TCU
Saint Francis Health System ITA All American Championship
Doubles Duo Books Ticket to New York
10/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 5 ranked TCU men's tennis doubles duo of Nick Chappell and Will Stein won the consolation doubles bracket at the 2014 Saint Francis Health System/ITA All-American Tennis Championships on Sunday in Tulsa, Okla., to advance to 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.
The pair were victorious in straights, 6-1, 6-3, over No. 2 Ross Guignon and Tim Kopinski of Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Michael D. Case Tennis Center and become the 19th doubles duo in school history and first since 2004 to advance to the national indoor championships. This also marks the third time the doubles team of Chappell and Stein has beaten a top 5 ranked opponent and the pair improves to 15-6 in doubles action against nationally ranked opponents in their careers.
"Nick and Will played very well today from the first to the last point," head coach David Roditi said. "Their energy was outstanding. Making it to indoor nationals is a great accomplishment and something to be very proud of. Now we must continue to improve and be ready to battle at regionals coming up in a few weeks."
Chappell and Stein had to bounce back from a first round main draw loss to No. 10 Benjamin Lock and Marco Nunez of Florida State 6-1, 3-6, 10-8, last Thursday to earn a berth to the championships in New York through the consolation draw.
"Will and I brought a lot of energy into every match," Chappell said. "Even after we lost a tough match in the first round of the main draw, we came right back and kept competing and we ended up playing our best tennis in the last match. It is something that we can build on and we have a lot to work on to get ready for regionals and indoors."
Ranked No. 3 in the consolation draw, the duo opened with a straight-set take down of No. 18 Henry Craig and Alex Gasson of Denver, 6-1, 6-4. The pair continued to roll and knocked off No. 20 Carlos Benito and Eduardo Segura of Georgia Tech, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the semi-finals.
A familiar foe would await the duo as they faced off against No. 4 Lloyd Glasspool and Soren Hess-Olesen of Texas. Chappell and Stein easily took the first set, 6-2, before the Longhorns battled back to take the second set, 6-4. The TCU pair proved to have the final momentum needed and took the victory after a hard fought super tie-breaking win in the final set, 12-10.
The win over the Texas doubles team of Glasspool and Hess-Olesen was the third straight for Chappell and Stein and moved the duo into the finals where they defeated Guignon and Kopinski.
"Nick and I competed so well all weekend and to finally play some of our best tennis in the last match was great," Stein said. "I think as long as we compete and fight the way we did this weekend, we are going to have a good year. We still have a lot of things to work on, but this is a great accomplishment for us as a team."
TCU will next see action in the USTA/ITA Texas Regional Championships on Oct. 18-22 on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
Saint Francis Health System/ITA All-American Championships - TCU Results
MAIN DRAW DOUBLES
First Round
No. 10 Benjamin Lock/Marco Nunez (Florida State) def. No. 5 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU): 6-2, 3-6, 10-8
CONSOLATION DOUBLES
First Round
No. 5 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) def. No. 18 Henry Craig/Alex Gasson (Denver): 6-1, 6-4
Quarterfinals
No. 5 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) def. No. 20 Carlos Benito/Eduardo Segura (Georgia Tech): 6-3, 6-4
Semifinals
No. 5 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) def. No. 4 Lloyd Glasspool/Soren-Hess Olesen (Texas): 6-3, 4-6, 12-10
Finals
No. 5 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) def. No. 2 Ross Guignon/Tim Kopinski (Illinois): 6-1, 6-3
Players Mentioned
