TCU
Ohio State
TCU Drops Heartbreaker to No. 1 Ohio State in ITA Indoor National Championships Final
2/19/2024 4:46:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NEW YORK CITY – No. 2 TCU came one set shy of notching a national championship three-peat.
The Horned Frogs fell 4-3 to top-ranked Ohio State on Monday inside the Milstein Family Tennis Center in the ITA Indoor National Championships final.
TCU took the doubles points behind victories on the top courts, with Jake Fearnley and Jack Pinnington clinching at two. Fearnley staked TCU to a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 walloping of No. 67 Cannon Kingsley on the top singles court. Pinnington put the Horned Frogs (9-1) within a court of hoisting the trophy, outlasting No. 25 Justin Boulais, 6-4, 6-4, on court two to make the score 32 in favor of the Frogs.
The Buckeyes (13-0) strength at the bottom was the difference in the match. Ohio State claimed courts three through six and completed the comeback with three-set wins on five and six.
TCU, the 2022 and 2023 ITA Indoor National Champions, suffered its first indoor defeat in more than two years. The Horned Frogs entered Monday's final as winners of 34 consecutive indoor duals. TCU has produced a 16-5 combined overall record at Indoor Nationals over the last five seasons.
The Horned Frogs were aiming to join Stanford and Virginia as the only Division I programs to win three consecutive indoor national championships.
Doubles Rundown
TCU knew it needed the doubles point to have a shot against a senior-laden Buckeyes squad. And early on, it looked bleak, as Duncan Chan and Lui Maxted fell to Ohio State's Robert Cash and Alexander Bernard, 6-2, on court three.
But multiple break points from Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives in the top flight swung the momentum back in favor of TCU. The No. 8 ITA doubles pair, Gorzny and Vives earned four break points against Andrew Lutscahunig and Justin Boulais on their way to a 6-3 win.
The action was rendered to court two, where Fearnley and Pinnington were gridlocked at four games all with Kingsley and JJ Tracy. The Brits secured a crucial break point moments after Gorzny and Vives' clinched before Fearnley secured the doubles point on serve.
Doubles Results
- No. 8 Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Andrew Lutschaunig / Justin Boulais (Ohio State): 6-3
- Jake Fearnley / Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Cannon Kingsley / JJ Tracy (Ohio State): 6-4
- Alexander Bernard / Robert Cash (Ohio State) def. No. 20 Duncan Chan / Lui Maxted (TCU): 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles Rundown
Fearnley's triumph over Kingsley was a milestone win. Kingsley, a fifth-year player, sports a 76-12 career singles record. Fearnley, No. 62 in the ITA singles rankings, built 4-0 leads in both sets before earning a 5-0 triple break in the final frame.
The Buckeyes erased TCU's 2-0 lead with wins on courts three and four.
The 39th-ranked Gorzny fell to Ohio State's Jack Anthrop, No. 13 nationally, 5-7, 2-6, at four.
Moments later, Vives was felled by No. 7 Tracy, 6-4, 6-4, in the third flight.
Pinnington again rose to the occasion from there. The sophomore broke Boulais' in the seventh game of set two to take the lead for good at 4-3.
Both matches on the bottom courts progressed to a third set at the time of Pinnington's clinch. No. 59 Lui Maxted outlasted Cash 7-6 [7-3] in the opening set on five but dug himself a 2-5 hole in set two on his way to a 4-6 defeat.
On six, Tomas Jirousek battled Bernard, a 2023 ITA All-American who entered having lost only seven singles games all season. Jirousek pushed Bernard to the brink, forcing a third set after falling 4-6 in the set one. He evened the match via a 6-3 set two win and went up a break on Bernard at 2-1 to begin the decisive third set.
Jirousek ultimately fell 3-6 in the final frame.
Maxted was twice broken by Cash in set three on his way to a 3-6 defeat as the Buckeyes clinched.
Singles Results
- No. 62 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. No. 67 Cannon Kingsley (Ohio State): 6-1, 6-0
- No. 4 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. No. 25 Justin Boulais (Ohio State): 6-4, 6-4
- No. 7 JJ Tracy (Ohio State) def. No. 20 Pedro Vives (TCU): 6-4, 6-4
- Jack Anthrop (Ohio State) def. No. 39 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU): 7-5, 6-2
- Robert Cash (Ohio State) def. No. 59 Lui Maxted (TCU): 6-7 [3-7], 6-4, 6-3
- No. 86 Alexander Bernard (Ohio State) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU): 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Up Next
The Horned Frogs will begin the outdoor portion of its schedule when No. 4 Texas visits Fort Worth on March 2. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. The match will count as a nonconference affair. TCU faces the Longhorns in Big 12 play at 3 p.m. on March 24 in Austin.
Players Mentioned
