TCU
USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships
TCU Sweeps Titles at Regionals
10/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - Under the direction of two freshmen, the TCU men's tennis team swept the singles and doubles title at the 2014 USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships on Tuesday at the Mitchell Tennis Center on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
Newcomer Cameron Norrie became the third freshman this year to nab the singles crown at his respective regional, while Norrie and fellow newcomer Trevor Johnson became only the second all freshmen doubles tandem in the history of the regionals to snag the title. With the victories in the championship matches, the pair will now join teammates Nick Chappell and Will Stein at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 6-9 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
"I am very excited for Cameron and for Trevor," coach David Roditi said. "This is a great accomplishment for any player and especially for freshmen. Cameron continues to show how competitive he is and we love that about him. These titles will help our whole team get excited and motivated for the spring season.
"Now it is time to hit the practice courts and continue to improve so we can have another great tournament at the national indoors in New York. Cameron and Trevor have been working hard and they spent extra time with (assistant) Coach Bowen on the court and it paid off as it always eventually does."
Norrie became the first Horned Frog to capture the singles title at regionals since Esteban Carril defeated Andy Leber of UT Arlington in three-sets (5-7, 6-3, 7-6) in 2000. The doubles pair of Norrie and Johnson are the first winners of the doubles bracket at regionals since Rafael Abreu and Fabrizio Sestini defeated Bejnjamin Becker and Ivor Lovrak of Baylor, 8-5, in 2003.
Norrie would take part in his singles final first for TCU as he faced his second nationally ranked opponent in a row, as a showdown with No. 5 Soren Hess-Olesen of Texas awaited him. Norrie opened the match by taking the first set 6-4 over the Longhorn, but Hess-Olesen responded with a big comeback and nabbed the second set 6-0. Norrie regained control of the match and was able to knock off his first top five ranked player with a 6-3 victory in the final set.
Johnson and Norrie had to make their own comeback in the doubles final, as they fell in the first set to the Baylor duo, 6-1. The pair regrouped to take the second set 7-5 and sent the match into a super tiebreaker third set. Johnson and Norrie took the momentum from the second set victory to propel themselves to a 10-7 win in the final set to sweep the titles for the Frogs.
The two freshmen, along with the No. 5 senior doubles duo of Chappell and Stein will be the first student-athletes from TCU to compete in the national indoor championships since 2004.
USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships - TCU Results
DOUBLES
Final
Johnson/Norrie (TCU) def. Lupieri/Rios (Baylor): 1-6, 7-5, 10-7
SINGLES
Final
Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. No. 5 Soren Hess-Olesen (Texas): 6-4, 0-6, 6-3
Players Mentioned
