Wednesday, February 8
Waco, TX
6 PM
TCU
4
at
1
#10 Baylor
No. 3 TCU Blasts Baylor 4-1 to Cap Undefeated Indoor Regular Season
2/8/2023 10:53:00 PM | Men's Tennis
WACO – No. 3 TCU faced a stiff challenge on Wednesday, traveling into hostile territory to square off with its third ITA top-15 foe in six days.
The Horned Frogs rode 90 minutes south to the base of the Brazos River to meet No. 10 Baylor – a team that had claimed five of the previous six meetings between the programs – in front of a capacity crowd at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
The Bears proved battle ready and boisterous, but in the end, it didn't matter.
TCU boat raced Baylor 4-1 to earn its second straight victory over its Big 12 rival in Waco.
"Never a dull moment when you play Baylor, in any situation or any sport," head coach David Roditi said. "A lot of history there, and today was no different. It was an absolute battle. I thought it was a really good college match. We knew we were asking a lot from our guys to be on the road at No. 10 Tennessee, at No. 14 UNC, and then two days later, at No. 10 Baylor, and they handled it really well. Anytime you beat Baylor in anything, it's a good win."
The Horned Frogs (8-0) ensured they will enter next week's ITA Indoor National Championships unblemished with the result. The 8-0 overall record is the program's first-ever under Roditi and fourth in the 49-year history of the program. TCU also extended its program-record indoor winning streak to 20 and claimed its 10th straight road victory – a run that dates to April 2021.
The match was contested as a nonconference dual. TCU and Baylor (5-3) will meet under the Big 12 umbrella on Apr. 6 in Fort Worth. Both the Horned Frogs and Bears qualified for Indoor Nationals, held from Feb. 17-20 in Chicago.
Baylor (5-3) posed a real threat in doubles. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives coasted to their third straight win out of the No. 3 post, downing Luc Koenig and Ethan Muza 6-1. Elsewhere, though, TCU's top pairing of Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba found themselves down 4-1 to the ITA No. 9 doubles team of Finn Bass and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi. Sander Jong and Lui Maxted opened up a 4-1 edge against Tadeas Paroulek and Zsomor Velcz but found themselves on the wrong end of a 7-5 comeback. But Fomba and Fearnley fought back, claiming three straight games to even the score at 4-4, then closing the books with two more to secure a 7-5 triumph and clinch the doubles point.
Though down 1-0, Baylor had plenty of fight left. TCU dropped four of the first singles sets.
Fearnley and Fomba, however, swept on courts one and three while Gorzny battled back from a 1-0 hole in the No. 5 post to lock up the match. TCU captured eight-of-10 singles sets in the win.
Singles action also featured the collegiate debut of touted freshman Jack Pinnington, the former No. 6 ITF juniors player in the world. Pinnington battled Paroulek in the second flight.
"The guys showed some resilience, losing four the first six singles sets, but Sander coming back, even winning some of those matches. It was great to see the debut of Jack Pinnington, even though he lost, it was exciting to see him out there. They seemed to continue to figure out ways to win. Getting the doubles point, when you put that all together, it was a good win for TCU. We loved seeing the support from all of our fans who made the drive through the weather to watch and the staff as well. We really appreciate it.
"Now, we get to rest for a week and get ready for Indoor Nationals. It's going to be an absolute war zone up there. Some of our guys know what to expect, others don't, and that's okay. We're excited for the opportunity and to go back to Chicago. Go Frogs."
Doubles Rundown
Gorzny and Vives were the first Horned Frog tandem to finish for the third consecutive match. They built an insurmountable 5-0 lead over their green and gold clad counterparts. The duo is 6-1 this spring as TCU's No. 3 doubles team.
Fearnley swung the momentum in favor of TCU for good with a forehand to the far left corner of the baseline that Bass could only flick out of bounds, staking he and Fomba to a 6-5 edge. Fomba clinched the doubles point with a serve that the Baylor duo was unable to return within the doubles sideline.
Fearnley and Fomba won their sixth straight doubles match this spring. This was their first match in 2023 as TCU's No. 1 doubles par – a spot they anchored throughout the 2022 campaign. The All-American tandem has clinched four straight and five of TCU's last six doubles points. They are 29-7 together since 2022, a record that helped earn them the preseason ITA No. 1 doubles ranking.
