TCU
Wichita State
Frogs Hold Off Shockers at Home, 5-2
2/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2010
FORT WORTH—The TCU men's tennis team held off a late charge by Wichita State during a 5-2 win Saturday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The match lasted more than five hours after being forced indoors midway through singles play due to weather.
The win moved TCU's season record to 4-2 overall, while Wichita State dropped to 3-5.
TCU opened the afternoon by winning the doubles point thanks to a comeback win by sophomore Slah Mbarek and freshman Sören Goritzka at the No. 2 position over Valentin Mihai and Matheus Pereira. The Frog tandem clinched the point in the decisive third match, 8-4, after rallying from a 4-3 deficit.
Juniors Emanuel Brighiu and Christopher Price, playing for the first time together at No. 1 singles, had brought the Frogs even with the Shockers with an 8-4 victory of their own over Sven Kasper and Vlad Marinescu. WSU's David Cavalcanti and Jonathan Obrist opened play with an 8-5 victory over junior Zach Nichols and sophomore Paul Chappell at the No. 3 position.
After taking the doubles point, TCU found itself leading in the deciding sets of three singles matches as a heavy mist forced a nearly two-hour delay and both squads inside the Friedman Tennis Center's indoor courts.
The Frogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead after moving inside thanks to quick singles wins by Mbarek at the No. 1 spot over Marinescu, 6-2, 6-3, and Nichols at the third position over Mihai, 6-4, 6-3. The match then tightened up, as the Shockers responded by pushing three of the final four matches to three sets and the fourth to a second-set tiebreaker.
Goritzka clinched TCU's team victory with a gritty comeback victory at No. 5 singles, outlasting Cavalcanti in three sets after being shut out in the first, 0-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. The win was the freshman's first match clincher as a Horned Frog.
Price concluded the afternoon's action by holding off a late charge by Obrist at No. 6 singles, 6-3, 7-6(5). The Shocker rallied from a 5-2 deficit to force the tiebreaker in the second set before being turned away by Price.
The Frogs' only two losses in singles play both came in three-set affairs. Brighiu dropped a tough third-set tiebreaker to Adrian Chermaci in the No. 4 slot, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6), while freshman Marius Cirstea fell to Kasper at the No. 2 position, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
"It was a long day," head coach Dave Borelli said. "We were in control of the match outdoors before we were forced inside, but I'm glad we were able to pull it out. We just need to continue to play matches in order to improve.
"Slah, Zach and Chris all are playing well. Soren was way down in the match, and hopefully his comeback gets him going this season. Marius and Emanuel struggled, but they just need to keep playing and work on keeping their heads up. Things will go their way, and hopefully a good streak is ahead of them."
TCU takes to the road next on Friday, Feb. 26, for a 6 p.m. matchup with Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
Results
No. 40 TCU 5, Wichita State 2
Feb. 20, 2010
Fort Worth, Texas
(Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center/Bernard "Tut" Bartzen Varsity Courts)
Doubles
1. Emanuel Brighiu/Christopher Price (TCU) def. Sven Kasper/Vlad Marinescu (WSU) 8-4
2. Slah Mbarek/Sören Goritzka (TCU) def. Valentin Mihai/Matheus Pereira (WSU) 8-4
3. David Cavalcanti/Jonathan Obrist (WSU) def. Paul Chappell/Zach Nichols (TCU) 8-5
Singles
1. Slah Mbarek (TCU) def. Vlad Marinescu (WSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Sven Kasper (WSU) def. Marius Cirstea (TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Zach Nichols (TCU) def. Valentin Mihai (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Adrian Chermaci (WSU) def. Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)
5. *Sören Goritzka (TCU) def. David Cavalcanti (WSU) 0-6, 7-6(3), 6-4
6. Christopher Price (TCU) def. Jonathan Obrist (WSU) 6-3, 7-6(5)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,1,5,2,4,6)
*-clinched team victory
Players Mentioned
