Saturday, April 8
Lubbock, TX
1 PM
TCU
4
at
1
Texas Tech
Horned Frogs Stave Off Texas Tech, Clinch First Round Bye in Big 12 Tournament
4/8/2023 6:26:00 PM | Men's Tennis
TCU defeated the Red Raiders 4-1 in Lubbock
LUBBOCK, Texas – As early as February, TCU men's tennis head coach David Roditi forecasted the Horned Frogs' trek west to face Texas Tech as one of team's toughest regular season tests.
Fast forward two months to Saturday, and the match more than lived up to the veteran coach's billing.
The second-ranked Horned Frogs outlasted No. 37 Texas Tech 4-1 in a Big 12 conference dual that saw four singles courts reach three sets.
Texas Tech gave TCU all it could handle on an afternoon in which the program celebrated senior day. Tied 1-1 in doubles, Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington fought off match point twice on court three to secure an 8-6 tiebreaker win and stake TCU to a 1-0 lead. Sebastian Gorzny, Pedro Vives and Lui Maxted clinched the match with victories in flights four through six. TCU dropped the opening frame on four courts, including the top-three, illustrating how tightly contested the match was.
"Unbelievable effort by the squad today," Roditi said. "I couldn't be prouder of them. This is not an easy place to play. Texas Tech on senior day was well-prepared. We were ready for a battle, and thank God, we were, because that's exactly what it was. It took a full team effort. The guys that won in doubles did not win in singles, but the guys that lost in doubles won in singles. Then, Lui is the player who won in both singles and doubles today. The big hero, Lui Maxted comes in, hadn't played in a couple weeks, and gets the job done. Down a set? Doesn't matter. He's cool as a cat and battles and turns the match around and clinches it for us. Therefore, we don't have to win another three-setter to win the match.
"Sander Jong saved match points in doubles and then clinched the doubles point," Roditi continued. "Then, he saved match points in singles. He was still on the court when we stopped play. So much resilience on his part and just pure guts and heart for his teammates because the conditions were not favorable for his style of play. He just did whatever it took, put his ego aside, and just competed. I'm very proud of Jack Pinnington as well because he competed so hard and fought so hard. [Olle] Wallin was just too good at No. 1. But if Wallin had dropped his level just a little bit, I'm sure Jack wins that match. I'm very proud of him, very proud of all the guys. Obviously, Sebastian and Pedro, they got out in two sets and that put Texas Tech in a tough position. Michael Breler, the head coach at Texas Tech, has done a great job stepping in mid-year and helping these guys play as well as they can play. He's getting the most out of that team. Now we go play at UT and play for the conference title. Doesn't get more fun than that. Go Frogs!"
TCU (20-1, 4-0 Big 12) clinched its third straight first round bye in the Big 12 Tournament with the victory over the Red Raiders (12-9, 0-3 Big 12). The Horned Frogs will battle No. 1 Texas (20-2, 4-0 Big 12) on Apr. 15 in Austin for the undisputed Big 12 regular season championship.
The win was TCU's second in 2023 vs. the Red Raiders. TCU shut out Texas Tech 4-0 on Jan. 29 in its ITA Kickoff Weekend regional final.
The Horned Frogs moved to 18-1 vs. ranked opponents and 8-1 vs. Big 12 foes with the result.
Texas Tech became the first team to take a point from the Horned Frogs in conference play. TCU arrived in Lubbock on the heels of a trio of 4-0 home shutouts over Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Doubles Rundown
TCU was without its highest ranked singles and doubles player in Jake Fearnley. The absence of Fearnley, ranked fourth nationally in doubles alongside Luc Fomba and No. 12 in singles, forced Roditi to alter his doubles lineup.
Gorzny and Vives were elevated to the top court for just the second time all year. Fomba lined up with Maxted in the No. 2 post. Jong and Pinnington, No. 76 in the ITA doubles rankings, brought up the rear on court three.
Fomba and Maxted gave TCU a head start on the doubles point. They rolled over TCU's highest-ranked doubles pair, No. 77 Piotr Pawlak and Franco Ribero, 6-1
The duo won their final five games.
Fomba and Maxted are 2-0 together this season, having clinched the doubles point vs. UT Arlington on March 3.
The remaining two matches went to tiebreakers. Gorzny and Vives fell 1-7 in the breaker to No. 80 Dimitrios Azoidis and Reed Collier, rendering the doubles point to court three.
Jong and Pinnington scored the first two points in their tiebreaker opposite Isaac Arevalo and Wallin, only to fall behind 4-6. Jong scored three of TCU's final four points to ignite the comeback.
He and Pinnington moved to 6-3 together this spring.
Gorzny and Vives continue to lead TCU in doubles victories on the strength of a 13-4 overall record.
