TCU Falls to Virginia

Thursday, February 6

Charlottesville, VA

5:00 p.m.

TCU

Virginia

2/6/2020 8:01:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Horned Frogs come up short on the East Coast.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – TCU men's tennis (3-2) dropped a road contest with Virginia (5-3) Thursday evening in Charlottesville, Va. Luc Fomba recorded the Horned Frogs point in the loss.

"They played better than we did," head coach David Roditi said. "Fomba and Alastair played well and the rest can play better. We knew this would be a tough road stretch and we would have to play well to beat these good programs on the road and we simply didn't play well enough to win. "Their coaches prepared them better and now we get to regroup and see if can compete and execute better at home against UNC Sunday. We thank those TCU alums for coming out to support us on the road. Thank you to Boars Head resort for their great hospitality and opening their doors to their beautiful facility."

DOUBLES RECAP
The Horned Frogs gave themselves an opportunity in doubles play as all three matches were on-serve in the late.

Tadeas Paroulek and Sander Jong played at No. 1 doubles for the first time this season, going up against the No. 35-ranked pairing from Virginia. The duo battled throughout the match, breaking back to put the match on serve, 4-4, but fell in the resulting games to lose, 4-6.

A new pairing of Alastair Gray and Tomas Jirousek played No. 3 doubles and held serve with their opponents for the first 11 games, 5-6. Unfortunately, they would suffer the only break of the match in the next game and fall, 5-7, giving UVA the doubles point.

Doubles Results
1. #35 Matthew Lord/Carl Soderlund (VA) def. Sander Jong/Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) 6-4
2. Christian Alshon/William Woodall (VA) vs. Luc Fomba/Bertus Kruger (TCU) 6-5, unfinished
3. Ryan Goetz/Gianni Ross (VA) def. Alastair Gray/Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 7-5
Order of finish – 1,3

SINGLES RECAP
Fomba was the only Horned Frog to finish his match on top, with Gray and Jirousek still playing their third-sets. Virginia used wins on two, four and five to clinch the match.

Fomba pounced on his opponent early with his ferocious serve and showcased his return game late in the set to win the final five games, 6-2. In the second, he continued to serve well and managed a late break to go in front, 6-5. He would win his third match of the spring in the next game win the point for TCU. Fomba is now 3-0 this spring.

On court one, Gray took his first set, 6-4. Showing tremendous court coverage to track down balls and frustrate his opponent. He jumped in front by a pair of breaks early, 4-1 and held on to win the set, 6-4. He fell in the second off a late break, 4-6 and was just beginning the third set when play was suspended.

Tomas Jirousek fell behind in his opening set, 1-5, at the No. 6 slot. He managed a break but it was too little too late and he dropped the first set, 3-6. In the second, Jirousek was invigorated. After suffering a break on his second service game, he responded with five straight games to win the set, 6-2 and force a third. He was ahead, 1-0 in the third when play was suspended. By matches end, Jirousek had won nine of the last 12 games played in the match.

Singles Results
1. Carl Soderlund (VA) vs. #55 Alastair Gray (TCU) 4-6, 6-4, unfinished
2. #81 Ryan Goetz (VA) def. #122 Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) 6-2, 6-2
3. #125 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Matthew Lord (VA) 6-2, 7-5
4. Gianni Ross (VA) def. Bertus Kruger (TCU) 7-5, 6-3
5. William Woodall (VA) def. Sander Jong (TCU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Christian Alshon (VA) vs. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-3, 2-6, 0-1, unfinished
Order of finish – 2,3,4,5

Up Next
TCU returns to Fort Worth to prepare for a Sunday afternoon meeting with USTA No. 1 North Carolina. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m., indoors at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. Admission is free.

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.