Sunday, March 19
Fort worth, TX
1 PM
TCU
vs
Illinois
No. 1 TCU Welcomes Illinois to Fort Worth for Top-20 Showdown
3/18/2023 10:01:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Horned Frogs and Illini meet on the purple courts at 1 p.m. on Sunday
FORT WORTH –The outdoor season is ramping up considerably for No. 1 TCU men's tennis, evidenced by the program's Sunday afternoon showdown.
The Horned Frogs host No. 19 Illinois at 1 p.m. on the Bartzen Varsity Courts.
The dual ignites possibly the most challenging portion of TCU's outdoor regular season schedule. Beginning with Sunday's match vs. the Fighting Illini, TCU will play three top-20 foes in a six-day span. The Horned Frogs are set to host No. 3 Texas and No. 8 USC on March 22 and 24.
Illinois should pose a challenge for TCU (14-0). The Illini (12-6) are fresh off a 4-2 win over No. 43 Baylor on Friday and have claimed six of their last eight matches.
TCU, though, has been near-flawless at home in 2023. The Horned Frogs have outscored their opponents 33-1 through six home matches. TCU has surrendered just four combined singles and doubles sets. Three of TCU's opponents (SMU, UT Arlington, UCLA) failed to take a set on the purple courts.
The Horned Frogs and Illini are no strangers to one another. Sunday's match will be the seventh time in as many years the programs have converged on the tennis courts. Illinois is returning TCU's trip to Urbana from last season. The Horned Frogs outlasted the Illini 4-2 on March 5, 2022, in the teams' most recent meeting.
Sunday's match is open to the public. Free pizza will be available while supplies last, courtesy of Buffalo Bros.
Follow Along
Watch: gofrogs.co/3JVOwLz
Live Stats: gofrogs.co/3vWrPif
Series History: Illinois
All-Time: TCU leads 10-5
Home Record: 5-0
Away Record: 2-2
Neutral Record: 3-3
First Meeting: 6-3 TCU, March 15, 1984, in Fort Worth
Last Meeting: 4-2 TCU, March 5, 2022, in Urbana
Current Winning Streak: TCU W2
Inside the Match
ITA Team Rankings (March 14)
No. 1 – TCU
ITA Singles Rankings (March 7)
No. 14 – Jake Fearnley
No. 19 – Luc Fomba
No. 51 – Sander Jong
No. 61 – Sebastian Gorzny
ITA Doubles Rankings (March 7)
No. 6 – Sander Jong / Lui Maxted
No. 12 – Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba
No. 53 – Sander Jong / Jack Pinnington
No. 73 – Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives
By the Numbers: Spring Singles Records
Luc Fomba is one singles triumph shy of notching 100 career victories in his five-year run in Fort Worth. Entering Sunday's contest vs. Illinois, Fomba's career singles record stands at 99-34 (.746).
Should Fomba reach triple digits, he will become the first player in TCU's 11 years of Big 12 membership to notch 100 career singles wins. His 99 wins in singles play are 22 more than the next-closest Big 12 era Horned Frog, three-time All-American Cam Norrie (77).
Fomba's year-by-year singles records in fall, indoor and outdoor play are as follows:
2018-2019: 21-7
2019-2020: 19-8
2020-2021: 22-9
2021-2022: 23-8
2022-2023: 14-2
Chasing Down 200
Luc Fomba, TCU's active leader in career combined victories, is 17 wins shy of reaching 200.
Since arriving in Fort Worth in 2018, he has tallied 150 combined singles and doubles wins over the course of five spring seasons and sprinkled in an additional 33 in fall invitationals. When Fomba tallies career win No. 200, he will become the first player in 26 years to achieve the milestone and ascend to ninth on TCU's career combined victories list.
Fomba's year-by-year combined records are as follows:
2018-2019: 32-20 (21-7 singles / 11-13 doubles)
2019-2020: 32-12 (19-8 singles / 13-4 doubles)
2020-2021: 42-22 (22-9 singles / 20-13 doubles)
2021-2022: 48-16 (23-8 singles / 25-8 doubles)
2022-2023: 28-4 (15-2 singles / 13-3 doubles)
Protect the Purple
The Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center is arguably the toughest venue in the nation for opposing teams to compete at. TCU has amassed a 101-11 (.901) record on the purple courts since 2015. Of the 101 victories, 62 have come at the expense of ranked opponents. Under head coach David Roditi, the Horned Frogs have posted a remarkable 141-35 (.801) home record.
