TCU Too Much for Mustangs

Monday, March 21

Dallas, TX

6 PM

TCU

SMU

TCU Too Much for Mustangs

3/21/2022 10:37:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score TCU 4 SMU 1

Horned Frogs defeat SMU, 4-1, in Dallas

DALLAS – No. 2 TCU men's tennis (16-2) overpowered SMU (11-6), 4-1, on Monday night at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas. The Horned Frogs won a lively doubles point before winning three singles matches in straight sets to take down their cross-town rivals for the 13^th consecutive meeting, dating back to 2010.

Due to weather, the match was played indoors. TCU improves to 14-1 indoors this season and have won 12 straight, the longest indoor winning streak in program history.

"It's always a battle, playing SMU," head coach David Roditi said. "It's a special kind of match here in the metroplex. It's a great facility and a great atmosphere for college tennis. The level was very good. I'm pleased that our guys were ready to go. We played probably our best doubles match of the year at No. 1, which was a highlight, and then Tim [Ruehl] and Pedro [Vives], two great doubles players playing in their first match together, were able to put it together. We were able to play some of the guys that haven't had a chance to play singles into the lineup, Tim and Tomas [Jirousek]. They are two highly talented guys that have missed some time with injuries but they were able to play today, Tom played a nice match and got a win and I'm confident Tim would have won his match if they finished after a slow start. It was great to see all of the TCU alumni in the crowd, some people that I coached and others that I played with were here cheering us on, despite the weather. It's always great to see the TCU support here across the metroplex. Now, we have to get ready for an absolute war with Baylor at home. They always bring a lot of noise, so I hope our crowd is ready. Either bring your earplugs or be ready to cheer. Go Frogs!"

Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley set the tone in doubles play, winning five straight games to take a 5-1 lead and holding serve for the 6-2 victory. With No. 1 doubles already in hand, TCU was just one match away, with both courts on serve. In the end it was the Tim Ruehl and Pedro Vives, getting the late break thanks to a devastating lob from Ruehl on deuce point, giving the No. 3 pair a 5-4 lead, which they managed to hold in the next game, clinching the doubles point for the Frogs.

DOUBLES QUICK HITS

TCU won the doubles point with wins from the No. 1 and No. 3 pairings.
Fomba and Fearnley dominated their match at No. 1, winning 6-2.
The No. 6 ranked pairing in the nation collected their 12^th win together this season.
They are 12-3 together this year and 11-2 indoors, all at No. 1.
Ruehl and Vives clinched the doubles point with a late break on court three, 6-4.
This was their first match paired together this season and Ruehl's first doubles match since the ITA Indoor National Championship back in February.
Vives is now 5-1 in doubles while Ruehl improves to 7-3.
TCU improves to 28-6 in doubles matches this season, outscoring opponents 238-172.
TCU has won 16 of 18 doubles points this season (88.9%).

Doubles Results
1. #6 Luc Fomba/Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. Adam Neff/Ivan Thamma (SMU) 6-2
2. Pranav Kumar/Liam Krall (SMU) vs. #4 Lui Maxted/Sander Jong (TCU) 6-5, unfinished
3. Pedro Vives/Tim Ruehl (TCU) def. Huntley Allen/Julian Steinhausen (SMU) 6-4

Order of finish: 1, 3

The Horned Frogs won three of the four straight set results today, collecting wins from Fearnley, Tomas Jirousek and Sander Jong. TCU won four first sets to put SMU on its heels, a pair of convinving sets from Fearnley (6-1) and Jirousek (6-2) followed by a pair of late breaks from Fomba (7-5) and Jong (7-5). In the second sets, Fearnley and Jirousek polished off their victories while Ruehl forced a third set on five. SMU won a point from court four before Jong won five straight points in his second-set tiebreaker to secure the Horned Frog victory.

SINGLES QUICK HITS

Fearnley returned to the singles lineup after getting the day off in the match on Saturday, showing off his fresh legs to the tune of a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 3 singles.
It was his 10^th win of the season (10-4) and his first-career victory in the top half of the singles lineup.
This was Fearnley's second largest victory of the season after he defeated UTRGV's Lawrance 6-0, 6-1 in the season opener.
Jirousek maintained his strong form, taking a 6-2, 6-3 victory at No. 6.
Jirousek has won both of his matches over the last three days by a combined score of 24-8.
He improves to 3-3 this season and 2-1 at No. 6.
Jong made his second career start at No. 2 singles, clinching the match with a 7-5, 7-6(4) result.
He is now 2-0 in his career at No. 2 after also beating UTRGV's No. 2 in the first match of the season.
He collects his team-leading 12^th victory of the season, improving to 12-4.
Jong is now 11-3 indoors this season and has won his last five matches dating back to ITA Indoor Nationals where he was named the tournament's most outstanding performer.
TCU is 16-2 this season and 8-2 vs. Top 25 teams.
The Horned Frogs are 58-25 in singles matches this dual season.

Singles Results
1. Liam Krall (SMU) vs. #14 Luc Fomba (TCU) 5-7, 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
2. #89 Sander Jong (TCU) def. Adam Neff (SMU) 7-5, 7-6
3. #49 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #49 Caleb Chakravarthi (SMU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Pranav Kumar (SMU) def. Pedro Vives (TCU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Ivan Thamma (SMU) vs. Tim Ruehl (TCU) 6-2, 1-6, 1-3, unfinished
6. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) def. Louis Cloud (SMU) 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish – 3, 4, 6, 2

Up Next
The Horned Frogs prepare for another rivalry match with No. 6 Baylor, on the purple courts. The match is set for Friday, March 25, at 5:30 p.m. at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. It is free to attend.

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