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GoFrogs: M. Tennis Claims Big 12 Title
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STILLWATER, Okla. – The No. 5 TCU men’s tennis collected more hardware for the 2016 season, as the Horned Frogs claimed the 2016 Big 12 Men’s Tennis Championship with a thrilling 4-2 victory over No. 8 Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Okla.
The crown would not come easy as the Horned Frogs (24-3) had to battle back after dropping the doubles point for only the eighth time this season with the Red Raiders (27-5) claiming the victory on courts one and two to go up 1-0 to start the match. The pair of Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov remained solid for TCU at the No. 3 position as they defeated Carlos DiLaura and Hugo Dojas, 6-4, to move to 11-1 on the season.
TCU did not falter and won the first set on five of the six singles courts with the captain Trevor Johnson putting the Frogs on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 victory on court five. No. 6 Norrie avenged a loss earlier this season to No. 18 Felipe Soares and put TCU up 2-1 with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at the No.1 spot. No. 24 Rybakov followed just behind by taking down No. 110 Hugo Dojas, 6-2, 6-3 on court two.
Texas Tech would take the straight set win at the No. 3 spot as all attention turned to courts four and six. After being broken to make it 5-5 in the second set, Jerry Lopez came through in the clutch as the junior broke Jolan Cailleau back and then served out the match to take the 6-4, 7-5 win at the No. 4 position and seal the victory for TCU.
Notes
-Cameron Norrie was named MVP of the championship after going 4-0 between doubles and singles during the duration of the tournament
-TCU made an appearance in a conference tournament final for the 18th time in program history with the Frogs taking the crown for the 14th time
-This is the first conference tournament championship for TCU under the helm of head coach David Roditi
-This is the seventh time in program history that TCU has claimed at least a share of the regular season crown and the conference tournament championship. The last time TCU was able to win both was in 2008 in the Mountain West Conference
-With the victory over Texas Tech, TCU scored win No. 22 this season over a ranked opponent
-The win over the No. 8 Red Raiders was the fourth defeat over a top 10 opponent in 2016 and the 13th over an opponent ranked inside the top 25
-The tournament title marks the first for the program since 2010 when they claimed the Mountain West Conference tournament crown
Quotes of the Match
Head Coach David Roditi
Opening Statement
“This is an unbelievable feeling and such an incredible accomplishment for our whole program and our school. It was so great to see our former players here because every single person that has come through our program has had something to do with this title. I am happy for these guys because they were able to hang in there and beat a very tough Texas Tech team.â€
On the doubles
“I felt like we were playing like they were going to give it to us during doubles. I haven’t been that tough on them between doubles and singles this season, but I felt like today we needed to wake up and know that Texas Tech is not the type of team that is going to give you the win. They are a bunch of tough players at positions one through six and we had to confront that, face it and compete like dogs. Even in the middle of that match, I felt like we still needed to take it up one more notch with enthusiasm and energy and just get our claws out and fight for it. When you are trying to win a Big 12 Championship, you have to fight for it. I didn’t feel like we had that attitude in the doubles.â€
On the tournament as a whole
“I am proud of these guys. They have faced adversity both days at this tournament and they came through. For such a young team, we are growing up fast. I am very proud and I am happy for all our fans that came out and thankful for all our students and fans back home that came out to our matches. This is a great accomplishment for all of us in this program and a great way to end the season and get ready for postseason. We basically start a new season on Tuesday.
“I also don’t know how many three set matches we won in two days, but that is credit to the job our strength and conditioning coach Todd Kensler has done all year long. He has been getting these guys ready for long matches and getting them in shape. I give credit to the players for going through it and also credit to our athletic trainer Lauren Crawford who keeps our players healthy. We are out there fully healthy at this time in the season and it is not a coincidence. That is credit to the players, Lauren and Todd.â€
Match Results
TCU vs Texas Tech
May 01, 2016 at Stillwater, Oklahoma
(Greenwood Tennis Center)
TCU 4, Texas Tech 2
Singles competition
1. #6 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #18 Felipe Soares (TT) 6-2, 6-4
2. #24 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #110 Hugo Dojas (TT) 6-2, 6-3
3. Alex Sendegeya (TT) def. #87 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) 6-2, 7-5
4. Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Jolan Cailleau (TT) 6-4, 7-5
5. Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Connor Curry (TT) 6-2, 6-2
6. Bjorn Thomson (TT) vs. Reese Stalder (TCU) 4-6, 6-1, 4-4, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Alex Sendegeya/Bjorn Thomson (TT) def. #60 Reese Stalder/Hudson Blake (TCU) 7-5
2. Felipe Soares/Connor Curry (TT) def. Trevor Johnson/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) 6-4
3. Cameron Norrie/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Carlos DiLaura/Hugo Dojas (TT) 6-4
Match Notes:
TCU 24-3
Texas Tech 27-5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,1,2,3,4)
Up Next
TCU will now await their selection into the NCAA Championship, which will be announced on Tuesday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m.