Collectively, TCU is now 18-2 in doubles play and has claimed the doubles point in four consecutive outings. The Horned Frogs are 18-0 when winning the doubles point.
Doubles Results
Singles Rundown
Pinnington, Fomba, Jong and Maxted all surrendered their first singles sets, making Vives' and Gorzny's response after falling in doubles all the more invaluable.
Vives built a 5-0 set one lead over Lorenzo Esquici on court five on his way to a 6-4, 6-4 victory to put TCU up 2-0.
The sophomore is 8-for-8 in outdoor singles starts and 10-1 in singles play this spring.
Gorzny, No. 63 in the ITA singles rankings, avenged his doubles defeat to Collier shortly thereafter. He staved off Collier 7-6 in the opening set, taking the tiebreaker 7-2. It was all Gorzny in the second-and-final frame, as the freshman rolled to a 6-3 set victory.
Pinnington, who broke into the ITA singles rankings at No. 73 on Tuesday, slid into the top court for the first time in his career in place of Fearnley. He drew the tough task of Wallin, the nation's No. 58 singles player. Pinnington fell 2-6 in the first set. He jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set but came up short 5-7.
Despite leading 3-1, the match was hardly decided. Fomba dropped his first set to Ribero 5-2 on court two while Jong lost set one in the third flight 2-6 to Arevalo.
With TCU's senior duo down a set, the pressure amplified on Maxted, who was gridlocked at one set apiece with Azoidis. Maxted rallied from a 5-7 set one defeat with a 6-4 victory in the second frame to send his match the distance. He was tied 4-4 with Azoidis in set two. Maxted calmly earned his second third set match-clincher of the season, easing by Azoidis 6-2 to lock up the team triumph. He built an insurmountable 4-0 lead in the decisive set.
Gorzny and Maxted remain undefeated in singles this spring. Gorzny is 13-0 while Maxted earned his seventh spring triumph.
Moments before Maxted's clinch, Fomba and Jong won set two tiebreakers to maintain TCU's lead. Fomba took the breaker over Ribero 7-3. Jong trailed 5-6, only to stun Arevalo with three straight points.
Both matches were left unfinished at 2-2 in set three.
Singles Results
Fast forward two months to Saturday, and the match more than lived up to the veteran coach's billing.
The second-ranked Horned Frogs outlasted No. 37 Texas Tech 4-1 in a Big 12 conference dual that saw four singles courts reach three sets.
Texas Tech gave TCU all it could handle on an afternoon in which the program celebrated senior day. Tied 1-1 in doubles, Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington fought off match point twice on court three to secure an 8-6 tiebreaker win and stake TCU to a 1-0 lead. Sebastian Gorzny, Pedro Vives and Lui Maxted clinched the match with victories in flights four through six. TCU dropped the opening frame on four courts, including the top-three, illustrating how tightly contested the match was.
"Unbelievable effort by the squad today," Roditi said. "I couldn't be prouder of them. This is not an easy place to play. Texas Tech on senior day was well-prepared. We were ready for a battle, and thank God, we were, because that's exactly what it was. It took a full team effort. The guys that won in doubles did not win in singles, but the guys that lost in doubles won in singles. Then, Lui is the player who won in both singles and doubles today. The big hero, Lui Maxted comes in, hadn't played in a couple weeks, and gets the job done. Down a set? Doesn't matter. He's cool as a cat and battles and turns the match around and clinches it for us. Therefore, we don't have to win another three-setter to win the match.
"Sander Jong saved match points in doubles and then clinched the doubles point," Roditi continued. "Then, he saved match points in singles. He was still on the court when we stopped play. So much resilience on his part and just pure guts and heart for his teammates because the conditions were not favorable for his style of play. He just did whatever it took, put his ego aside, and just competed. I'm very proud of Jack Pinnington as well because he competed so hard and fought so hard. [Olle] Wallin was just too good at No. 1. But if Wallin had dropped his level just a little bit, I'm sure Jack wins that match. I'm very proud of him, very proud of all the guys. Obviously, Sebastian and Pedro, they got out in two sets and that put Texas Tech in a tough position. Michael Breler, the head coach at Texas Tech, has done a great job stepping in mid-year and helping these guys play as well as they can play. He's getting the most out of that team. Now we go play at UT and play for the conference title. Doesn't get more fun than that. Go Frogs!"
TCU (20-1, 4-0 Big 12) clinched its third straight first round bye in the Big 12 Tournament with the victory over the Red Raiders (12-9, 0-3 Big 12). The Horned Frogs will battle No. 1 Texas (20-2, 4-0 Big 12) on Apr. 15 in Austin for the undisputed Big 12 regular season championship.
