TCU
Texas A&M
No. 2 TCU Prevails Over 10th-seeded Texas A&M
2/17/2024 4:38:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NEW YORK CITY - No. 2 TCU traveled 1,602 miles to New York City and still ran into an old foe in No. 10 seed Texas A&M on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the ITA Indoor National Championships..
The former Southwest Conference rivals went toe-to-toe inside the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center before the Horned Frogs pulled away, winning 4-2.
After surrendering the doubles point to the Aggies, TCU's singles lineup proved to be one of the deepest in the sport. The Horned Frogs took a 2-1 lead with wins at the top from Jake Fearnley and Jack Pinnington. Sebastian Gorzny then put TCU within a point of the clinch via a straight set victory on court four. The Aggies claimed court three to make the score 3-2. Tomas Jirousek then earned his second match-clincher in as many days out of the sixth flight.
"What a battle," said head coach David Roditi. "The Frogs showed so much character. Texas A&M came out and just absolutely blistered us. They got on top of us in doubles, they came out firing, but our guys put their heads down and got to work. Unbelievable resilience to come back and win. Final Four tomorrow indoors. Go Frogs!"
TCU advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Indoor National Championships for the third straight year. The Horned Frogs face No. 6 Wake Forest at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at Columbia University. Should TCU emerge victorious, it will battle either No. 1 Ohio State or No. 4 Virginia at 11 a.m. CT on Monday in the championship match.
TCU has now won 33 consecutive indoor matches and 11 straight at Indoor Nationals. The Horned Frogs improved to 17-8 all-time in the ITA Indoor National Championships and 15-4 in the tournament since 2019. TCU has now defeated five ranked teams in a row.
Doubles Rundown
The Horned Frogs lost the doubles point for just the second time this season. TCU's Jake Fearnley and Jack Pinnington fell to Texas A&M's Luke Casper and JC Roddick, 6-1 on court two.
Duncan Chan and Lui Maxted, the 20th-ranked pair in the nation, suffered their first loss as partners in duals, as the tandem was bested by the Aggies' duo of Raphael Perot and Tiago Pires, 6-4, on court three.
Doubles Results
- No. 8 Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) vs. Guilio Perego / Togan Tokac (TAMU): 3-4 unfinished
- Luke Casper / JC Roddick (TAMU) def. Jake Fearnley / Jack Pinnington (TCU); 6-1
- Raphael Perot / Tiago Pires (TAMU) def. No. 20 Duncan Chan / Lui Maxted (TCU): 6-4
Singles Rundown
TCU erased a 1-0 hole rather quickly.
No. 62 Jake Fearnley evened the score, earning his third ranked win of 2024 by defeating 57th-ranked Perot on court one. Fearnley made quick work of Perot, winning in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
Moments later, Fearnley's doubles partner, No. 4 Jack Pinnignton put the Horned Frogs ahead after sweeping No. 114 JC Roddick on court two. Pinnington won set one, 6-2, and parlayed his momentum into a 6-4 set two clincher. The ranked win was Pinnington's second of the dual season.
On court four, No. 39 Sebastian Gorzny was in a battle with Giulio Perego. Gorzny took set one with relative ease, winning 6-4. Perego, the No. 103 ITA singles player, forced a tiebreaker in the second set but Gorzny prevailed, taking the tiebreaker 8-6 and staking TCU to a 3-1 match lead.
Up 3-2, Jirousek punched TCU's ticket to the semifinals, downing Luke Casper 6-4, 6-4 out of the No. 6 post. Jirousek has earned the match clincher in three of TCU's last four wins, all of which have been against top-15 teams.
Singles Results
- No. 62 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. No. 57 Raphael Perot (TAMU): 6-3, 6-2
- No. 4 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. No. 114 JC Roddick (TAMU): 6-2, 6-4
- Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. No. 20 Pedro Vives (TCU): 6-3, 7-6 [7-2]
- No. 39 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. No. 103 Giulio Perego (TAMU): 6-4, 7-6 [8-6]
- No. 59 Lui Maxted (TCU) vs. Tiago Pires (TAMU): 6-1, 2-6, 4-4 unfinished
- Tomas Jirousek (TCU) def. Luke Casper (TAMU): 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 6
Players Mentioned
