TCU Overpowers No. 17 Mississippi State, 6-1

Friday, February 11

Fort Worth, Texas

6 PM

TCU

Mississippi State

TCU Overpowers No. 17 Mississippi State, 6-1

2/11/2022 11:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score TCU 6 MSU 1

The Horned Frogs collect second Top 25 win in a row

FORT WORTH – No. 4 TCU men's tennis (7-1) put on a show in front of a packed house inside the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, defeating No. 17 Mississippi State, 6-1, Friday night. The Horned Frogs came back to win a contentious doubles point before claiming five of six singles matches to record their fifth straight victory and third Top 25 win of the season.

"This was just a great college tennis night," head coach David Roditi said. "I think everyone would agree, win or lose, it was great to see such a fun atmosphere. I'm so proud of our guys for their effort in doubles. We were down the whole time and our guys just hung in there, showed a lot of poise and confidence and got a critical doubles point. We knew singles would be a battle. There were some things we did well and other things we can get better at. It's always fun to play Mississippi State. Those guys are true bulldogs. We play them as much as we can and its always a battle, at the end, we shake hands and wish each other luck the rest of the way. It's great for college tennis. Thank you so much to all our student athletes that came out and supported and all the fans for really packing this place. The Barn held up tonight. Looking forward to being here again on Sunday against No. 6 Virginia. Go Frogs!"

The Horned Frogs clinched the dual at 4-1, winning three of the four initial matches on court, before picking up extra points from Jake Fearnley and Lui Maxted later on in the evening.

In doubles action, TCU found themselves in a tough spot to start. Mississippi State went up a break on two courts (3-5 at No. 1 and 3-4 at No. 3) before the Horned Frogs stormed back to win on both courts and take the doubles point. Luc Fomba and Fearnley rattled off four straight games at No. 1 doubles to win, 7-5, before Juan Carlos Aguilar and Tim Ruehl broke back to tie their match at No. 3, 5-5, only to break their opponent's next serve and clinch the doubles point, 7-5.

DOUBLES QUICK HITS

TCU won its eighth straight doubles point of the season with victories at No. 1 and No. 3.
The Horned Frogs have started the season 8-0 in doubles points, the best start in the Roditi era and longest since 2008 (nine doubles points).
Fomba and Fearnley defeated the No. 32 ranked team in the nation at No. 1 doubles.
It was their first ranked win together as a pair in their first attempt.
They improve to 5-1 together this season, all at No. 1.
Fomba improves his career record at No. 1 doubles to 17-8 while Fearnley progresses to 11-8.
Aguilar and Ruehl earned their fifth doubles win of the season together, clinching the doubles point, 7-5.
They have won five straight doubles matches together, contributing doubles victories in each of TCU's last five duals.
This was Aguilar's 65^th career dual doubles victory and fifth as a Horned Frog – previous wins recorded at Texas A&M.
Ruehl won his 44^th career dual doubles match today and his fifth at TCU.
TCU is 16-2 in doubles matches this season and is outscoring opponents 128-84.

Doubles Results
1. Luc Fomba/Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #32 Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 7-5
2. #20 Sander Jong/Lui Maxted (TCU) vs. #24 Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Tim Ruehl (TCU) def. Carles Hernandes/Alberto Colas (MSU) 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 3

TCU kept the momentum going into singles play. The Frogs won three of the first four opening sets, playing high quality tennis against one of the top teams in the SEC. Sander Jong finished first with a straight sets victory. Fomba was next to secure a point, putting TCU in front, 3-0, with a 7-6(3), 6-4 win. With TCU just one point away from clinching the dual, Pedro Vives came up short in his second set tiebreak, leaving an avenue of victory open for MSU with four singles matches still in session.

After the Bulldogs won a point at No. 2 singles to make the dual score, 3-1, Vives came through, winning his third set, 6-2, to claim his second singles win of the year and clinch the victory for TCU.

After the match was clinched, Fearnley won a super-set tiebreaker, 10-6, to win at No. 6 (7-6(1), 4-6, 1-0(6). Maxted finished out the day by winning a pair of tiebreakers in a thrilling match, 7-6(3), 7-6(5), giving TCU a 6-1 victory.

SINGLES QUICK HITS

TCU won matches at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 to secure its fifth victory in a row and third over a ranked opponent.
Jong won his 11th overall match of the season and sixth singles match. He leads the team in both categories.
Jong has won eight matches in a row overall, only dropping two sets in that stretch (14-2).
Fomba defeated No. 20 Florian Broska in straight sets for his first ranked win of the season.
His victory holds special meaning after falling to Broska last season, 6-4, 6-4.
He won his first set via tiebreaker, 7-6(3). Fomba is now 1-1 in tiebreakers this season.
Vives clinched the match with a three-set win at No. 4.
He advances to 2-0 this season in singles and 3-0 overall.
Fearnley recorded his fifth singles win of the season (5-1) at No. 6.
He is 2-0 in matches that go three sets this season and has won his last six three-setters dating back to 2019.
Maxted claimed his fourth singles win of the season at No. 5.
He won both of his sets via tiebreaker after never having played a collegiate tiebreaker before. He is now 2-0 in tiebreaker situations.
TCU is 7-1 this season and 3-1 vs. Top 25 teams.
The Horned Frogs are 27-11 in singles matches this dual season.
TCU has now won 23 of its 27 singles matches in straight sets, including three of the five wins today.

Singles Results
1. #44 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #20 Florian Broska (MSU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
2. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. #15 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TCU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3. #109 Sander Jong (TCU) def. Carles Hernandes (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Bautista Vilicich (MSU) 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2
5. #69 Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5)
6. #52 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. Alberto Colas (MSU) 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)

Order of finish – 3, 1, 2, 4 ,6, 5

Up Next
The Horned Frogs prepare for another ranked matchup on the purple courts. TCU will host No. 6 Virginia on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. Admission is free along with free pizza courtesy of Buffalo Bros.

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