Frogs to Open NCAA Play Friday in College Station
5/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
May 13, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas--The TCU men's tennis team's NCAA first-round matchup against No. 18 Ole Miss has been delayed due to inclement weather at Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The match has been pushed back to a 7 p.m. start time.
The Frogs (12-12) enter the weekend as the regional's No. 3 seed, while the Rebels (18-7) are No. 2. Texas A&M is the site's top seed and will face No. 4 Prairie View A&M Friday at 6 p.m. The winners from the two first-round matchups will meet Saturday at 3 p.m. for the right to advance to compete in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championships held May 21-25 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
No. 51 TCU's opening-round meeting with 18th-ranked Ole Miss will be the 10th matchup between the two squads since 1974, as well as the second in as many seasons. The Frogs hold a 5-4 edge during that period, with the Rebels winning the most recent matchup last season in Waco, Texas, 5-2.
Live scoring and video from this weekend's regional will be provided on Texas A&M's official athletics web site, AggieAthletics.com.
SCOUTING THE OLE MISS REBELS
Ole Miss enters the weekend with an 18-7 record and earned the No. 18 position in the latest release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) national team rankings. The squad, which reached a high national rating of No. 10 at one point early this season, will be making its 17th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
The Rebels enter the NCAA tournament fresh off winning their eighth consecutive SEC Western Division championship prior to advancing to the semifinals of the SEC tournament.
Junior Tucker Vorster and sophomore Marcel Thiemann, both All-SEC selections, lead a very young Ole Miss lineup featuring no seniors among its regular top-six singles competitors. Thiemann appeared at No. 33 in the latest ITA singles rankings, while Vorster was No. 97. Thiemann's twin brother, Chris Thiemann, has posted a team-best 16-4 spring record. The brothers have paired together to post a 19-5 dual-match record and No. 20 national ranking. Vorster and freshman Jonas Lutjen are rated No. 61.
PROJECTED TCU LINEUP - BASED ON PREVIOUS MATCH
Singles
1. Emanuel Brighiu -
13-14 overall; 10-11 spring; 7-6 at No. 1 spot; 1-5 vs. ranked
**Brighiu has played the No. 1 position each of TCU's last eight matches. He went 3-0 during the MWC tournament, including wins over both MWC Co-Player of the Year, Phillip Eilers (Utah) and Juan Gomez (San Diego State).
2. Zach Nichols -
16-14 overall; 13-10 spring; 8-8 at No. 2 spot; 1-2 vs. ranked
**Nichols has clinched four TCU team victories to lead the squad this spring. The next-closest total for a Frog is two. His 13 spring singles wins also paces the team.
3. Marius Cirstea -
12-19 overall; 7-16 spring; 2-4 at No. 3 spot; 0-3 vs. ranked
**Cirstea began the spring season slow but has picked up his play of late with six wins in his last 10 outings.
4. Christopher Price -
16-11 overall; 12-8 spring; 5-1 at No. 4 spot; 0-0 vs. ranked
**Price ranks second on the team in spring dual-match wins. He clinched TCU's MWC tourney title with the deciding victory at No. 4 singles in a 4-3 win over No. 55 San Diego State.
5. Soren Goritzka -
6-13 overall; 6-13 spring; 1-6 at No. 5 spot; 0-0 vs. ranked
**Goritzka has clinched a pair of TCU victories this spring with wins in singles.
6. Paul Chappell -
3-9 overall; 1-6 spring; 1-3 at No. 6 spot; 0-0 vs. ranked
**Chappell posted his first career dual-match victory to clinch TCU's 4-2 MWC tourney semifinal win over top-seeded BYU. Has filled in for Slah Mbarek, who has been out of the lineup since April 4 due to injury.
Doubles
1. Brighiu/Price -
13-7 overall; 13-7 spring; 13-7 at No. 1 spot; 4-3 vs. ranked
**Ranked No. 42 nationally, Brighiu and Price lead TCU this spring in wins, winning percentage and is a team-best 4-3 vs. ranked opponents. The duo enters NCAA play having won nine straight matches dating back to an April 2 setback to UNLV's top tandem of Bouras/Baarlocchi. The two Frogs will compete at the NCAA Doubles Championships later this month.
