TCU
Penn
Horned Frogs Cruise to 6-1 Win
3/8/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - Hitting the halfway point of the 2018 spring season, the No. 33 TCU men's tennis team was able to cruise to a 6-1 victory over Penn on Thursday night at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth.
The match started with a battle in doubles as the Horned Frogs (7-3) and the Quakers (7-9) were each able to stay on serve on all three courts. Trevor Johnson and Alastair Gray were able to capitalize off a break to get a 6-4 win on court two to get things started before Reese Stalder and Bertus Kruger finished things off with a 6-4 victory of their own on court three.
Stalder took the momentum into singles action as the junior was able to put the Frogs up 2-0 in the match with a dominant 6-1, 6-0 win on court four. No. 32 Alex Rybakov followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court one before freshman Eduardo Roldan claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win on court five to clinch the overall match victory. With the match already decided, the final courts were played out as Guillermo Nuñez needed three sets to get his win while Trevor Johnson had a comeback in the second set to secure his victory as both seniors recorded win No. 7 on the season in singles.
Quotes from the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
"First of all, it was great to be home and it was great to play outdoors. The Penn coach kept talking about how beautiful a place our facility is and I totally agree with him. It was nice to have a full doubles lineup. We haven't had that in a while and it was great to have Bertus (Kruger) back playing doubles at least. I was pleased about some of the performances there. For it to be March, we need to be playing better. I have been saying that and I know it gets old but I just feel like we are playing like it is January. That has been a little frustrating. We still haven't seen a full team performance yet and that is what I am waiting for.
"In singles, I am going to focus on the positive and I thought Reese Stalder had a great performance against a guy that he knew from California and played one of his most complete matches I have ever seen from him. He has been working hard and it sure looked like it today. It is going to be fun to go back and watch on video and for him to see what his really high level looks like. The same with Alex Rybakov. I thought he was very professional and he had it going with the mentality today. If he had not come with the mindset he had today, he would have been down 4-1 probably. But he was able to grind out some early games and he just put too much pressure on his opponent. Eduardo Roldan did a great job. He was up and then he would lose his lead but would hang in there, focus on some of the routines he has been working on and he pulled off a very important win at the time for us to clinch."
Match Results
Penn vs TCU
Mar 08, 2018 at Fort Worth, Texas
(Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center) #33 TCU 6, Penn 1
Singles competition
1. #32 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Kyle Mautner (PENN) 6-3, 6-2
2. #72 Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Josh Pompan (PENN) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
3. Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. Dmitry Shatalin (PENN) 6-3, 0-6, 6-2
4. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Max Cancilla (PENN) 6-1, 6-0
5. Eduardo Roldan (TCU) def. Nicholai Westergaard (PENN) 6-3, 6-3
6. Noah Makarome (PENN) def. Max Kurzban (TCU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #41 Alex Rybakov/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) vs. Kyle Mautner/Dmitry Shatalin (PENN) 5-5, unfinished
2. Trevor Johnson/Alastair Gray (TCU) def. Josh Pompan/Nicholai Westergaard (PENN) 6-4
3. Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Max Cancilla/Aleks Huryn (PENN) 6-4
Match Notes:
Penn 7-9
TCU 7-3; National ranking #33
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,6,1,5,3,2)
T-2:37 A-212
Up Next
TCU will hit the road during spring break as the Frogs travel to Lake Nona, Fla., to first take on Duke on Tuesday, March 13 at 5 p.m., CT on the USTA National Campus before heading to Gainesville, Fla., to take on Florida on Wednesday, March 14 at 5 p.m., CT.
Players Mentioned
