Saturday, February 18
Chicago, IL
9 AM
TCU
5
vs
0
Georgia
TCU Overpowers Georgia On its Way to Semifinals of ITA Indoor National Championships
2/18/2023 2:52:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Horned Frogs move on to face No. 2 seed Kentucky at noon on Sunday
CHICAGO – Georgia put up a fight, but TCU was simply too much.
The third-ranked Horned Frogs overpowered No. 13 seed Georgia 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the ITA Indoor National Championships on Saturday inside the XS Tennis Village.
"Great win for TCU," head coach David Roditi said. "So proud of our guys. TCU had not beaten Georgia since 1982, when [All-American] David Pate was on the team. It's been a long time. Just a legendary program. Great win for the guys. We were down a break on a lot of courts in the first [singles] set. They just hung in there and fought like dogs.
"I know they were motivated, too," Roditi continued. "To beat Georgia, that one feels a little more special after our January. It's for all of you – Frog fans, coaches, coach [Doug] Meechan, coach Sonny Dykes – we were thinking about you. That was a driving force behind the motivation."
The Horned Frogs (10-0) picked as good a time as any to snap their 40-year win drought vs. Georgia. TCU's triumph secured its second straight trip to the Indoor Nationals semifinals. The Horned Frogs will face No. 2 seed Kentucky at noon on Sunday for the right to play for their second straight indoor national championship.
The Horned Frogs have now won six straight Indoor Nationals duals and are 11-4 in the tournament since 2019.
The shutout of the Bulldogs was TCU's second in as many days. The Horned Frogs commenced their stay in the Windy City with a 4-0 rout of No. 10 Baylor on Friday.
TCU also extended a pair of notable streaks with the result.
The Horned Frogs notched their school record and nation-leading 22nd straight indoor victory. Of the 22 wins, 14 have come vs. ranked opponents. The triumph was TCU's fifth straight win over a program featured in the top-15 of the ITA team rankings.
Georgia fought TCU harder than any foe it has faced in 2023 in doubles. The Horned Frogs never led by more than two games on any court. All three sets went to a tiebreaker.
Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives were the first pair to finish. The tandem snapped a 5-5 gridlock against Georgia's Blake Croyder and Britton Johnston on court three to claim a 7-5 win.
Georgia returned fire in the first flight, as the ITA No. 24 doubles team of Ethan Quinn and Trent Byrde knocked off TCU's Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba 7-6.
The doubles point was in turn decided in a court two battle between TCU's Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington and the Bulldogs' Teodor Guisca and Philip Henning. Jong and Pinnington opened up a 3-1 lead only to find themselves down 4-3. The duo responded by winning four of its last five games to stake the Horned Frogs to a 1-0 head start.
By virtue of Jong and Pinnington's win, the Horned Frogs clinched their program-record 12th straight doubles point – a streak that dates back to the 2022 campaign.
TCU then won 10-of-12 completed singles sets to complete the shutout. The Horned Frogs clinched the match with sweeps on courts one, three, four and five.
Jong widened the Horned Frogs' edge to 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-3 takedown of the 62nd-ranked Croyder out of the No. 4 post.
Fearnley obtained the most notable singles victory in 2023 for TCU shortly thereafter. The junior swept Quinn, No. 5 in the ITA singles rankings, 7-6 [7-1], 6-3. Quinn was the nation's top-ranked singles player following the conclusion of the fall season. He represents the highest-ranked player Fearnley, currently ranked No. 17, and TCU have defeated thus far.
Pinnington and Gorzny won their matches simultaneously. Pinnington downed the 87th-ranked Byrde 7-5, 7-5 to earn the first singles win and match-clincher in his collegiate career. Gorzny was serving for his own match vs. Guisca in the No. 5 flight as Pinnington clinched. He fired off his final serve in a 7-6 [7-5], 6-4 result moments before Pinnington's contest went final, thereby allowing his victory to factor into the final result.
Fomba, the No. 49 singles player, was on his way to the first top-10 victory of his own this season. He faced the eighth-ranked Henning on court two. They alternated 6-4 wins in the first two frames, but Fomba led 4-3 in the decisive third set prior to play being halted.
Lui Maxted receive his second consecutive start as TCU's No. 6 singles player. He dropped his first set to Miguel Perez Pena 6-7 in a tiebreaker that featured an identical score. The sophomore was leading 5-1 in set two.
"We had two freshmen battling to see who would clinch it," Roditi said, "and they simultaneously won the match to make it 5-0. Proud of our guys. Tomorrow will be another battle. For now, we just have to get ready and take care of our bodies. Go Frogs."
Doubles Results
Doubles Notables
Singles Notables
The third-ranked Horned Frogs overpowered No. 13 seed Georgia 5-0 in the quarterfinals of the ITA Indoor National Championships on Saturday inside the XS Tennis Village.
"Great win for TCU," head coach David Roditi said. "So proud of our guys. TCU had not beaten Georgia since 1982, when [All-American] David Pate was on the team. It's been a long time. Just a legendary program. Great win for the guys. We were down a break on a lot of courts in the first [singles] set. They just hung in there and fought like dogs.
"I know they were motivated, too," Roditi continued. "To beat Georgia, that one feels a little more special after our January. It's for all of you – Frog fans, coaches, coach [Doug] Meechan, coach Sonny Dykes – we were thinking about you. That was a driving force behind the motivation."
The Horned Frogs (10-0) picked as good a time as any to snap their 40-year win drought vs. Georgia. TCU's triumph secured its second straight trip to the Indoor Nationals semifinals. The Horned Frogs will face No. 2 seed Kentucky at noon on Sunday for the right to play for their second straight indoor national championship.
