Friday, February 17
Chicago, IL
9 AM
TCU
4
vs
0
Baylor
Horned Frogs Shut Out Baylor to Advance to Quarterfinals of Indoor Nationals
2/17/2023 2:59:00 PM | Men's Tennis
No. 3 TCU moves on to face No. 13 seed Georgia on Saturday
CHICAGO – For the second straight year, No. 3 TCU opened the ITA Indoor National Championships opposite the same team it faced in its indoor regular season finale.
And as was the case 365 days prior, the Horned Frogs flexed their muscles in full to advance to the quarterfinals of the grand finale of indoor tennis.
TCU (9-0) shut out No. 14 seed Baylor 4-0 on Friday inside the XS Tennis Village in Chicago.
In doing so, the Horned Frogs punched their fourth ticket to the Indoor Nationals quarterfinals in the David Roditi era and third since 2019. The Horned Frogs now meet No. 13 seed Georgia at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
"Proud of our guys," Roditi said. "They fought hard. Baylor came back – won a few second sets – but our guys just kept playing. Proud of these guys. Go Frogs."
The victory was TCU's second in nine days over its conference rival. The Horned Frogs blew past the Bears 4-1 on Feb. 8 in Waco.
The teamwide effort was as dominant as any collective showing in recent memory in a rivalry that has produced nine of the last 10 Big 12 Conference champions. TCU's shutout of Baylor was the first in the series' history since Apr. 20, 2016 – a 4-0 result in favor of purple and white.
TCU also extended its program-record and nation-leading indoor winning streak to 21 and notched its fourth straight victory over an ITA top-15 foe – all of which have been away from home.
Baylor fought TCU tooth and nail in doubles action in the teams' first meeting. But on Friday, TCU quickly took care to ensure there would be no such drama.
The Horned Frogs rolled to 6-3 triumphs on courts two and three to clinch their program-record 11th straight doubles point.
The No. 2 post saw freshman Jack Pinnington make his doubles debut, where he teamed up with Sander Jong to down the Bears' tandem of Tadeas Paroulek and Zsombor Velcz. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives took out Baylor's Luc Koenig and Ethan Muza for the second straight week in the No. 3 flight to secure a 1-0 head start.
TCU kept its foot firmly on the gas as the action shifted to singles play. The Horned Frogs claimed five of the first completed sets.
Jong swept Velcz 6-4, 6-2 on court four to boost TCU's edge to 2-0.
Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley followed with straight set takedowns of their own to complete the shutout.
Fomba, No. 49 in the ITA singles rankings, defeated Marko Miladinovic for the second time in as many outings to the tune of a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) result in the No. 2 post.
The 17th-ranked Fearnley earned his first match-clincher of the season shortly thereafter. He bested Paroulek 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 on court one.
TCU was trending toward a 7-0 skunk when play was stopped. The Horned Frogs held commanding leads on the remaining three courts.
Jack Pinnington drew the assignment of No. 44 Finn Bass in the No. 3 flight. He dropped the opening frame 3-6 but assumed complete control of his match in the second set. Pinnington evened the dual with a 6-3 second frame and led it 5-2 before Fearnley clinched.
Gorzny, No. 124 in the ITA singles rankings, led Koenig 6-4, 3-6, 4-2 on court five. Lui Maxted got the nod as TCU's No. 6 singles player. He battled No. 125 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi 6-4, 3-6 in the first two frames but built what billed as an insurmountable 5-0 advantage in the decisive third set.
Saturday's tussle for a spot in the semis will be the first meeting between TCU and Georgia in more than a decade. The programs last squared off on the tennis courts on Jan. 29, 2012. The Bulldogs own an 8-1 edge in the all-time series.
Georgia outlasted No. 6 seed South Carolina 4-3 to set up Saturday's match.
Doubles Results
Doubles Notables
Order of finish: 4, 2, 1
Singles Notables
And as was the case 365 days prior, the Horned Frogs flexed their muscles in full to advance to the quarterfinals of the grand finale of indoor tennis.
TCU (9-0) shut out No. 14 seed Baylor 4-0 on Friday inside the XS Tennis Village in Chicago.
In doing so, the Horned Frogs punched their fourth ticket to the Indoor Nationals quarterfinals in the David Roditi era and third since 2019. The Horned Frogs now meet No. 13 seed Georgia at 9 a.m. on Saturday.
"Proud of our guys," Roditi said. "They fought hard. Baylor came back – won a few second sets – but our guys just kept playing. Proud of these guys. Go Frogs."
The victory was TCU's second in nine days over its conference rival. The Horned Frogs blew past the Bears 4-1 on Feb. 8 in Waco.
The teamwide effort was as dominant as any collective showing in recent memory in a rivalry that has produced nine of the last 10 Big 12 Conference champions. TCU's shutout of Baylor was the first in the series' history since Apr. 20, 2016 – a 4-0 result in favor of purple and white.
