Gray Pushes TCU to 4-3 Win

Friday, April 12

Norman, Okla.

6:00 PM

TCU

#21 Oklahoma

Gray Pushes TCU to 4-3 Win

4/12/2019 11:43:00 PM | Men's Tennis

TCU 4, Oklahoma 3 (PDF)

Alastair Gray’s three-set win gave the Frogs the victory on the road over Oklahoma.

NORMAN, Okla. – A final court in the third set was the decider for the second straight match for the No. 10 TCU men's tennis team as junior Alastair Gray clinched the 4-3 victory over No. 21 Oklahoma on Friday night at the Headington Family Tennis Center in Norman, Okla.

The Horned Frogs (18-5, 2-2 Big 12) faltered in the doubles portion of the match as the Sooners (14-8, 1-3 Big 12) quickly took the wins on courts one and three to take the early 1-0 lead in the match. TCU stepped up to the challenge and battled back in singles action by taking four of the opening sets. Oklahoma took the win on court three, but the Frogs responded with straight-set wins at the bottom and top of the lineup. Freshman Sander Jong put TCU on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court six while No. 4 Alex Rybakov downed No. 31 Spencer Papa at the top spot, 6-4, 6-2.

Fellow freshman Luc Fomba picked up a straight-set win of his own on court five to give the Frogs their first lead of the match, 3-2. Oklahoma did not stay down for long as it took the win on court four to even up the battle at 3-3. With all eyes on court two, No. 24 Gray was going back-and-forth in the final set. The junior was able to get a late break to go up 5-4 and then served it out to clinch the overall team victory for TCU by taking out No. 63 Jake Van Emburgh, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-4.

Quotes from the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
"What a win for Alastair (Gray) and an awesome job by Coach (Devin) Bowen with him. I wasn't going to be anywhere near that match. I left Coach Bowen all alone and he did an amazing job. The level was very good and I am very proud of our resilience today. Losing the doubles point quickly on the road and then to come back and win four singles is a great sign for this squad. There are some parts we need to do better or they will cost us, but it was a great road win for the team.

Match Results
TCU vs OU
Apr 12, 2019 at Norman, Okla.
(Headington Family Tennis Center)
#10 TCU 4, #21 OU 3

Singles competition
1. #4 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #31 Spencer Papa (OU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #24 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #63 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-3, 6-7 (1-0), 6-4
3. #67 Alex Bakshi (OU) def. #110 Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Ferran Calvo (OU) def. Bertus Kruger (TCU) 6-4, 6-3
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Mason Beiler (OU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Max Stewart (OU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Alex Bakshi/Stefano Tsorotiotis (OU) def. #36 Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) 6-3
2. Jake Van Emburgh/Ferran Calvo (OU) vs. #13 Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-5, unfinished
3. Spencer Papa/Max Stewart (OU) def. Sander Jong/Luc Fomba (TCU) 6-4

Match Notes:
TCU 18-5, 2-2; National ranking #10
OU 14-8, 1-3; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,4,6,1,5,2)

Up Next
The regular season for TCU will end of the road as the Frogs finish out the road trip by traveling to Stillwater, Okla., and facing Oklahoma State on Sunday, April 14 at 1 p.m.