Horned Frogs Stumble at Tulsa

Friday, January 18

Tulsa, Okla.

6:00 PM

TCU

Tulsa

Horned Frogs Stumble at Tulsa

1/18/2019 10:48:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Tulsa 4, TCU 2 (PDF)

TCU dropped its season-opener on the road to Tulsa, 4-2.

TULSA, Okla. – The No. 14 TCU men's tennis team stumbled on the road Friday night as the Horned Frogs dropped their season-opener to Tulsa, 4-2, at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The Frogs (0-1) dropped the doubles point after three closely contested contests and could not complete the comeback in singles as the Hurricane (3-1) came out with the upset. The pairing of Alex Rybakov and Alastair Gray continued their strong showing doubles as the duo picked up a 6-3 win at the No. 1 position. After dropping the match on court three, TCU could not hold onto the lead on court two as Tulsa came back to take the 7-5 victory and the doubles point.

Gray continued the momentum into singles action as the junior took down No. 55 Majed Kilani, 6-4, 6-2, to get TCU on the board and claim his first ranked victory of the season. TCU continued to battle and forced third sets on four of the remaining five courts, but Tulsa was able to finish out courts six and four to go up 3-1 in the match. No. 14 Rybakov fought back from a late break in set one to get the 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win on court one to remain undefeated on the season at 9-0 in singles. The change in momentum was short lived as the Hurricane used a late break just moments later on court three to finish off the match and take the overall team victory.

Quotes from the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
"This was obviously a tough way to start the season. I felt we had a great preparation in Arizona and I thought we were ready. There is no option but to work hard, get better and learn from today. I give credit to Tulsa for handling it better down the wire in doubles and in singles. I am proud of the three matches we came back from losing the first set and gave ourselves a chance to win in three sets. We will build on that and continue to improve. (Alex) Rybakov showed why he's one of the best players in college tennis. He overcame food poisoning from earlier this week and beat their best player on the road from a set down and just gutted it out."

Match Results
TCU vs Tulsa
1/18/2019 at Tulsa, Okla.
(Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Tulsa 4, #14 TCU 2

Singles competition
1. #14 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Joshua Goodger (TLSM) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #55 Majed Kilani (TLSM) 6-4, 6-2
3. Jarod Hing (TLSM) def. Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4
4. Kody Pearson (TLSM) def. #65 Bertus Kruger (TCU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Boriss Kamdem (TLSM) vs. Luc Fomba (TCU) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 2-1, unfinished
6. Stefan Hampe (TLSM) def. #69 Eduardo Roldan (TCU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Alex Rybakov/Alastair Gray (TCU) def. Majed Kilani/Jarod Hing (TLSM) 6-3
2. Joshua Goodger/Boriss Kamdem (TLSM) def. Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) 7-5
3. Kody Pearson/Daniel Siddall (TLSM) def. Sander Jong/Luc Fomba (TCU) 6-4

Match Notes:
TCU 0-1; National ranking #14
Tulsa 3-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,6,4,1,3)
T-2:40 A-222

Up Next
TCU will return home to host the ITA Kick-Off Weekend that will take place Jan. 26-27 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Frogs will host LMU in the first round while Arizona State and Oklahoma State will also be on hand. The winner of the four-team tournament will advance to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Chicago, Ill., from Feb. 15-18.