TCU
No. 38 UC Irvine
TCU Rallies To Upend No. 38 UC Irvine Saturday
3/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 13, 2011
IRVINE, Calif. - The TCU men's tennis had to win the final three singles matches to take down No. 38 UC Irvine on the road by the score of 4-3 Saturday.
"We knew that this team was capable of playing at this level, but we just haven't been able to show it," TCU head coach David Roditi said. "We had everybody in the lineup today and it felt like we could finally put it all together. We still didn't play a perfect match. We didn't do well in doubles and we have a few things that we still need to work on before tomorrow's match. Overall, I couldn't be more proud in the guys believing in themselves after losing the doubles point and come back to win four singles matches against a ranked-team on the road."
UCI jumped on the Horned Frogs early to steal the doubles point with wins on the Nos. 2 and 3 courts. TCU's top team of Emanuel Brighiu and Christopher Price, currently ranked No. 27 in the latest ITA national list, picked up another win from the front court, earning a tight 9-8 win.
Price evened the team score at 1-1 by giving TCU a 6-1, 6-1 singles win from the No. 5 court over UCI's Stephen Stege. The Anteaters would bounce back to take the next two points with wins at the Nos. 2 and 3 positions.
With the Frogs one loss away from losing the team match, the Purple and White found some momentum. Junior Daniel Sanchez rallied after taking a first-set tiebreaker to defeat UCI's Shan Sondhu from the No. 6 court, 7-6, 6-4. Senior Zach Nichols evened the team tally at 3-3 after scratching out a tough 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the No. 4 spot. Sanchez and Nichols have earned singles wins in the Frogs' last two matches.
With the fate of the match hanging in the balance, TCU's Brighiu had to upset UCI's No. 33-ranked Chris Kearney from the top court. After falling in the opening set, Brighiu battled to win a tiebreaking second-set and give the Frogs a big road win with a 6-4, 7-6, 6-3 victory over Kearney.
"It's tough to play at the top of the lineup, because you are playing the other team's best player, day-in and day-out," Roditi said. "Briggy continues to do an unbelievable job of competing. We told him that it was going to come down to his match eventually against a top-ranked team and today that happened."
TCU will return to action Sunday at No. 20 San Diego. First serve is set for 3 p.m.
No. 69 TCU (4-7) def. No. 33 UC Irvine (8-5) 4-3
SINGLES
1. Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) def. No. 33 Chris Kearney (UCI) 4-6, 7-6, 6-3
2. Sam Gould (UCI) def. Soren Goritzka (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Fabian Matthews (UCI) def. Slah Mbarek (TCU) 0-6, 6-1, 6-2
4. Zach Nichols (TCU) def. Steven Henderson (UCI) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
5. Christopher Price (TCU) def. Stephen Stege (UCI) 6-1, 6-1
6. Daniel Sanchez (TCU) def. Shan Sondhu (UCI) 7-6, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 3, 6, 4, 1*
DOUBLES
1. #27 Emanuel Brighiu/Christopher Price (TCU) def. Chris Kearney/Stephen Stege (UCI) 9-8
2. Steven Henderson/Sam Gould (UCI) def. Soren Goritzka/Slah Mbarek (TCU) 8-5
3. Fabian Matthews/Shan Sondhu (UCI) def. Zach Nichols/Daniel Sanchez (TCU) 8-6
Order of Finish: 3, 2*, 1
Players Mentioned
