TCU
Michigan State
No. 2 TCU Takes Down No. 17 Michigan State, 4-1
1/26/2025 8:07:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Seventh consecutive ITA Indoor National Championship berth for Horned Frogs
FORT WORTH - The No. 2 ranked TCU men's tennis advanced to its seventh straight ITA Indoor National Championship with a convincing 4-1 win over No. 17 Michigan State on Sunday afternoon at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
The Frogs won the double point via a thrilling 7-6 (4) tiebreaker on court one, with NCAA doubles champions Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives downing Ozan Baris and Aristotelis Thanos
TCU then swept courts one through three in singles. Vives, Maxted and Jack Pinnington all went 2-0 on the day.
"We got away with one here," said head coach David Roditi. "Proud of our guys to get the win. I have been dreading this match since June. Today was proof of why, it was an awesome match. It was so good and so clean, zero issue. It was a battle, Go Frogs!"
Doubles Rundown
Sunday's match was tabbed as a must watch in the world of college tennis as these two rosters were littered with college tennis' best. The doubles portion of the match was as tightly contested as they come.
Jack Pinnington and Cooper Woestendick were the first pair to finish claiming court two, 6-2 over Michigan State's Matthew Forbes and Max Sheldon. With the win, the pair improved to 2-1.
Michigan State would claim court three, as Taym Alazmeh and Dani Rakhmatullayev took down Duncan Chan and Albert Pedrico, 7-6(4).
The deciding doubles match on court one was an all-timer. The No. 2 ranked doubles pair of Maxted and Vives took an early 3-2 lead over Baris and Thanos and won two straight games to push the score to 5-2. The Spartan pair went on a three-game tear to tie it up. The next two games were split leading to a tiebreaker.
TCU improved to 5-0 in doubles play this season.
Vives and Maxted are now 9-0 vs. ranked opponents in 2024-25, with Vives earning his third doubles point clincher in TCU's last four duals.
Singles Rundown
Maxted, the 12th ranked player in the nation, was the first Frog to finish, as he claimed court three. Maxted took down No. 83 Max Sheldon in an efficient 6-2, 7-6 (3) sweep. He claimed four straight tiebreaker points to close the show and lift the Frogs to a 2-0 lead. Maxted claimed four straight tiebreaker points to give the Frogs a 2-0 lead. The win was Maxted's 11th since the fall signified his 11th career ranked win.
Court one featured two of college tennis' absolute best, as Pinnington, last season's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, battled preseason ITA No. 1 Baris. Pinnington made a resounding statement, taking down the eighth-ranked Baris in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. Pinnington has now defeated three ITA top-35 opponents in as many matches has a record of 31-8 in 'ranked vs. ranked' affairs dating back to the fall of 2023.
The Spartans finally got on the board, claiming court four. Forbes, No. 40 in the ITA singles rankings, defeated Chan in a three-set match. Chan dropped the first set 3-6 before coming back to take the second 6-2 but he ultimately dropped the third set, 4-6.
Vives notched the match clincher on court two as he was victorious over Thanos in a three-set battle. The ninth-ranked Vives won the first set, 6-4 then fell in the second set 4-6. A late break with Vives leading 4-3 pushed him past Thanos, ranked 27th nationally, 6-3 and sent TCU to the ITA Indoor National Championships for the seventh year in a row.
Doubles Results
- No. 2 Pedro Vives/Lui Maxted (TCU) def Ozan Boris/Aristotelis Thanos (MSU): 7-6(4)
- Jack Pinnington/ Cooper Woestendick (TCU) def. Matthew Forbes/Max Sheldon (MSU: 6-2
- Taym Alazmeh/Dani Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Albert Kravtsov/Duncan Chan (TCU): 7-6(4)
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Results
1. Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. No. 8 Ozan Boris (MSU): 6-4, 7-5
2. No. 9 Pedro Vives (TCU) def. No. 27 Aristotelis Thanos (MSU): 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
3. No. 12 Lui Maxted (TCU) def. No. 83 Max Sheldon (MSU): 6-2, 7-6, 7-6.
4. No. 40 Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. No. 74Duncan Chan (TCU): 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
5. Cooper Woestendick (TCU) vs. Vuk Radjenovic (MSU): 4-5, unfinished
6. Albert Pedrico (TCU) vs. Taym Alazmeh (MSU): 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: 3, 1, 4, 2
Up Next
No. 2 TCU (5-0) will head east to take on No. 14 Tennessee on Feb. 2 at noon CT in Knoxville, Tenn.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,4,2
Players Mentioned