2. Cameron Nash/Goritzka -
1-2 overall; 1-2 spring; 0-1 at No. 2 spot; 0-0 vs. ranked
**Despite only three decisions, has played the last five matches together with two going unfinished. Nash has filled in for Slah Mbarek, who has been out of the lineup since April 4 due to injury.
3. Chappell/Nichols -
10-7 overall; 10-7 spring; 9-7 at No. 3 spot; 0-0 vs. ranked
**Chappell and Nichols have won seven of their last 10 outings entering NCAA tournament play. The pairing went 3-0 during TCU's MWC tournament run.
TCU AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
TCU owns a long and prestigious history at the NCAA Championships. The squad has made 23 previous appearances while racking up the following highlights:
*TCU has made 23 appearances in 34 years since its first appearance in 1977, including 19 in the last 20 years.
*The team has advanced past the first round in 17 of 23 opportunities, including 11 straight years between 1991 and 2001.
*TCU has advanced to NCAA Quarterfinal play or further seven times, including four times in the semifinals. The Frogs' last semifinal appearance came in 2001.
*In individual NCAA play, TCU has had at least one individual selection to the national field in 31 of the last 35 years. The Frog doubles team of Emanuel Brighiu/Christopher Price will compete this season in the national tournament.
LAST MEETING: #9 OLE MISS 5, #32 TCU 2 (FEB. 26, 2009)
TCU team continued its early-season gauntlet of a 2009 schedule with a 5-2 loss to No. 9 Ole Miss in Waco, Texas. The match marked the Frogs' eighth straight to open the season against a squad tabbed No. 56 or higher in the ITA national rankings.
TCU faced a difficult task without the services of Emanuel Brighiu, who had served as the squad's top singles player during the early portions of the spring. Brighiu was held out of action due to injury.
The team responded to adversity, with the tandem of Kriegler Brink and Slah Mbarek moving into the No. 1 doubles position to replace Brighiu and Adrian Simon. Brink and Mbarek upset the nation's fourth-ranked duo of Jonas Berg and Bram ten Berge, 8-3, while Zach Nichols and Christopher Price followed with an 8-4 win over Devin Britton and Tucker Vorster to clinch the doubles point.
In singles action, Mbarek continued his outstanding debut season with his second win against a ranked opponent. He won in three sets at the No. 2 position over 40th-ranked Devin Britton, 6-4 (2), 5-7, 7-6 (2). Britton, also a freshman, went on to win the 2009 NCAA Singles Championship.
Three other Rebels brought national rankings into the match, with each garnering victories. Brink, who moved into the No. 1 slot due to Brighiu's absence, dropped a 6-4, 7-6 (2) decision to the 39th-rated Berg, while Nichols and Price lost respective matches to No. 32 Kalle Norg at No. 3 singles (6-2, 6-2) and the 79th-ranked ten Berge in the No. 4 position (6-3, 6-3).
Simon took Ole Miss' Otto Sauer to three sets at No. 5 singles before losing the super tiebreaker, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 10-8. Casey Powers lost to Marcel Thiemann at No. 6 singles, 6-1, 7-5, in only his second match of the spring.
FROGS WIN MWC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
TCU earned its third Mountain West Conference tournament championship in five seasons with an impressive run through the league tourney in April 29-May 1 in Las Vegas, Nev. The performance helped the Frogs secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Following an opening-round win over Utah (4-2), the Frogs avenged two of their three MWC losses during the regular season by taking down the top two seeds of BYU (4-2) and San Diego State (4-3) in the semifinals and finals, respectively. TCU found itself facing elimination against the Aztecs with a 3-2 deficit before securing victory by rattling off victories in the final two singles matches. Christopher Price clinched the title with a straight-set victory at No. 4 singles following a grueling opening-set tiebreaker win, 12-10.
TCU EARNS THREE ALL-MWC SELECTIONS
Three Frogs were selected to All-Mountain West Conference teams in a vote of the league's head coaches. Emanuel Brighiu earned honors for both singles and doubles, while Zach Nichols and Christopher Price were named to the All-MWC Singles and Doubles teams, respectively.
Brighiu was placed on both the All-MWC Singles and Doubles squads for the second straight season. He has been named to the doubles squad each of his three seasons at TCU and now has combined to earn five all-league accolades in his career. Joining Brighiu on the MWC singles squad was Nichols, who was honored with all-league honors for the first time in his career.
Brighiu was joined on this season's doubles team by partner Christopher Price, who received his first career All-MWC nod.