Top Frog Energy
TCU received the top spot in the ITA team rankings for the 11th time in program history on March 14.
The Horned Frogs regained the No. 1 overall ranking on Feb 21 after capturing the ITA Indoor National Championship.
TCU garnered its first No. 1 ranking in program history on March 2, 2022, and received seven of a possible 16 No. 1 rankings throughout the season.
In total, nine of the last 15 No. 1 ITA team rankings dating back to 2022 have been in possession of TCU.
TCU's History Atop the ITA Team Rankings
March 2, 2022
March 23, 2022
Apr. 6, 2022
Apr. 13, 2022
Apr. 20, 2022
Apr. 27, 2022
May 4, 2022
Feb 21, 2023
Feb 28, 2023
March 7, 2023
March 14, 2023.
The Great Indoors
By the time the 2024 season rolls around, nearly two years will have passed since TCU suffered a defeat on the indoor courts.
TCU last lost a dual indoors on Jan. 16, 2022, narrowly falling to Tennessee 4-3 at the indoor Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Since then, the Horned Frogs have won a program record and nation-leading 24 consecutive indoor matches. Of the victories, 16 have come at the expense of ranked opponents, 11 of which have been road or neutral site affairs.
TCU won 10 straight matches following its lone indoor setback in 2022 to claim the program's first-ever ITA Indoor National Championship. The Horned Frogs avenged the loss to the Volunteers in the championship tilt, taking down Tennessee 4-1 in the Indoor Nationals finale.
The Horned Frogs then completed their first undefeated indoor run from January-February, winning 12 straight matches in route to a second straight Indoor National Championship.
The Horned Frogs have pitched nine shutouts over the course of their 24-match indoor winning streak. In total, TCU has outscored its opponents 82-20.
The program was particularly dominant inside in 2023. TCU claimed 54-of-63 points over its undefeated run. At Indoor Nationals, the Horned Frogs posted a 17-2 combined margin of victory. Just two opponents – No. 2 Kentucky and No. 14 North Carolina – managed to score more than one point vs. the Horned Frogs. TCU trailed just once on the scoreboard all season.
The Horned Frogs host No. 19 Illinois at 1 p.m. on the Bartzen Varsity Courts.
The dual ignites possibly the most challenging portion of TCU's outdoor regular season schedule. Beginning with Sunday's match vs. the Fighting Illini, TCU will play three top-20 foes in a six-day span. The Horned Frogs are set to host No. 3 Texas and No. 8 USC on March 22 and 24.
Illinois should pose a challenge for TCU (14-0). The Illini (12-6) are fresh off a 4-2 win over No. 43 Baylor on Friday and have claimed six of their last eight matches.
TCU, though, has been near-flawless at home in 2023. The Horned Frogs have outscored their opponents 33-1 through six home matches. TCU has surrendered just four combined singles and doubles sets. Three of TCU's opponents (SMU, UT Arlington, UCLA) failed to take a set on the purple courts.
The Horned Frogs and Illini are no strangers to one another. Sunday's match will be the seventh time in as many years the programs have converged on the tennis courts. Illinois is returning TCU's trip to Urbana from last season. The Horned Frogs outlasted the Illini 4-2 on March 5, 2022, in the teams' most recent meeting.
Sunday's match is open to the public. Free pizza will be available while supplies last, courtesy of Buffalo Bros.
Follow Along
Watch: gofrogs.co/3JVOwLz
Live Stats: gofrogs.co/3vWrPif
Series History: Illinois
All-Time: TCU leads 10-5
Home Record: 5-0
Away Record: 2-2
Neutral Record: 3-3
First Meeting: 6-3 TCU, March 15, 1984, in Fort Worth
Last Meeting: 4-2 TCU, March 5, 2022, in Urbana
Current Winning Streak: TCU W2
Inside the Match
- The Horned Frogs are 59-6 (.910) at home on the outdoor courts since 2015.
- TCU extended its home winning streak to nine with its 7-0 win over UCLA on March 11. The Horned Frogs have gone 19-3 at home since 2022.
- The Horned Frogs have won nine straight doubles points at home. TCU is 21-4 in doubles play in Fort Worth over the last two seasons.
