Five Times as Sweet!

Saturday, May 4

Fort Worth, Texas

4:00 PM

TCU

#27 Arizona State University

5/4/2019 10:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis

TCU 4, Arizona State 1 (PDF)Photo Gallery

TCU advances to the NCAA Round of 16 for the fifth consecutive season for the first time in program history.

FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 9 TCU men's tennis team continued to roll as the Horned Frogs picked up a 4-1 victory over No. 27 Arizona State to move into the third round of the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship for the fifth consecutive season on Saturday night at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth.

TCU (21-6) kick things off in doubles action against the Sun Devils (14-14) by picking up the early lead for the second straight match. The No. 15 duo of Alastair Gray and Alex Rybakov used an early break to score the 6-4 victory to get the Frogs started. It all came down to a freshmen doubles pair of Luc Fomba and Sander Jong on court three as the duo went up 5-4 and then broke their Arizona State opponents to get the 6-4 win and secure the doubles points for TCU.

Singles action continued to swing in TCU's favor as the Frogs recorded the first set victory on four of the courts. Jong put point No. 2 on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court six and then No. 4 Rybakov finished off his career on the purple courts with the senior taking out No. 99 Nathan Ponwith, 6-3, 6-4, on court No. 1 to put TCU closer to the overall match victory. Another freshman in Fomba showed what was needed to close out the match as he served it out for a 6-3, 6-4 win on court five to move the Frogs into the next round.

Quotes from the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
"What a great day for our program. The result, the crowd and the people that came to support us. I am so proud of these guys to represent our school the way they have been doing it all year. Our freshmen, Luc Fomba and Sander Jong, stepped up today. First with a huge doubles win and then in singles. (Alex) Rybakov closes his TCU career at home with two wins. He's been a rock from day one and he's one of the main reasons why our program has been going the way it has. Five trips in a row to the Sweet 16 is something to be very proud of. I know our guys are hungry and I know they will be ready for an absolute war at Mississippi State. I am especially proud of our guys doing a great job balancing finals and NCAA simultaneously which is not something too many athletes must do.

"I want to thank our staff - Abby Stockton, Jaron Householder, Jonathan Pham, Craig Smith, Linton Lewis, Maxx Akel, Alexa Nelson and Andre Apodaca for all the work they have been doing with our home matches. They are always the first ones here and last ones to leave. Furthermore, a huge thank you to our 'Keep it in the Purple Committee' for creating such an awesome, fun and welcoming atmosphere at all our matches. We are so lucky to have them and our guys will forever appreciate the experience they had here at TCU. Thank you Sharon Keenum, Linda Cappel and committee. A special thank you to Christina Allen for her work with our ball kids 'The Ballers' this season."

Match Results
Arizona State vs TCU
May 04, 2019 at Fort Worth, Texas
(Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center)
#9 TCU 4, #27 Arizona State 1

Singles competition
1. #4 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #99 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #28 Alastair Gray (TCU) vs. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) 7-6 (7-1), 3-3, unfinished
3. Justin Roberts (ASU) def. Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Bertus Kruger (TCU) vs. Tim Ruehl (ASU) 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Andrea Bolla (ASU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Makey Rakotomalala (ASU) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. #15 Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #17 Dominik Kellovsky/Nathan Ponwith (ASU) 6-4
2. Andrea Bolla/Tim Ruehl (ASU) def. #22 Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) 6-3
3. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) def. #80 Makey Rakotomalala/Justin Roberts (ASU) 7-5

Match Notes:
Arizona State 14-14; National ranking #27
TCU 21-6; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,6,1,5)
NCAA Championship-Second Round
TCU advances to the third round and will face Mississippi State.
T-2:27 A-280

Up Next
TCU moves onto the third round of the NCAA Championship and will travel to Starkville, Miss., to take on No. 7 Mississippi State on Saturday, May 11 at 1 p.m., at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.