The win was TCU's second in 2023 vs. the Red Raiders. TCU shut out Texas Tech 4-0 on Jan. 29 in its ITA Kickoff Weekend regional final.
The Horned Frogs moved to 18-1 vs. ranked opponents and 8-1 vs. Big 12 foes with the result.
Texas Tech became the first team to take a point from the Horned Frogs in conference play. TCU arrived in Lubbock on the heels of a trio of 4-0 home shutouts over Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Doubles Rundown
TCU was without its highest ranked singles and doubles player in Jake Fearnley. The absence of Fearnley, ranked fourth nationally in doubles alongside Luc Fomba and No. 12 in singles, forced Roditi to alter his doubles lineup.
Gorzny and Vives were elevated to the top court for just the second time all year. Fomba lined up with Maxted in the No. 2 post. Jong and Pinnington, No. 76 in the ITA doubles rankings, brought up the rear on court three.
Fomba and Maxted gave TCU a head start on the doubles point. They rolled over TCU's highest-ranked doubles pair, No. 77 Piotr Pawlak and Franco Ribero, 6-1
The duo won their final five games.
Fomba and Maxted are 2-0 together this season, having clinched the doubles point vs. UT Arlington on March 3.
The remaining two matches went to tiebreakers. Gorzny and Vives fell 1-7 in the breaker to No. 80 Dimitrios Azoidis and Reed Collier, rendering the doubles point to court three.
Jong and Pinnington scored the first two points in their tiebreaker opposite Isaac Arevalo and Wallin, only to fall behind 4-6. Jong scored three of TCU's final four points to ignite the comeback.
He and Pinnington moved to 6-3 together this spring.
Gorzny and Vives continue to lead TCU in doubles victories on the strength of a 13-4 overall record.
Collectively, TCU is now 18-2 in doubles play and has claimed the doubles point in four consecutive outings. The Horned Frogs are 18-0 when winning the doubles point.
Doubles Results
- #80 Dimitrios Azoidis / Reed Collier (TTU) def Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU): 7-6 [ 7-1]
- Luc Fomba / Lui Maxted (TCU) def. #77 Piotr Pawlak / Franco Ribero (TTU): 6-1
- #76 Sander Jong / Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Isaac Arevalo / Olle Wallin (TTU): 7-6 [ 8-6]
Singles Rundown
Pinnington, Fomba, Jong and Maxted all surrendered their first singles sets, making Vives' and Gorzny's response after falling in doubles all the more invaluable.
Vives built a 5-0 set one lead over Lorenzo Esquici on court five on his way to a 6-4, 6-4 victory to put TCU up 2-0.
The sophomore is 8-for-8 in outdoor singles starts and 10-1 in singles play this spring.
Gorzny, No. 63 in the ITA singles rankings, avenged his doubles defeat to Collier shortly thereafter. He staved off Collier 7-6 in the opening set, taking the tiebreaker 7-2. It was all Gorzny in the second-and-final frame, as the freshman rolled to a 6-3 set victory.
Pinnington, who broke into the ITA singles rankings at No. 73 on Tuesday, slid into the top court for the first time in his career in place of Fearnley. He drew the tough task of Wallin, the nation's No. 58 singles player. Pinnington fell 2-6 in the first set. He jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set but came up short 5-7.
Despite leading 3-1, the match was hardly decided. Fomba dropped his first set to Ribero 5-2 on court two while Jong lost set one in the third flight 2-6 to Arevalo.
With TCU's senior duo down a set, the pressure amplified on Maxted, who was gridlocked at one set apiece with Azoidis. Maxted rallied from a 5-7 set one defeat with a 6-4 victory in the second frame to send his match the distance. He was tied 4-4 with Azoidis in set two. Maxted calmly earned his second third set match-clincher of the season, easing by Azoidis 6-2 to lock up the team triumph. He built an insurmountable 4-0 lead in the decisive set.
Gorzny and Maxted remain undefeated in singles this spring. Gorzny is 13-0 while Maxted earned his seventh spring triumph.
Moments before Maxted's clinch, Fomba and Jong won set two tiebreakers to maintain TCU's lead. Fomba took the breaker over Ribero 7-3. Jong trailed 5-6, only to stun Arevalo with three straight points.
Both matches were left unfinished at 2-2 in set three.
Singles Results
- #58 Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #73 Jack Pinnington (TCU): 6-2, 7-5
- #24 Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. Franco Ribero (TTU): 5-7, 7-6 [7-3], 2-2
- #42 Sander Jong (TCU) vs. Isaac Arevalo (TTU): 2-6, 7-6 [8-6], 2-2
- #63 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Reed Collier (TTU): 7-6 [7-2], 6-3
- Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU): 6-2, 6-4
- Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Dimitrios Azoidis (TTU): 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
Players Mentioned
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