- TCU owns a 25-6 edge in points scored vs. the Fighting Illini in the teams' quintet of meetings in Fort Worth.
- Under David Roditi, TCU is 7-2 vs. Illinois and 13-8 against the Big Ten.
- TCU is 24-14 all-time and 12-3 at home vs. the Big Ten Conference. TCU's 10 victories over and 15 total duals vs. the Illini are the program's most vs. any Big Ten program. The Horned Frogs' most recent home outing vs. the Big Ten was March 2, 2022 - a 4-1 defeat to No. 18 Michigan.
- The Horned Frogs met the Illini in Urbana three days following their setback to the Wolverines. Former All-American Juan Carlos Aguilar and Pedro Vives accounted for 2.5 of the team's points in a 4-2 triumph. The tandem helped stake TCU to the doubles point with a win in the No. 3 flight. They then transformed a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 lead with respective singles victories on courts two and five. Sander Jong earned the match-clincher on court three.
- TCU is enjoying its best start to a season under Roditi and in the modern era. The Horned Frogs have won 14 consecutive matches to begin a season for just the second time in the 49-year history of the program. TCU's longest season-opening winning streak came in its seventh year of existence, when the Horned Frogs rattled off 26 straight victories from September 1980-March 1981 under legendary head coach Tut Bartzen.
- The Horned Frogs are three victories shy of matching their longest winning streak in the Roditi era. TCU closed the 2016 season with 17 straight wins on its way to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament
- The Horned Frogs are outscoring opponents 68-9 through 13 matches. TCU has notched eight victories over ranked teams by a combined 36-7 margin of victory. Only two teams - Kentucky and North Carolina - have scored multiple points vs. TCU.
- The Horned Frogs have claimed a school record and nation-leading 18 straight doubles points dating back to the 2022 campaign. TCU is 39-5 in doubles play over the last two seasons.
- TCU is the only program in the nation to boast four ranked doubles teams; No. 6 Sander Jong / Lui Maxted, No. 12 Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba, No. 53 Sander Jong / Jack Pinnington and No. 73 Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives
- In singles action, TCU has won 131-of-161 (.814) completed sets thus far in 2023. Three Horned Frogs sport undefeated singles records; Gorzny (9-0), Fomba (9-0) and Maxted (6-0). Jong leads TCU in singles victories (10).
- Fomba and Gorzny have been especially dominant in 2022-2023, as they own respective overall records of 28-4 and 27--3. Fomba has surrendered just three combined singles and doubles sets in 2023.
- Fearnley and Jong have anchored the No. 1 singles post all season. They are a combined 10-3 on the top court. Fearnley is responsible for seven of the victories, five of which are against players currently featured in the top-125 of the ITA singles rankings.
- Five Horned Frogs have staked TCU to a 9-0 singles record on court three; Fomba, Gorzny, Maxted, Pinnington and Tomas Jirousek.
- The Horned Frogs achieved the No. 1 ITA team ranking for the 11th time in program history on March 14. TCU occupied the top spot in the ITA team rankings in seven of 16 released polls in 2022 and regained its spot atop the tennis world on Feb. 21.
- TCU has boasted a top-10 ITA team ranking for 160 consecutive weeks - the longest such streak of any Division I program
ITA Team Rankings (March 14)
No. 1 – TCU
ITA Singles Rankings (March 7)
No. 14 – Jake Fearnley
No. 19 – Luc Fomba
No. 51 – Sander Jong
No. 61 – Sebastian Gorzny
ITA Doubles Rankings (March 7)
No. 6 – Sander Jong / Lui Maxted
No. 12 – Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba
No. 53 – Sander Jong / Jack Pinnington
No. 73 – Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives
By the Numbers: Spring Singles Records
- #14 Jake Fearnley (Season: 8-3 / Career: 46-22)
- #19 Luc Fomba (Season: 9-0 / Career: 79-26)
- #51 Sander Jong (Season: 10-1 / Career: 68-31)
- #61 Sebastian Gorzny (Season: 9-0 / Career: 9-0)
- Lui Maxted (Season: 6-0 / Career: 14-6)
- Tomas Jirousek (Season: 5-1 / Career: 28-13)
- Pedro Vives (Season: 4-1 / Career: 17-7)
- Jack Pinnington (Season: 3-2 / Career: 3-2)
- #6 Sander Jong / Lui Maxted (Season: 4-3 / Career: 24-9)
- #12 Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba (Season: 8-1 / Career: 31-8)
- #53 Sander Jong / Jack Pinnington (Season: 3-1 / Career: 3-1)
- #73 Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (Season: 11-1 / Career: 11-1)
Luc Fomba is one singles triumph shy of notching 100 career victories in his five-year run in Fort Worth. Entering Sunday's contest vs. Illinois, Fomba's career singles record stands at 99-34 (.746).
