TCU Tops Harvard, 4-1

Friday, May 3

Fort Worth, Texas

5:00 PM

TCU

#41 Harvard

5/3/2019 8:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis

TCU 4, Harvard 1 (PDF)Photo Gallery

The Horned Frogs advanced to the NCAA Championship second round with the victory on Friday night.

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 3, 2019) – A change in venue did not derail the No. 9 TCU men's tennis team as the Horned Frogs were able to top No. 41 Harvard, 4-1, to advance to the second round of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship on Friday night at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth.

TCU (20-6) and Harvard (18-8) were only one serve into doubles when rain started to pour and forced the match to go indoors. The Frogs did not miss a step as the team cruised to the doubles point with wins on the top two courts. The No. 15 pair of Alastair Gray and Alex Rybakov kicked things off with a 6-1 win over the No. 75 ranked pair on court one before No. 22 Bertus Kruger and Reese Stalder got a break to capture the 6-4 win on court two and secure the early 1-0 lead.

The Frogs did not slowdown in singles as they captured the opening set on four of the five courts in action. Harvard would get a point in the match with a straight-set win on court four but TCU was firmly in control in the other matches in play. No. 28 Gray was the first singles player to record a win as the junior downed Robert Wrzesinski on court two, 6-1, 6-4. Stalder followed with a straight-set victory of his own on court three before freshman Luc Fomba finished off the victory with a 7-5, 6-3 win on court five.

Quotes from the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
"A very good job from our squad today. Beating Harvard in the first round indoors is a lot to be proud of. The guys handled the move indoors very well. Coach (Devin) Bowen is a master at getting our players ready and today it showed. Great job at No. 1 doubles to build some momentum and clutch break at No. 2 doubles late in the set for the point. I felt Reese (Stalder) showed a lot of poise and maturity to beat what I would say is their toughest point. Alastair (Gray) played a very good match from start to finish and (Luc) Fomba's comeback in the first set showed a lot of resilience.

"Tomorrow will be an absolute war. Please come out. It is our last match at our beautiful facility and we need all the support possible. Weather should be nice and it should be a great day for college tennis."

Match Results
Harvard vs TCU
May 03, 2019 at Fort Worth, Texas
(Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
#9 TCU 4, #41 Harvard 1

Singles competition
1. #4 Alex Rybakov (TCU) vs. Zhou, Andy (HARV) 6-3, 5-4, unfinished
2. #28 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. Wrzesinski, Robert (HARV) 6-1, 6-4
3. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Shi, Brian (HARV) 6-3, 6-2
4. Walker, Harris (HARV) def. Bertus Kruger (TCU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Sun, Steven (HARV) 7-5, 6-3
6. Sander Jong (TCU) vs. Leschly, Lane (HARV) 0-1, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. #15 Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #75 Weber, Logan/Zhou, Andy (HARV) 6-1
2. #22 Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Shi, Brian/Wrzesinski, Robert (HARV) 6-4
3. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) vs. Morrow, Christopher/Walker, Harris (HARV) 4-4, unfinished

Match Notes:
Harvard 18-8; National ranking #41
TCU 20-6; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,3,5)
NCAA Championship - First Round
Match moved indoors due to rain.
TCU advances to the second round and will face Arizona State tomorrow.
T-2:30 A-275

Up Next
TCU will take on No. 27 Arizona State in the second round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday, May 4 at 4 p.m., at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.