TCU
#13 California
Season Ends in Round of 16
5/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
TULSA, Okla. - Coming down to the final match on court two, the No. 4 TCU men's tennis team could not pull off the comeback, as No. 13 Cal handed the Horned Frogs a 4-3 loss in the NCAA Division I Team Championship Round of 16 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday morning.
Following a tightly contested loss in doubles, the Horned Frogs (26-4) had an uphill battle against the Bears (20-6) as they were only able to grab winners in two first sets in singles action. No. 5 Cameron Norrie put the first point on the board as he downed No. 30 Florian Lakat, 6-4, 6-1, at the top position to give the sophomore his 24th win of the season and fifth consecutive victory.
An injury on court five would give Cal the upper hand in the match again at 2-1 and then a straight set win at the No. 4 position would put the Bears up 3-1 in the match. TCU did not back down as No. 86 Guillermo Nuñez topped No. 85 Billy Griffith, 6-4, 6-4 to put the overall match score at 3-2.
Trevor Johnson fought back from being down 3-0 in the final set to win six straight games and finish off the comeback on court six, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, to even out the match at 3-3. All eyes turned to court two as freshman and No. 24 Alex Rybakov was up a break in the final set after splitting the opening two sets with No. 31 Andre Goransson. Cal was able to break back and after holding serve to go up 6-5, Goransson broke Rybakov to take the final set, 7-5, and score the 4-3 victory for the Bears.
Quotes of the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
On the match
"It was a great college match. You had everything. You had great tennis and you had comebacks. Cal did a good job and I wish we had come up on the winning end. It didn't look very good for a long time, but our guys fought like they have been fighting all year. Our guys are so resilient and I am proud of Trevor (Johnson) and Guillermo (Nuñez) and what they did and (Cameron) Norrie has been a stud all year. Cal has some spots that are very strong that we knew were going to be really tough to get. We got one of those points and Trevor came through huge. (Alex) Rybakov will never get to experience something like this. This is great for his development and what a great experience and I would put my life on Alex in any situation. We just had a lot to overcome and we have a very young team. We only have one junior playing in doubles and one in singles and the rest are freshmen and sophomores throughout the lineup. The future looks so good and I love these guys."
On the season as a whole
"There is so much to be proud of. We accomplished things that no one has ever accomplished at TCU and in a very tough conference. It was a great season, but it just sucks right now. Nobody likes losing and nobody hates losing more than I do, but I am proud and I would take my team any day."
Match Results
Cal vs TCU
May 20, 2016 at Tulsa, Okla.
(Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
#13 Cal 4, #4 TCU 3
Singles competition
1. #5 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #30 Florian Lakat (CAL) 6-4, 6-1
2. #31 Andre Goransson (CAL) def. #24 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
3. #86 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. #85 Billy Griffith (CAL) 6-4, 6-4
4. #119 Filip Bergevi (CAL) def. Jerry Lopez (TCU) 6-2, 6-3
5. #124 Oskar Wikberg (CAL) def. Eduardo Nava (TCU) 7-6 (7-4), retired
6. Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. J.T. Nishimura (CAL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #9 Filip Bergevi/Florian Lakat (CAL) def. #65 Hudson Blake/Reese Stalder (TCU) 7-5
2. Andre Goransson/Oskar Wikberg (CAL) def. Trevor Johnson/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Cameron Norrie/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Mads Engsted/J.T. Nishimura (CAL) 6-4
Match Notes:
Cal 20-6; National ranking #13
TCU 26-4; National ranking #4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,5,4,3,6,2)
NCAA Championship Third Round
Up Next
The 2016 season came to an end for TCU with the loss to Cal. Norrie and Rybakov will compete in the NCAA Division I Singles Championship, which will begin Wednesday, May 25 and run until Monday, May 30 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Players Mentioned
