TCU Blanks Bruins 7-0 as Fomba Notches 150th Career Victory

Saturday, March 11

Fort Worth, TX

1 PM

TCU

UCLA

TCU Blanks Bruins 7-0 as Fomba Notches 150th Career Victory

3/11/2023 5:32:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

Fomba is the second player in TCU's Big 12 era to reach the milestone

FORT WORTH – No. 1 TCU may yet have unlocked another gear on Saturday in a season that is shaping up to go down as one of the all-time best in program and school history.

The Horned Frogs reached the midpoint in a 2023 campaign that remains unblemished and already features a national championship. And it was only fitting that TCU delivered perhaps its most dominant effort to this point in the spring vs. a storied program.

For the first time ever, TCU welcomed 23-time national champion UCLA to Fort Worth. Suffice it to say, the Horned Frogs' performance measured up against the significance of the match.

The Horned Frogs blanked the 34^th-ranked Bruins 7-0 on the Bartzen Varsity Courts to run their overall record to 14-0. TCU did not drop a set all dual. The Horned Frogs never trailed in singles play on courts one, three, four and six.

"It was a special day,' head coach David Roditi said. "We were able to host a legendary program in 23-time national champion UCLA, with a legendary coach in Billy Martin, who has been around for a while and had so much success – one of the most successful programs in the history of tennis. For us to host them for the first time here in Fort Worth, here at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center on the Tut Bartzen Varsity Courts, it was very special for all of us and for me. I can only think coach Bartzen would have been very proud to see UCLA come here today.

"The guys played really well," Roditi continued. "They got off to a good start in doubles and won three singles to clinch it. It was great to be out here. Great fans, so much going on with baseball, with beach volleyball and their good wins, just an overall great day for the Frogs. We'll continue to get better for when we host Illinois on Sunday, March 19, at 1 p.m. Hopefully everyone is back from spring break and will come check it out. Go Frogs."

TCU extended its school-record and nation-leading doubles point streak in short order. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives, No. 73 in the ITA doubles rankings, blitzed the Bruins' Aadarsh Tripathi and Giacomo Revelli 6-1 on court two to notch their 11^th win of the spring. The No. 6 ranked TCU tandem of Sander Jong and Lui Maxted secured the doubles point out of the No. 3 post via a 6-2 waltz over Jeffrey Fradkin and Azuma Visaya shortly thereafter.

Roditi and Martin agreed to play out each singles court, thereby allowing TCU's depth to shine through.

Jack Pinnington wasted no time putting TCU ahead 2-0. The freshman looked every bit the part of an ATP top-500, as he hung consecutive 6-0 bagels against Visaya on court four.

Jong, the No. 51 ITA singles player, notched TCU's third point on the No. 2 flight, downing Tripathi 6-3, 6-1.

Vives got the nod on court six and earned his third-match clincher of the season just moments after Jong's triumph. The sophomore bested Stefan Leustian 6-1, 6-3.

The 14^th-ranked Fearnley swelled the margin of victory to 5-0, defeating the Zahraj on court one via a pair of 6-2 frames.

Luc Fomba, a four-time All-American, then entered rarefied air in the program's decorated history. Playing on court two, the Frenchman took out Revelli 7-6 [7-3], 6-3 to secure his 150^th combined victory in his five-year run in Fort Worth. Fomba, the most decorated All-American in the Roditi era, became just the second player in TCU's Big 12 run to hit the milestone, joining current volunteer assistant coach Nick Chappell atop the program record books.

Leading 6-0, Tomas Jirousek punctuated the shutout in the fifth flight, downing Gianluca Ballotta 6-4, 7-5 to snare his third straight singles win and fifth in 2023.

The win was TCU's third consecutive over the Bruins and improved its all-time home record vs. Pac-12 opponents to 22-1.

The Horned Frogs have now outscored opponents 33-1 in six home duals.

Doubles Results,

#12 Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. Patrick Zahraj / Timothy Li (UCLA): 4-2
#73 Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Aadarsh Tripathi / Giacomo Revelli (UCLA): 6-1
#6 Sander Jong / Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Jeffrey Fradkin and Azuma Visaya (UCLA): 6-2

Order of finish: 2, 3

Doubles Notes

Gorzny and Vives are 11-1 when paired together this spring and 14-2 overall in 2022-2023.
Gorzny and Vives have won eight straight matches.
Gorzny and Vives raced out to a 4-0 lead over Revelli and Tripathi.
Gorzny and Vives are now the only TCU doubles pair to win on all three courts this season.
Jong and Maxted played together for the first time since Feb. 8 – a 4-1 win over No. 10 Baylor in Waco.
Jong and Maxted – runners-up at the 2022 ITA National Fall Championships – improved their career indoor and outdoor record together to 24-9.
Jong and Maxted dropped their first game to Fradkin and Visaya but responded by winning four straight points to wrest control of the frame.
Saturday's triumph signified the first doubles point clinch in 2023 for Jong and Maxted.
Jong and Maxted played alongside one another out of the No. 3 post for the first time ever.
Fearnley and Fomba's season doubles record stands at 8-1.
Fearnley and Fomba have anchored TCU's No. 1 doubles flight in their last six outings together.
Collectively, TCU improved its overall doubles record this season to 28-6. The Horned Frogs are now 7-3 on court one, 10-2 on court two and 11-1 on court three.

Singles Results

#14 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. Patrick Zahraj (UCLA): 6-2, 6-2
#19 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Giacomo Revelli (UCLA): 7-6 [7-3], 6-3
#51 Sander Jong (TCU) def. Aadarsh Tripathi (UCLA): 6-3, 6-1
Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Azuma Visaya (CULA): 6-0, 6-0
Tomas Jirousek (TCU) def. Gianluca Ballotta (UCLA): 6-4, 7-5
Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Stefan Leustian (UCLA): 6-1, 6-3

Order of finish: 4, 3, 6, 1, 2, 5

Singles Notes

Fearnley is now 8-3 this season. Seven of his victories have come on court one.
Fearnley improved his 2022-2023 singles record to 18-5 with Saturday's effort.
Fearnley continues to lead TCU in ranked victories (10).
Fomba remains undefeated in singles play at 9-0. He has dropped just three combined singles and doubles sets all season.
Eight of Fomba's nine singles victories have been in straight sets.
Jong notched his team-leading 10^th singles victory.
Each of Jong's 10 singles takedowns have been sweeps.
Pinnington has now hung bagels in his last three singles sets. He swept Texas' Micah Braswell in TCU's ITA Indoor National Championship victory via a 6-0 win in set two.
Pinnington is now 3-2 in in singles play and 6-3 overall midway through his freshman year.
Jirousek is now 5-1 this year and 28-13 in singles play for his career.
Vives has won TCU's last two matches on court six. He is tied for the team lead in match-clinchers.

Up Next

TCU breaks for a week before hosting three top-25 opponents in a six-day span. Following the Horned Frogs dual vs. No. 22 Illinois on March 19, TCU faces No. 2 Texas and No. 8 USC on March 22 and March 24, respectively.