TCU
#30 Tulsa
#Sweet16Bound
5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A tiebreaker for the doubles point, followed by a huge match clincher from senior Arnau Dachs led the No. 6 TCU men's tennis team back to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Team Championship for the first time since 2004 with a 4-0 victory over Tulsa on Saturday afternoon at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
The Horned Frogs (23-7) faced a scare in doubles action, but a big ace and then an overhead slam from freshman Guillermo Nuñez kept the momentum in TCU's favor as they grabbed the doubles point against the Golden Hurricane (18-13) and then took three straight-set singles match to stay undefeated at home with a 15-0 record.
TCU advances to the NCAA Team Finals that will take place at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas on May 14-25. The Frogs will face No. 12 Wake Forest in the round of 16 on Thursday at Noon.
"Obviously that doubles point gave us a tremendous amount of momentum going into singles," head coach David Roditi said. "That is some of the most competitive points I have ever seen at the No. 3 position and it was anyone's match. Guillermo came up with a huge ace down match point and our No. 2 team of Cameron Norrie and Trevor Johnson just keep getting it done. They are playing just such a high level and having so much fun. They are communicating and connecting and it is just fun to watch. The scary part is that we are winning doubles points and we can still play better. There is still room for improvement and that is exactly what we want going into next week.
"In singles, our guys came out focused and let that excitement from doubles keep them going. Cameron Norrie is just too good and he is just too much for some guys at the No. 3 position. Guillermo finally closed out his match and I thought it was a critical point in the match. Tulsa relies on (Alejandro) Espejo a lot to win matches and it was great to see him take that point away from them. Finally, it was only fair that one of our seniors got to clinch the match and especially Arnau. He was in the exact same situation against Tulsa a year ago and he cramped up. For him to be able to clinch and take this team to the Sweet 16 was fun to watch."
TCU opened doubles action with No. 30 Norrie and Johnson picking up their 20th win of the season with an 8-3 victory on court two. The duo have won eight straight and are 9-1 in their last 10 matches.
Tulsa even the score with a win at the No.1 spot, with the doubles point decision all coming down to a tiebreaker on court three. Down 8-7, Hudson Blake and Nuñez responded with three straight points to seal the victory in the tiebreaker, 10-8, and give the Frogs the early 1-0 lead in the match.
The Frogs carried the momentum in singles action, as No. 39 Norrie knocked down Matthew Kirby, 6-1, 6-1, to give TCU a 2-0 lead in the match. Norrie now has 24 wins on the season and won eight consecutive singles matches.
The final two points would come back-to-back and just moments apart as No. 59 Nuñez toppled No. 87 Alejandra Espego, 6-3, 6-4, while Dachs clinched the match on court five with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
"I am proud of all of the guys," Roditi said. "Nick (Chappell) was playing a great match against a good player and was up a set. We all know that playing indoors is not Facundo's (Lugones) favorite, but he just kept fighting and fighting when it felt like things were going against him.
"I am ecstatic, but we just have to get a little bit better and I am sure that our coach Devin Bowen will continue to prepare this team like he has all season long. He really has been doing all the work. I do the videos and he does all the work and because of him, we will be ready for Waco."
Tennis Match Results
Tulsa vs TCU
May 09, 2015 at Fort Worth, Texas
(Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
#6 TCU 4, #30 Tulsa 0
Singles competition
1. #49 Nick Chappell (TCU) vs. #27 Or Ram-Harel (TULSA) 6-4, 3-1, unfinished
2. #59 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. #87 Alejandro Espejo (TULSA) 6-3, 6-4
3. #39 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Matthew Kirby (TULSA) 6-1, 6-1
4. Facundo Lugones (TCU) vs. Juan Gonzalez (TULSA) 3-6, 5-4, unfinished
5. Arnau Dachs (TCU) def. Carlos Bautista (TULSA) 6-2, 6-3
6. Will Stein (TCU) vs. Dylan McCloskey (TULSA) 4-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Or Ram-Harel/Alejandro Espejo (TULSA) def. #20 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) 8-4
2. #30 Cameron Norrie/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. #77 Matthew Kirby/Dylan McCloskey (TULSA) 8-3
3. Guillermo Nuñez/Hudson Blake (TCU) def. Carlos Bautista/Juan Gonzalez (TULSA) 8-7 (10-8)
Match Notes:
Tulsa 18-13; National ranking #30
TCU 23-7; National ranking #6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,2,5)
NCAA Second Round Match
TCU moves onto the NCAA Team Championships in Waco, Texas on May 14-25
Players Mentioned
