TCU
Rice
Rice Outlasts Frogs, 5-2
3/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 27, 2010
Results | Photo Gallery 
FORT WORTH—The TCU men's tennis team fell to No. 42 Rice Saturday, 5-2, at Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Frogs swept the doubles before the Owls took five of six singles matches.
The setback dropped No. 58 TCU's season record to 6-6, while Rice improved to 9-8.
Each of the Frogs' three doubles tandems earned victories Saturday, led by juniors Emanuel Brighiu and Christopher Price at No. 1 over Michael Nuesslein and Christian Saravia, 8-4. Nuesslein and Saravia entered the weekend ranked 45th nationally in doubles. Brighiu and Price improved 2-1 against ranked opponents with the win.
Junior Zach Nichols and sophomore Paul Chappell clinched the doubles point with a 9-7 comeback victory over Dennis Polyakov and Oscar Podlewski at the No. 3 position. Nichols and Chappell led 6-2 in the match before the Owl pairing roared back to take a 7-6 lead. Also winning for the Frogs were sophomore Slah Mbarek and freshman Sören Goritzka at No. 2 over Bruno Rosa and Isamu Tachibana, 8-5.
Rice responded after dropping the doubles point by taking each of the first five singles decisions to clinch the team victory. Price recorded TCU's only singles win in straight sets at the No. 6 spot over Saravia, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Two of the Frogs' losses in singles came in tight thee-set affairs. Nichols, ranked 99th nationally, fell behind early at the No. 2 position to Nuesslein before regrouping. Nuesslein eventually proved victorious in the third-set tiebreaker, clinching Rice's team victory with a 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4 decision.
Mbarek also dropped his opening set at No. 3 singles to Sam Garforth-Bles before winning the second set. Garforth-Bles outlasted Mbarek in the third to claim a 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4 win.
"There were just a couple of errors by us there that proved to be the difference," head coach Dave Borelli said. "We played well in doubles, and we have been working hard in that area. In singles, we just need to continue to work hard and try to build confidence. We have three or four guys playing well and another couple who are struggling. But I thought all of our guys competed hard today.
"Rice is a very good team, and they are going to finish the season ranked higher than what they are now. We were right there with them throughout the match, and it could have gone either way."
TCU returns to action Sunday at Noon, when it plays host to No. 27 Fresno State at Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Results
#42 Rice 5, #58 TCU 2
March 27, 2010
Fort Worth, Texas
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center/Bernard J. "Tut" Bartzen Varsity Courts
Doubles
1. E. Brighiu/C. Price (TCU) def. #45 M. Nuesslein/C. Saravia (RICE) 8-4
2. S. Goritzka/S. Mbarek (TCU) def. B. Rosa/I. Tachibana (RICE) 8-5
3. P. Chappell/Z. Nichols (TCU) def. D. Polyakov/O. Podlewski (RICE) 9-7
Singles
1. #34 Bruno Rosa (RICE) def. Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) 6-1, 6-4
2. *Michael Nuesslein (RICE) def. #99 Zach Nichols (TCU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3)
3. Sam Garforth-Bles (RICE) def. Slah Mbarek (TCU) 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4
4. Oscar Podlewski (RICE) def. Marius Cirstea (TCU) 6-1, 6-3
5. Isamu Tachibana (RICE) def. Sören Goritzka (TCU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Christopher Price (TCU) def. Christian Saravia (RICE) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,1,5,2*,3,6)
*-clinched team victory
Players Mentioned
