TCU Bucks Ohio State: Advances to Elite 8

Monday, May 17

Orlando, Fla.

12 PM

TCU

Ohio State

TCU Bucks Ohio State: Advances to Elite 8

5/17/2021 5:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis

The Horned Frogs advance to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals with a 4-1 win over Ohio State

ORLANDO, Fla. – No. 7 TCU men's tennis (19-7) advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight with a 4-1 victory over Ohio State (22-4) on Monday afternoon at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. TCU reaches the Elite Eight for the 11th time in program history and fourth time in the last six completed seasons.

The Horned Frogs won the doubles point and claimed singles wins from Luc Fomba, Tomas Jirousek and Tadeas Paroulek to earn the victory. They will now battle No. 2 seeded Baylor in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 20.

"This was a tremendous team effort by the little sister of the poor today," head coach David Roditi said. "I'm so proud of them for stepping up after Sander Jong wasn't able to play. We had to make some last second changes in doubles and singles and ask some guys to step up and that's exactly what they did. We've been facing challenges like that all year and the guys showed a lot of resilience today to go out there and battle for the match."

"It started with the doubles point, with two huge wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Then in singles, Fomba. Beautiful performance by him to defeat the Big 10 Player of the Year. I was so proud of the way he competed and the way he played. He was up a break in the second and kept using his serve and competing. I'm so proud of him. It's been so fun to watch him grow. Then Tomas Jirousek had an amazing performance at No. 4. He gave us a quick point by doing what he needed to do on a big stage. Then, Tadeas [Paroulek], we're not surprised, he;s been playing as well as anybody."

"We won some critical first sets. A tiebreaker at three [Fearnley] and a big set on five [Paroulek] and that was all the space we needed to keep the momentum in our favor and close out the match. It's so fun to play in front of our fans. Thank you to those close to us that made the trip out here and all the local fans as well. We're so thankful to get to play here and have this opportunity."

"This win is for the team in 2017 that lost to Ohio State in the Elite 8. We were up 4-2 in the third that day so it was nice to get this win today for Guillermo Nuñez, Jerry Lopez, Cameron Norrie Reese Stalder and Trevor Johnson. That was a tough loss for a great team that year. So it was great to get the Buckeyes, whom we have so much respect for. Nobody has done a better job than Ty Tucker in the last 20 years. So it's really special to get a win over that program here at NCAAs. Go Frogs!!"

TCU got out of the gates quickly in doubles play, with the No. 2 pairing of Jake Fearnley and Bertus Kruger snagging an early break against the former No, 1 ranked doubles pair in the nation, Robert Cash/John McNally. The Buckeyes broke back in that match to tie it up, 3-3, before yet another impressive return game from Fearnley/Kruger put them back in front, 4-3, on their way to a 6-4 victory.

At No. 1 doubles, Alastair Gray and Luc Fomba found their break at 3-2 to go in front 4-2. From there, Gray and Fomba's serves took over as the Frogs comfortably held serve for the remainder of the match to collect their first win together in NCAA tournament play.

In singles action, Jirousek led the way, earning a break in his first return game on his way to a quick, 6-2 first set. That momentum from No. 4 carried into the other courts as the Frogs won five opening sets in a dominant display. Fomba won three of his seven break points to take down OSU's Kingsley. Kingsley entered the match with a perfect 27-0 record in singles matches before facing Fomba. By the end of the match, the Horned Frogs had won the three singles matches needed to clinch at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 with Fearnley up a break in his second set and Kruger on serve in his third set.

DOUBLES QUICK HITS

The Horned Frogs won the doubles point for the 17^th time this season with wins at No. 1 and No. 2.
TCU's first doubles victory came from the No. 1 pairing, Luc Fomba and Alastair Gray: 6-4.
They improve to 14-7 as a pairing this season and 11-7 at No. 1 doubles. TCU is 10-2 in doubles when Fomba/Gray collect a win.
This was their first NCAA Tournament victory together after falling to Arizona State and leaving their match against Arkansas unfinished.
Jacob Fearnley and Bertus Kruger clinched the doubles point at the No. 2 position.
Fearnley and Kruger secured their seventh win together as a doubles team, breaking back to restore their early break lead and win, 6-4.
They improve to 7-3 as a pairing and 3-2 at the No. 2 slot. They have won six of their last seven matches together as a pair, including a 4-1 record in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments combined.
Fearnley is now 13-5 in doubles play and Kruger improves to 9-6 this season.
TCU is now 40-23 in doubles matches this season and 9-3 in post season play (Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments).

Doubles Results
1. #2 Alastair Gray/Luc Fomba (TCU) def. James Trotter/Justin Boulais (OSU) 6-4
2. Jake Fearnley/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Robert Cash/John McNally (OSU) 6-4
3. Tadeas Paroulek/Tomas Jirousek (TCU) vs. Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy (OSU) 2-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: 1, 2

SINGLES QUICK HITS

TCU clinched the win with victories at No. 4, 2 and 5, all in straight sets.
Tomas Jirousek won the first match of the day with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory at No. 4.
He is now 2-0 in his career in the NCAA Tournament.
This was the first time Jirousek has been the first Horned Frog to win a singles match in dual play this season.
He won his second set, 6-0, for his first-collegiate bagel.
He is now 9-5 in singles play this dual season and 11-6 overall. All nine of Jirousek's dual victories this season have come in straight sets.
Luc Fomba took down Cannon Kingsley in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 2.
His serving was impeccable throughout the match, finishing off the win with an ace.
Fomba ruined his opponent's perfect season. Kingsley was 27-0 before falling to Fomba today.
Fomba set a new career high with his 22^nd singles victory this season, improving his dual record to 14-6 and 9-3 at No. 2.
Tadeas Paroulek continued his strong run of form this postseason with a 6-4, 6-1 victory at No. 5.
He has been unstoppable in the NCAA tournament to this point, winning all three of his singles matches without dropping a set.
His second set (6-1) was the fourth time in six sets that he has held his opponents to one or fewer games against. He is outplaying his opponents by a combined score of 37-13 this tournament.
Paroulek is now up to 10 singles wins this season and improves his record at No. 5 to 7-7.
TCU is now 75-46 in singles matches this season and 15-6 in post season play (Big 12 and NCAA Tournaments).

Singles Results
1. John McNally (OSU) def. #12 Alastair Gray (TCU) 6-4, 6-0
2. #17 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #120 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. #110 Jake Fearnley (TCU) vs. James Trotter (OSU) 7-6 (7-1), 4-3, unfinished
4. #94 Tomas Jirousek (TCU) def. Justin Boulais (OSU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) def. Kyle Seelig (OSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Bertus Kruger (TCU) vs. JJ Tracy (OSU) 6-3, 1-6, 1-1, unfinished
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1, 4

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.