Saturday, March 2
Fort Worth, Texas
1:30 PM
TCU
vs
Rice
Preview: Rice & Illinois
3/1/2019 3:01:00 PM | Men's Tennis
TCU will host Rice on Saturday and a top 15 match-up against Illinois on Sunday.
FORT WORTH, Texas – After two weeks away from the friendly confines of the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, the No. 12 TCU men's tennis team returns home to host Rice and No. 11 Illinois.
The Horned Frogs (7-3) will first welcome the Owls (7-6) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., before taking on the Illini (5-3) on Sunday at Noon. Admission to each match is free and fans can enjoy free pizza courtesy of Buffalo Bros., between the doubles and singles portion of both matches.
TCU Notables
TCU has spent the last two weeks on the road and returns to Fort Worth after going 3-1 in matches played. The Frogs went 2-1 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Chicago with wins over Mississippi State (4-1) and UCLA (4-0) and then went on the road to defeat Tulane, 4-3.
Senior Alex Rybakov moved up to No. 6 in the singles poll and has a 13-1 mark on the year with seven wins over ranked opponents. Alastair Gray checks in at No. 62 with six wins in dual matches and a 3-1 mark against ranked foes. Bertus Kruger rounds out the singles rankings and checks in at No. 83 with a team-best 16 wins on the season and five wins over ranked opponents. Kruger is also ranked No. 26 in the doubles poll with Reese Stalder with the duo posting wins in seven of the last eight matches.
Scouting the Owls
Rice is coming off a 1-2 showing at the Blue/Gray Invitational with a 4-2 loss to Texas Tech and 4-1 defeat at the hands of Princeton. The Owls were able to score the 4-3 victory over Auburn to conclude the tournament. Rice started the season with a 5-0 mark as the team picked up four of the victories over regional opponents. Jacob Eskeland is pacing Rice with 14 wins in singles action with nine of them coming in dual matches. Eric Rutledge and Sumit Sarkar pair up for a team-best nine wins in doubles and also hold the Owls only Oracle/ITA ranking at No. 49.
Scouting the Illini
Illinois is sitting at No. 11 in the latest poll after going 1-2 at the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The Illini dropped a 4-3 decision to Texas and a 4-1 loss to Florida before concluding the tournament with a 4-3 victory over Tulane. Three players are ranked with Aleks Kovacevic sitting at No. 7 with a perfect 7-0 mark in dual matches. Alex Brown sits at No. 28 while Zeke Clark rounds it out at No. 101. Brown is also checking in for the doubles poll with a No. 49 ranking with Caleb Chakravarthi.
All-Time Series Records
Saturday's match marks the 48th meeting all-time between TCU and Rice as the Frogs hold the 34-13 advantage in the all-time series. This will be the first match between the teams since 2016 as TCU has won the last four straight matches. The win in 2013 to start the run halted an eight-match winning streak by the Owls. Saturday's match will also mark the 23rd meeting to take place in Fort Worth with TCU holding a 16-6 mark in matches played at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Sunday's match will be the 14th match all-time between TCU and Illinois as the Frogs hold the advantage in the all-time series with an 8-5 record. This marks the fifth straight season the teams have faced off with Illinois capturing two wins against the Frogs last year. The Illini came away with a 5-2 victory during the regular season and then defeated TCU, 4-0, in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships. Sunday will be the fifth time the teams have played in Fort Worth as TCU is a perfect 4-0 against Illinois at home on the purple courts.
Live Results
The link to live scoring can be found on GoFrogs.com. Final results and a recap will be available at GoFrogs.com following the completion of the competitions. In-match updates can also be found by following TCU men's tennis on twitter (@TCUMensTennis).
The Horned Frogs (7-3) will first welcome the Owls (7-6) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., before taking on the Illini (5-3) on Sunday at Noon. Admission to each match is free and fans can enjoy free pizza courtesy of Buffalo Bros., between the doubles and singles portion of both matches.
TCU Notables
TCU has spent the last two weeks on the road and returns to Fort Worth after going 3-1 in matches played. The Frogs went 2-1 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Chicago with wins over Mississippi State (4-1) and UCLA (4-0) and then went on the road to defeat Tulane, 4-3.
Senior Alex Rybakov moved up to No. 6 in the singles poll and has a 13-1 mark on the year with seven wins over ranked opponents. Alastair Gray checks in at No. 62 with six wins in dual matches and a 3-1 mark against ranked foes. Bertus Kruger rounds out the singles rankings and checks in at No. 83 with a team-best 16 wins on the season and five wins over ranked opponents. Kruger is also ranked No. 26 in the doubles poll with Reese Stalder with the duo posting wins in seven of the last eight matches.
Scouting the Owls
Rice is coming off a 1-2 showing at the Blue/Gray Invitational with a 4-2 loss to Texas Tech and 4-1 defeat at the hands of Princeton. The Owls were able to score the 4-3 victory over Auburn to conclude the tournament. Rice started the season with a 5-0 mark as the team picked up four of the victories over regional opponents. Jacob Eskeland is pacing Rice with 14 wins in singles action with nine of them coming in dual matches. Eric Rutledge and Sumit Sarkar pair up for a team-best nine wins in doubles and also hold the Owls only Oracle/ITA ranking at No. 49.
Scouting the Illini
Illinois is sitting at No. 11 in the latest poll after going 1-2 at the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The Illini dropped a 4-3 decision to Texas and a 4-1 loss to Florida before concluding the tournament with a 4-3 victory over Tulane. Three players are ranked with Aleks Kovacevic sitting at No. 7 with a perfect 7-0 mark in dual matches. Alex Brown sits at No. 28 while Zeke Clark rounds it out at No. 101. Brown is also checking in for the doubles poll with a No. 49 ranking with Caleb Chakravarthi.
All-Time Series Records
Saturday's match marks the 48th meeting all-time between TCU and Rice as the Frogs hold the 34-13 advantage in the all-time series. This will be the first match between the teams since 2016 as TCU has won the last four straight matches. The win in 2013 to start the run halted an eight-match winning streak by the Owls. Saturday's match will also mark the 23rd meeting to take place in Fort Worth with TCU holding a 16-6 mark in matches played at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Sunday's match will be the 14th match all-time between TCU and Illinois as the Frogs hold the advantage in the all-time series with an 8-5 record. This marks the fifth straight season the teams have faced off with Illinois capturing two wins against the Frogs last year. The Illini came away with a 5-2 victory during the regular season and then defeated TCU, 4-0, in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Championships. Sunday will be the fifth time the teams have played in Fort Worth as TCU is a perfect 4-0 against Illinois at home on the purple courts.
Live Results
The link to live scoring can be found on GoFrogs.com. Final results and a recap will be available at GoFrogs.com following the completion of the competitions. In-match updates can also be found by following TCU men's tennis on twitter (@TCUMensTennis).
Players Mentioned
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