The Horned Frogs have now won six straight Indoor Nationals duals and are 11-4 in the tournament since 2019.
The shutout of the Bulldogs was TCU's second in as many days. The Horned Frogs commenced their stay in the Windy City with a 4-0 rout of No. 10 Baylor on Friday.
TCU also extended a pair of notable streaks with the result.
The Horned Frogs notched their school record and nation-leading 22nd straight indoor victory. Of the 22 wins, 14 have come vs. ranked opponents. The triumph was TCU's fifth straight win over a program featured in the top-15 of the ITA team rankings.
Georgia fought TCU harder than any foe it has faced in 2023 in doubles. The Horned Frogs never led by more than two games on any court. All three sets went to a tiebreaker.
Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives were the first pair to finish. The tandem snapped a 5-5 gridlock against Georgia's Blake Croyder and Britton Johnston on court three to claim a 7-5 win.
Georgia returned fire in the first flight, as the ITA No. 24 doubles team of Ethan Quinn and Trent Byrde knocked off TCU's Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba 7-6.
The doubles point was in turn decided in a court two battle between TCU's Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington and the Bulldogs' Teodor Guisca and Philip Henning. Jong and Pinnington opened up a 3-1 lead only to find themselves down 4-3. The duo responded by winning four of its last five games to stake the Horned Frogs to a 1-0 head start.
By virtue of Jong and Pinnington's win, the Horned Frogs clinched their program-record 12th straight doubles point – a streak that dates back to the 2022 campaign.
TCU then won 10-of-12 completed singles sets to complete the shutout. The Horned Frogs clinched the match with sweeps on courts one, three, four and five.
Jong widened the Horned Frogs' edge to 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-3 takedown of the 62nd-ranked Croyder out of the No. 4 post.
Fearnley obtained the most notable singles victory in 2023 for TCU shortly thereafter. The junior swept Quinn, No. 5 in the ITA singles rankings, 7-6 [7-1], 6-3. Quinn was the nation's top-ranked singles player following the conclusion of the fall season. He represents the highest-ranked player Fearnley, currently ranked No. 17, and TCU have defeated thus far.
Pinnington and Gorzny won their matches simultaneously. Pinnington downed the 87th-ranked Byrde 7-5, 7-5 to earn the first singles win and match-clincher in his collegiate career. Gorzny was serving for his own match vs. Guisca in the No. 5 flight as Pinnington clinched. He fired off his final serve in a 7-6 [7-5], 6-4 result moments before Pinnington's contest went final, thereby allowing his victory to factor into the final result.
Fomba, the No. 49 singles player, was on his way to the first top-10 victory of his own this season. He faced the eighth-ranked Henning on court two. They alternated 6-4 wins in the first two frames, but Fomba led 4-3 in the decisive third set prior to play being halted.
Lui Maxted receive his second consecutive start as TCU's No. 6 singles player. He dropped his first set to Miguel Perez Pena 6-7 in a tiebreaker that featured an identical score. The sophomore was leading 5-1 in set two.
"We had two freshmen battling to see who would clinch it," Roditi said, "and they simultaneously won the match to make it 5-0. Proud of our guys. Tomorrow will be another battle. For now, we just have to get ready and take care of our bodies. Go Frogs."
Doubles Results
- #24 Trent Byrde / Ethan Quinn (UGA) def. Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba (TCU): 7-6
- Sander Jong / Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Teodor Guisca / Philip Henning (UGA): 7-5
- Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Blake Croyder / Britton Johnston (UGA): 7-5
Doubles Notables
- Gorzny and Vives are now 8-1 together as TCU's No. 3 doubles team. Saturday's victory was their fifth straight.
- Jong played alongside Pinnington for the second straight match.
- Fearnley and Fomba, the preseason ITA No. 1 doubles team, suffered their first defeat in 2023. Their combined indoor, outdoor and fall record still stands at a sparkling 29-8 since 2022.
- TCU is 20-5 in doubles play this season. The Horned Frogs have yet to trail in doubles action.
- #17 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #5 Ethan Quinn (UGA): 7-6 [7-1], 6-3
- #49 Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. #8 Philip Henning: 6-4, 4-6, 4-3
- Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #87 Trent Bryde: 7-5, 7-5
- Sander Jong (TCU) def. #62 Blake Croyder: 6-4, 6-3
- #124 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Teodor Guisca: 7-6 [7-5], 6-4
- Lui Maxted vs. Miguel Perez Pena (UGA): 6-7 [6-7], 5-1
Singles Notables
- Fearnley is now 6-2 in singles action on the indoor courts in 2023. All-but-one of his victories have been in the top singles flight.
- By defeating Quinn in straight sets, Fearnley earned his third straight sweep of a ranked opponent.
- Fearnley's combined indoor and fall singles record now stands at 16-4 in 2022-2023
- It was perhaps unsettling to see Fomba fall in doubles and enter a third set in singles play. He entered Saturday's dual having not dropped a set in 2023.
- Fomba's singles record stands at 7-0. He has won 17-of-18 completed singles sets thus far.
- Jong notched his team-leading 20th and 21st combined singles and doubles victories on Saturday. He sports a 21-6 overall Indoor Nationals record.
- Jong is tied with Fomba for the team-lead in indoor singles victories this season.
- Gorzny boosted his singles record to 6-0.
- Fomba, Gorzny and Maxted remain undefeated in singles play. Maxted's season record sits at 5-0
Players Mentioned
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