TCU Powers Past No. 10 NC State

Saturday, February 15

Madison, Wisc.

12:00 PM

TCU

NC State

TCU Powers Past No. 10 NC State

2/15/2020 5:08:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Horned Frogs Breeze to 4-0 win over Top-10 opponent

MADISON, Wisc -- TCU men's tennis (4-4) got back in the win column with a 4-0 sweep of No. 10 NC State (8-2) Saturday afternoon at the ITA Indoor National Championships in Madison, Wisc. TCU won the doubles point before snatching singles wins from Luc Fomba, Alastair Gray and Sander Jong to earn its first Top 10 win of 2020.

"It feels great to win," head coach David Roditi said. "We've been craving this feeling after some tough matches prior to this. We know the schedule is tough. We don't dodge anybody. NC State is a really quality team and I liked how our guys responded to yesterday's loss. They carried that out today. Alastair Gray had an A+ performance today. He beat a hell of a player today. Bertus and Fomba keep coming through in doubles. We found something that helped us yesterday, we carried that with us today. We have to continue playing this way for the rest of the year."

DOUBLES RECAP
Once again, the Horned Frogs started off strong in doubles play. TCU was on serve on court two when play was halted due to wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The Horned Frogs are now 13-6 as a team in doubles play this season and have won five of a possible seven doubles points.

The top pairing of Alastair Gray and Jacob Fearnley led the way once again. The duo won a break to go ahead, 5-3 late and held serve to polish off a tidy, 6-3 result. They were aggressive against second serves in the match, winning five of six points on NC State's second serve. It was the fourth win of the year for Gray/Fearnley.

On court three, the pairing of Luc Fomba and Bertus Kruger battled through a difficult match to secure the doubles point. With the score tied, 3-3, Kruger/Fomba won a break, only to be broken back in the next game. Facing a 0-40 game score, Fomba and Kruger dialed in and climbed back into the match, forcing a deuce point and winning the break to go up, 5-4. In the final game, Kruger delivered two aces to help push the pair to its team-leading fifth doubles win of the season. They are now 5-1 in doubles play and a perfect, 2-0 on the weekend.

Doubles Results
1. No. 34 Alastair Gray/Jacob Fearnley (TCU) def. No. 12 Babelis/Barkai (NCST): 6-3
2. Sander Jong/Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) vs. No. 44 Garlarneau/Turzak (NCST): 5-5
3. Luc Fomba/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Izquierdo Luque/Schick (NCST): 6-4
Order of finish – 1, 3

SINGLES RECAP
TCU didn't let up in singles play, taking it to the Wolf Pack on all courts on its way to an orderly 4-0 sweep. The Horned Frogs used wins from Fomba and Gray before Sander Jong clinched the match with his second singles victory of the weekend.

At No. 2, Fomba built off his three-set battle with the No. 1-ranked player in the nation yesterday to dominate his opponent today. His serve was his biggest weapon, once again, as he finished the opening set with four aces, winning 16 of his 22 service points (72.7 percent) to win the first set, 6-1. In the second, he left no room for doubt, bageling his opponent with ease to win the match: 6-1, 6-0. It was his first 6-0 set of the season.

At No. 1 singles, Alastair Gray was businesslike in his dispatching of Galarneau from NC State. Galarneau entered the match with a perfect 8-0 record this season, losing only one out of 17 sets. Gray took control of his service games in the opening set, winning 28 of his 34 service points (82.4 percent) to hold serve throughout. He earned his break in the first game and rode out the remainder of play to gain a one-set lead. In the second, Gray caught fire, winning 16 of 21 points after the opening game to jump in front two breaks, 4-1. The players traded holds over the next three games to give Gray his third win of the spring and second ranked win in 2020.

On court six, Jong showcased the hard-nosed mentality that makes him so difficult to play against. He saved seven of eight break points (88 percent) in the match, grinding down his opponent until Jong emerged victorious. The first set saw both players hold until Jong led, 6-5. Then, down, 15-30, Jong won the next three points to get a break and secure the set, 7-5. In the second, Jong caught his break early, 3-1 but would suffer his only break of the match in the next game to cut the lead to 3-2. But Jong stayed in the fight and collected his third break on the next game to go ahead, 4-2. His serve was working all day as he finished the match with his ninth ace to win the set and the match: 7-5, 6-3. It was his second win of the weekend and third of 2020.

Singles Results
1. No. 55 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. No. 77 Alexis Galarneau (NCST): 6-4, 6-2
2. No. 125 Luc Fomba (TCU) def Tadas Babelis (NCST): 6-1, 6-0
3. No. 122 Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) vs. Yannai Barkai (NCST): 5-7, 4-2
4. No. 74 Jacob Fearnley (TCU) vs. Rafael Izquierdo Luque (NCST): 6-2, 3-6, 2-3
5. Bertus Kruger (TCU) vs. Robin Catry (NCST): 6-7(4), 1-3
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Martin Rocens (NCST): 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish – 2, 1, 6

Up Next
The Horned Frogs look to keep the momentum going into Sunday's matchup with No. 7 Texas A&M. The match will begin at 9 a.m. CT.

For more information on TCU men's tennis, visit gofrogs.com and follow the team on social media: @TCUMensTennis on twitter, Facebook and the all new men's tennis Instagram.