Frogs taking on the BYU Cougars (7-14 overall, 0-0 MWC). The matchup will be only the fourth between the two institutions with TCU winning all three contests.
The Frogs conclude their three-match MWC opener with Air Force at 11 a.m. (CST) on Sunday. The Falcons are 11-7 overall and 0-3 in conference play after dropping three-straight contests last weekend to UNLV, San Diego State and Utah. In the only meeting between TCU and Air Force, the Frogs came away with a 4-1 victory at the Western Athletic Conference Championships on April 22, 1998.