Should Fomba reach triple digits, he will become the first player in TCU's 11 years of Big 12 membership to notch 100 career singles wins. His 99 wins in singles play are 22 more than the next-closest Big 12 era Horned Frog, three-time All-American Cam Norrie (77).
Fomba's year-by-year singles records in fall, indoor and outdoor play are as follows:
2018-2019: 21-7
2019-2020: 19-8
2020-2021: 22-9
2021-2022: 23-8
2022-2023: 14-2
Chasing Down 200
Luc Fomba, TCU's active leader in career combined victories, is 17 wins shy of reaching 200.
Since arriving in Fort Worth in 2018, he has tallied 150 combined singles and doubles wins over the course of five spring seasons and sprinkled in an additional 33 in fall invitationals. When Fomba tallies career win No. 200, he will become the first player in 26 years to achieve the milestone and ascend to ninth on TCU's career combined victories list.
Fomba's year-by-year combined records are as follows:
2018-2019: 32-20 (21-7 singles / 11-13 doubles)
2019-2020: 32-12 (19-8 singles / 13-4 doubles)
2020-2021: 42-22 (22-9 singles / 20-13 doubles)
2021-2022: 48-16 (23-8 singles / 25-8 doubles)
2022-2023: 28-4 (15-2 singles / 13-3 doubles)
Protect the Purple
The Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center is arguably the toughest venue in the nation for opposing teams to compete at. TCU has amassed a 101-11 (.901) record on the purple courts since 2015. Of the 101 victories, 62 have come at the expense of ranked opponents. Under head coach David Roditi, the Horned Frogs have posted a remarkable 141-35 (.801) home record.
Top Frog Energy
TCU received the top spot in the ITA team rankings for the 11th time in program history on March 14.
The Horned Frogs regained the No. 1 overall ranking on Feb 21 after capturing the ITA Indoor National Championship.
TCU garnered its first No. 1 ranking in program history on March 2, 2022, and received seven of a possible 16 No. 1 rankings throughout the season.
In total, nine of the last 15 No. 1 ITA team rankings dating back to 2022 have been in possession of TCU.
TCU's History Atop the ITA Team Rankings
March 2, 2022
March 23, 2022
Apr. 6, 2022
Apr. 13, 2022
Apr. 20, 2022
Apr. 27, 2022
May 4, 2022
Feb 21, 2023
Feb 28, 2023
March 7, 2023
March 14, 2023.
The Great Indoors
By the time the 2024 season rolls around, nearly two years will have passed since TCU suffered a defeat on the indoor courts.
TCU last lost a dual indoors on Jan. 16, 2022, narrowly falling to Tennessee 4-3 at the indoor Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Since then, the Horned Frogs have won a program record and nation-leading 24 consecutive indoor matches. Of the victories, 16 have come at the expense of ranked opponents, 11 of which have been road or neutral site affairs.
TCU won 10 straight matches following its lone indoor setback in 2022 to claim the program's first-ever ITA Indoor National Championship. The Horned Frogs avenged the loss to the Volunteers in the championship tilt, taking down Tennessee 4-1 in the Indoor Nationals finale.
The Horned Frogs then completed their first undefeated indoor run from January-February, winning 12 straight matches in route to a second straight Indoor National Championship.
The Horned Frogs have pitched nine shutouts over the course of their 24-match indoor winning streak. In total, TCU has outscored its opponents 82-20.
The program was particularly dominant inside in 2023. TCU claimed 54-of-63 points over its undefeated run. At Indoor Nationals, the Horned Frogs posted a 17-2 combined margin of victory. Just two opponents – No. 2 Kentucky and No. 14 North Carolina – managed to score more than one point vs. the Horned Frogs. TCU trailed just once on the scoreboard all season.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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