Jong and Maxted led as late as 5-4 even after surrendering their early three-game lead.
Doubles Results
Singles Rundown
Fearnley continued his mastery of Bass, defeating the Bears' No. 1 singles player 6-3, 6-1. The Edinbrugh, Scotland native won 10 of his last 11 games.
He and Bass entered the tilt ranked No. 17 and No. 44 in the latest batch of ITA singles rankings. The result signified Fearnley's first ranked victory of 2023. Bass represented the highest-ranked opponent any Horned Frog has defeated in 2023.
Fearnley's result inched TCU further ahead 2-0.
Baylor halved the deficit on court two, as Paroulek, the No. 117 singles player, downed Pinnington 6-3, 6-4. Pinnington built a 3-0 set two lead to rally from his opening frame setback.
Gorzny put TCU within a point of the match-clincher soon thereafter. He faced Mazzuchi, in a dual between the No. 124 and No. 125 ranked singles players. Mazzuchi took set one 6-4, but it was all Gorzny from there, as he flipped the script to the tune of a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 close to his dual.
Fomba, now No. 49 in the ITA singles rankings, was ahead 5-3 in the second set of his dual with Marko Miladinovic as Gorzny's result went final. He then won four of his last five points to sew up a 7-6, 6-3 victory and earn his first match-clincher of the season.
The reigning Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week, Fomba is now 13-0 overall this spring and has still yet to surrender a set in singles or doubles.
Fomba, Maxted and Gorzny remained undefeated in singles. Fomba sports a 7-0 mark while Gorzny and Maxted are each 5-0.
Maxted, who earned the match-clincher in TCU's 4-3 comeback against the Tar Heels on Sunday, played to a 5-7, 6-2 draw with Muza.
Jong's match was also left unfinished on court four. Jong fell 6-7 in set one to Velcz but took set two 6-4. His singles record stands at 5-1.
Singles Results
The Horned Frogs rode 90 minutes south to the base of the Brazos River to meet No. 10 Baylor – a team that had claimed five of the previous six meetings between the programs – in front of a capacity crowd at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
The Bears proved battle ready and boisterous, but in the end, it didn't matter.
TCU boat raced Baylor 4-1 to earn its second straight victory over its Big 12 rival in Waco.
"Never a dull moment when you play Baylor, in any situation or any sport," head coach David Roditi said. "A lot of history there, and today was no different. It was an absolute battle. I thought it was a really good college match. We knew we were asking a lot from our guys to be on the road at No. 10 Tennessee, at No. 14 UNC, and then two days later, at No. 10 Baylor, and they handled it really well. Anytime you beat Baylor in anything, it's a good win."
The Horned Frogs (8-0) ensured they will enter next week's ITA Indoor National Championships unblemished with the result. The 8-0 overall record is the program's first-ever under Roditi and fourth in the 49-year history of the program. TCU also extended its program-record indoor winning streak to 20 and claimed its 10th straight road victory – a run that dates to April 2021.
The match was contested as a nonconference dual. TCU and Baylor (5-3) will meet under the Big 12 umbrella on Apr. 6 in Fort Worth. Both the Horned Frogs and Bears qualified for Indoor Nationals, held from Feb. 17-20 in Chicago.
Baylor (5-3) posed a real threat in doubles. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives coasted to their third straight win out of the No. 3 post, downing Luc Koenig and Ethan Muza 6-1. Elsewhere, though, TCU's top pairing of Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba found themselves down 4-1 to the ITA No. 9 doubles team of Finn Bass and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi. Sander Jong and Lui Maxted opened up a 4-1 edge against Tadeas Paroulek and Zsomor Velcz but found themselves on the wrong end of a 7-5 comeback. But Fomba and Fearnley fought back, claiming three straight games to even the score at 4-4, then closing the books with two more to secure a 7-5 triumph and clinch the doubles point.
Though down 1-0, Baylor had plenty of fight left. TCU dropped four of the first singles sets.
Fearnley and Fomba, however, swept on courts one and three while Gorzny battled back from a 1-0 hole in the No. 5 post to lock up the match. TCU captured eight-of-10 singles sets in the win.
Singles action also featured the collegiate debut of touted freshman Jack Pinnington, the former No. 6 ITF juniors player in the world. Pinnington battled Paroulek in the second flight.
