TCU
Oklahoma
Frogs Drop 5-2 Decision to Sooners
2/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 14, 2009
NORMAN, Okla.—The No. 34 TCU men's tennis team suffered a 5-2 setback at the hands of No. 72 Oklahoma Saturday in the first-ever dual match played at the Sooners' Gregg Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion.
The loss dropped the Horned Frogs to 1-3 in spring dual matches, while OU improved to 3-2. Each of TCU's matches this season has been against squads listed among the ITA's national team rankings.
Sophomore Emanuel Brighiu, rated 93rd nationally in singles, and freshman Slah Mbarek each earned singles victories over rated Oklahoma opponents. Brighiu posted a straight-sets win in No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-4, over Sergey Avdeyev, who entered the match ranked No. 76 with a 2-2 record. The victory improved Brighiu's spring record to 2-1.
Mbarek, competing in the No. 3 singles slot, recorded the first victory of his brief Horned Frog career over a ranked foe, as he rebounded from dropping the opening set to win, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, over Ionut Beleleu, who is the nation's No. 110 player. Mbarek's record improved to 2-1.
Senior Kriegler Brink lost his first match of the spring in his third straight appearance at the No. 2 singles position to Andrei Daescu, OU's highest-rated player at No. 44. Brink won the first set, 7-6, before dropping the final two sets, 6-2, 6-3. The Frog's record fell to 3-1 this spring.
Sophomore Zach Nichols also lost a three-set decision at the No. 5 position in a super tiebreaker to David Pultr, 6-3, 6-7, 10-7. Junior Adrian Simon, playing No. 4 singles, and sophomore Chris Price, in the No. 6 slot, each lost in straight sets, to George Chanturia (6-3, 6-1) and Blake Boswell (6-3, 6-4), respectively.
The afternoon began with OU taking the doubles point on the strength of wins by Avdeyev and Beleleu over Brink and Price (8-4) in No. 1 doubles and Pultr and Boswell over Nichols and sophomore Jack Seider (8-5) in No. 3 doubles. The No. 2 doubles match pitting Brighiu and Simon against Daescu and Chanturia featured an 8-7 Frog win. Brighiu and Simon are the nation's 12-ranked doubles pair.
TCU returns to Fort Worth to make its home spring debut on Wednesday, when it faces No. 14 Texas A&M in a 6 p.m. match.
Results
No. 72 Oklahoma 5, No. 34 TCU 2
Feb. 14, 2009
Norman, Okla. (Gregg Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion)
Doubles
1. Sergey Avdeyev/Ionut Beleleu (OU) def. Kriegler Brink/Chris Price (TCU) - 8-4
2. (12) Emanuel Brighiu/Adrian Simon (TCU) def. Andrei Daescu/George Chanturia (OU) - 8-7
3. David Pultr/Blake Boswell (OU) def. Jack Seider/Zach Nichols (TCU) - 8-5
Singles
1. (93) Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) def. (76) Sergey Avdeyev (OU) - 6-4, 6-4
2. (44) Andrei Daescu (OU) def. (97) Kriegler Brink (TCU) - 6-7, 6-2, 6-3
3. Slah Mbarek (TCU) def. (121) Ionut Beleleu (OU) - 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. George Chanturia (OU) def. (110) Adrian Simon (TCU) - 6-3, 6-1
5. David Pultr (OU) def. Zach Nichols (TCU) - 6-3, 6-7, 10-7
6. Blake Boswell (OU) def. Chris Price (TCU) - 6-3, 6-4
Players Mentioned
