TCU
Texas / ITA Indoor Team Regional
Frogs Drop Tight Match to No. 2 Texas
2/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 1, 2009
AUSTIN, Texas—No. 35 TCU dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 2 Texas Sunday at the Longhorns' Penick-Allison Tennis Center. The Frogs finished their weekend 1-1 following a 4-1 victory of their own Saturday over 28th-ranked South Florida.
Sunday's victory advanced UT on to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which will be held in two weeks in Chicago. TCU dropped to 1-2 in dual match play this spring, with each matchup coming against teams currently ranked among the nation's top-28 squads.
The match with the Longhorns ended up much closer than the 4-1 score indicated, as Frogs took the final three singles matches to third sets for a chance at the upset. UT's Olivier Sajous, ranked 84th nationally, clinched the team victory with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win at the No. 5 position over 110th-ranked Adrian Simon. Zach Nichols, playing at No. 4 singles, and Slah Mbarek, playing in the third slot, had their matches stopped in third sets after the team decision had been recorded.
Kriegler Brink led the way for TCU in singles play Sunday, claiming a 6-4, 6-4 win over Kellen Damico to earn a point at No. 2 singles for the Frogs. Brink, who is ranked No. 97 nationally, finished the weekend undefeated in singles play following a straight-sets victory over South Florida opponent Mahmoud Hamed Saturday.
No. 93 Emanuel Brighui and Christopher Price suffered defeats at Nos. 1 and 6 singles to No. 31 Dimitar Kutrovsky (6-0, 6-0) and Josh Zavala (6-2, 6-1), respectively.
The Longhorns claimed the doubles point to open the afternoon. Dimitar Kutrovsky and Josh Zavala, ranked as the nation's 25th overall doubles pairing, posted an 8-4 victory at No. 2 doubles over TCU's 12th-ranked tandem of Brighiu and Simon, while Miguel Reyes Varela and John Weigand followed with an 8-3 decision over Nichols and Jack Seider at the No. 3 position to clinch the doubles point.
UT's top pairing of Damico and Ed Corrie led TCU's Brink and Price, 5-3, at the time the doubles point was claimed.
"I thought we played tight in doubles today, but then we were able to bounce back in singles very well," Head Coach Dave Borelli said. "I was pleased with how we played in singles and for a while there thought we had a chance to win, but Texas is a very good team. We have a young squad that will be able to use this match as a learning experience to get to that next step."
TCU returns to the court Feb. 14, when it travels to Norman, Okla., to take on 73rd-ranked Oklahoma.
Results
No. 2 Texas 4, No. 35 TCU 1
Feb. 1, 2009
Austin, Texas (Penick-Allison Tennis Center)
Singles
1. (31) Dimitar Kutrovsky (Texas) def. (93) Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) - 6-0, 6-0
2. (97) Kriegler Brink (TCU) def. Kellen Damico (Texas) - 6-4, 6-4
3. Ed Corrie (Texas) led Slah Mbarek (TCU) - unf. (6-1, 5-7, 4-2)
4. Miguel Reyes Varela (Texas) led Zach Nichols (TCU) - unf. (3-6, 6-4, 5-2)
5. (84) Olivier Sajous def. (110) Adrian Simon - 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
6. Josh Zavala (Texas) def. Christopher Price (TCU) - 6-2, 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 6, 5*
Doubles
1. Corrie/Damico (Texas) led Brink/Price - unf. (5-3)
2. (25) Kutrovsky/Zavala (Texas) def. (12) Brighiu/Simon (TCU) - 8-4
3. Reyes Varela/Wiegand (Texas) def. Seider/Nichols (TCU) - 8-3
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
Players Mentioned