"The guys showed some resilience, losing four the first six singles sets, but Sander coming back, even winning some of those matches. It was great to see the debut of Jack Pinnington, even though he lost, it was exciting to see him out there. They seemed to continue to figure out ways to win. Getting the doubles point, when you put that all together, it was a good win for TCU. We loved seeing the support from all of our fans who made the drive through the weather to watch and the staff as well. We really appreciate it.
"Now, we get to rest for a week and get ready for Indoor Nationals. It's going to be an absolute war zone up there. Some of our guys know what to expect, others don't, and that's okay. We're excited for the opportunity and to go back to Chicago. Go Frogs."
Doubles Rundown
Gorzny and Vives were the first Horned Frog tandem to finish for the third consecutive match. They built an insurmountable 5-0 lead over their green and gold clad counterparts. The duo is 6-1 this spring as TCU's No. 3 doubles team.
Fearnley swung the momentum in favor of TCU for good with a forehand to the far left corner of the baseline that Bass could only flick out of bounds, staking he and Fomba to a 6-5 edge. Fomba clinched the doubles point with a serve that the Baylor duo was unable to return within the doubles sideline.
Fearnley and Fomba won their sixth straight doubles match this spring. This was their first match in 2023 as TCU's No. 1 doubles par – a spot they anchored throughout the 2022 campaign. The All-American tandem has clinched four straight and five of TCU's last six doubles points. They are 29-7 together since 2022, a record that helped earn them the preseason ITA No. 1 doubles ranking.
Jong and Maxted led as late as 5-4 even after surrendering their early three-game lead.
Doubles Results
- Fearnley / Fomba (TCU) def. #9 Finn Bass Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU): 7-5
- Tadeas Paroulek / Zsomber Velcz (BU) def. #11 Sander Jong / Lui Maxted (TCU): 5-7
- Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Luc Koenig: Ethan Muza (BU): 6-1
Singles Rundown
Fearnley continued his mastery of Bass, defeating the Bears' No. 1 singles player 6-3, 6-1. The Edinbrugh, Scotland native won 10 of his last 11 games.
He and Bass entered the tilt ranked No. 17 and No. 44 in the latest batch of ITA singles rankings. The result signified Fearnley's first ranked victory of 2023. Bass represented the highest-ranked opponent any Horned Frog has defeated in 2023.
Fearnley's result inched TCU further ahead 2-0.
Baylor halved the deficit on court two, as Paroulek, the No. 117 singles player, downed Pinnington 6-3, 6-4. Pinnington built a 3-0 set two lead to rally from his opening frame setback.
Gorzny put TCU within a point of the match-clincher soon thereafter. He faced Mazzuchi, in a dual between the No. 124 and No. 125 ranked singles players. Mazzuchi took set one 6-4, but it was all Gorzny from there, as he flipped the script to the tune of a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 close to his dual.
Fomba, now No. 49 in the ITA singles rankings, was ahead 5-3 in the second set of his dual with Marko Miladinovic as Gorzny's result went final. He then won four of his last five points to sew up a 7-6, 6-3 victory and earn his first match-clincher of the season.
The reigning Big 12 Men's Tennis Player of the Week, Fomba is now 13-0 overall this spring and has still yet to surrender a set in singles or doubles.
Fomba, Maxted and Gorzny remained undefeated in singles. Fomba sports a 7-0 mark while Gorzny and Maxted are each 5-0.
Maxted, who earned the match-clincher in TCU's 4-3 comeback against the Tar Heels on Sunday, played to a 5-7, 6-2 draw with Muza.
Jong's match was also left unfinished on court four. Jong fell 6-7 in set one to Velcz but took set two 6-4. His singles record stands at 5-1.
Singles Results
- #17 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #44 Finn Bass (BU): 6-3, 6-1
- #117 Tadeas Paroulek (BU) def. Jack Pinnington (TCU): 6-3, 6-4
- #49 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Marko Miladinovic (BU): 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
- Sander Jong (TCU) vs. Zsombor Velcz (BU): 6-7, 6-4, unfinished
- #124 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. #125 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi (BU): 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
- Lui Maxted (TCU) vs. Ethan Muza (BU): 5-7, 6-2, unfinished
Players Mentioned
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