TCU
#10 Oklahoma
TCU Storms Into Big 12 Finals
4/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
STILLWATER, Texas - After a slow singles start that saw the No. 5 TCU men's tennis team drop all six first sets, the Horned Frogs used a huge comeback to overpower No. 10 Oklahoma, 4-2, in the 2016 Big 12 Tennis Championship semifinals to punch their ticket to the finals for the first time in program history.
The Horned Frogs (23-3) opened the match by claiming the doubles point over the Sooners (15-10) with Trevor Johnson and Guillermo Nuñez sealing the point by scoring a 7-5 tiebreaking victory on court two. The other win came from the lefty duo of Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov who cruised to their 10th victory of the season with a 6-1 win on court three.
TCU was forced into a big hole after Oklahoma came back to take the first set on all six singles courts. The Sooners would go up 2-1 in the match with straight set wins on courts six and four, but the Frogs forced the remaining four courts into third sets. No. 24 Rybakov was point No. 2 for TCU with the freshman taking a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 81 Spencer Papa on court two. No. 6 Norrie revenged his loss earlier this season to No. 25 Axel Alvarez Llamas at the top position with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 win to put the Frogs back in the lead at 3-2.
The captain Johnson clinched the match just moments later, as the sophomore took the tiebreaker in the third set to defeat Maxime Mora, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(5), on court five and put TCU into the championship match.
Notes
-The win on Saturday afternoon also marked career victory No. 100 for head coach David Roditi
-With the victory over the Sooners, TCU scored win No. 21 this season over a ranked opponent
-The win over the No. 10 Sooners was the third defeat over a top 10 opponent in 2016 and the 12th over an opponent ranked inside the top 25
-TCU will be making an appearance in a conference tournament final for the 18th time in program history with the Frogs taking the crown 13 times
-This will also be the first appearance in the conference finals with Roditi at the helm of the program and the first appearance since 2011 when the Frogs finished runner-up at the Mountain West Conference Tournament
Quotes of the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
"Anytime anybody beats Oklahoma, it is a hell of a win. They have such a good program and for us to lose six first sets and come back and find a way to win three matches in three sets tells a lot about our resilience and our youth. We did not freak out, we stayed calm and bounced back. Obviously with Andrew Harris out of the lineup is always a huge boost to us, but at the same time they still have a lot of great players.
"The doubles was crazy. I thought we won it and then I thought we lost it and it just kept going back and forth. It was a huge performance by Trevor and Guillermo to find a way win on court two and secure that doubles point for us. I still feel like we need to do a better job in the first sets and we have to handle the moment a little bit better in doubles. I thought our emotions kind of got in the way. There is a little room for improvement, but at the same time if it was easy, everybody would be in the finals of the Big 12 Championship."
Match Results
Oklahoma vs TCU
Apr 30, 2016 at Stillwater, Oklahoma
(Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center)
#5 TCU 4, #10 Oklahoma 2
Singles competition
1. #6 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #25 Axel Alvarez Llamas (OU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
2. #24 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #81 Spencer Papa (OU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
3. #87 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) vs. #51 Alex Ghilea (OU) 6-7 (0-7), 6-4, 2-2, unfinished
4. Florin Bragusi (OU) def. Jerry Lopez (TCU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
5. Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Maxime Mora (OU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Andre Biro (OU) def. Trey Daniel (TCU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #21 Spencer Papa/Alex Ghilea (OU) def. #60 Reese Stalder/Hudson Blake (TCU) 7-5
2. Guillermo Nuñez/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Axel Alvarez Llamas/Austin Siegel (OU) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Cameron Norrie/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Maxime Mora/Andre Biro (OU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Oklahoma 15-10; National ranking #10
TCU 23-3; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,4,2,1,5)
Up Next
TCU will take part in the Big 12 Tennis Championship final at 1 p.m., against No. 8 Texas Tech at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla.
Players Mentioned