TCU also extended its program-record and nation-leading indoor winning streak to 21 and notched its fourth straight victory over an ITA top-15 foe – all of which have been away from home.
Baylor fought TCU tooth and nail in doubles action in the teams' first meeting. But on Friday, TCU quickly took care to ensure there would be no such drama.
The Horned Frogs rolled to 6-3 triumphs on courts two and three to clinch their program-record 11th straight doubles point.
The No. 2 post saw freshman Jack Pinnington make his doubles debut, where he teamed up with Sander Jong to down the Bears' tandem of Tadeas Paroulek and Zsombor Velcz. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives took out Baylor's Luc Koenig and Ethan Muza for the second straight week in the No. 3 flight to secure a 1-0 head start.
TCU kept its foot firmly on the gas as the action shifted to singles play. The Horned Frogs claimed five of the first completed sets.
Jong swept Velcz 6-4, 6-2 on court four to boost TCU's edge to 2-0.
Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley followed with straight set takedowns of their own to complete the shutout.
Fomba, No. 49 in the ITA singles rankings, defeated Marko Miladinovic for the second time in as many outings to the tune of a 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) result in the No. 2 post.
The 17th-ranked Fearnley earned his first match-clincher of the season shortly thereafter. He bested Paroulek 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 on court one.
TCU was trending toward a 7-0 skunk when play was stopped. The Horned Frogs held commanding leads on the remaining three courts.
Jack Pinnington drew the assignment of No. 44 Finn Bass in the No. 3 flight. He dropped the opening frame 3-6 but assumed complete control of his match in the second set. Pinnington evened the dual with a 6-3 second frame and led it 5-2 before Fearnley clinched.
Gorzny, No. 124 in the ITA singles rankings, led Koenig 6-4, 3-6, 4-2 on court five. Lui Maxted got the nod as TCU's No. 6 singles player. He battled No. 125 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi 6-4, 3-6 in the first two frames but built what billed as an insurmountable 5-0 advantage in the decisive third set.
Saturday's tussle for a spot in the semis will be the first meeting between TCU and Georgia in more than a decade. The programs last squared off on the tennis courts on Jan. 29, 2012. The Bulldogs own an 8-1 edge in the all-time series.
Georgia outlasted No. 6 seed South Carolina 4-3 to set up Saturday's match.
Doubles Results
- Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. #9 Finn Bass / Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU): 5-5
- Sander Jong / Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Tadeas Paroulek / Zsombor Velcz (BU): 6-3
- Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Ethan Muza / Luc Koenig (BU): 6-3
Doubles Notables
- Gorzny and Vives earned their fourth straight win to boost their season record to 7-1.
- The Jong-Pinnington pairing marked the first time Jong, a fifth-year senior, played without his usual partner, Lui Maxted, in his last 44 doubles outings.
- Jong collected his 65th career doubles victory.
- TCU is 18-4 in doubles play this season. The Horned Frogs have yet to trail in doubles action
- #17 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #117 Tadeas Paroulek (BU): 7-6 [7-5], 6-4
- #49 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Marko Miladinovic (BU): 6-2, 7-6 [7-3]
- Jack Pinnington (TCU) vs. #44 Finn Bass (BU): 3-6, 6-3, 5-2
- Sander Jong (TCU) def. Zsombor Velcz (BU): 6-4, 6-2
- #124 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) vs. Luc Koenig (BU): 6-4, 3-6, 4-2
- Lui Maxted (TCU) vs. #125 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU): 6-4, 3-6, 5-0
Order of finish: 4, 2, 1
Singles Notables
- Fearnley rallied from a 3-5 hole in set one.
- Fearnley notched his team-leading second straight ranked victory with his sweep of Paroulek.
- Fearnley boosted his combined singles record in 2022-2023 to 13-4.
- Fomba kept his 2023 resume spotless. He now commands a 14-0 combined singles and doubles record and has yet to lose a set.
- Pinnington won 14-of-21 games after falling behind 4-0 in set one vs. Bass.
- Jong improved his singles record to 6-1 this spring. His six singles victories trail only Fomba (7-0) for the team lead.
- Every victory for Fearnley (5-2), Fomba and Jong has come in straight sets.
- Maxted maintained his undefeated 5-0 spring singles record.
- The Jong-Pinnington pairing marked the first time Jong, a fifth-year senior, played without his usual partner, Lui Maxted, in his last 44 doubles outings.
- Jong collected his 65th career doubles victory.
- TCU is 18-4 in doubles play this season. The Horned Frogs have yet to trail in doubles action
- The performance signified TCU's first singles sweep since defeating Texas Tech 4-0 on Jan. 29 to clinch its spot in Indoor Nationals
- Overall, TCU now holds a 32-7 singles record and has won 82-of-103 completed sets.
Players Mentioned
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