Inclement weather may have forced the No. 6 men’s tennis team inside against No. 51 South Alabama Tuesday, but the rain wasn’t enough to prevent the Frogs from remaining perfect on the season.
In their first match since entering the nation’s top 10, the Frogs improved their season record to 6-0 as they defeated the Jaguars 6-1 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Junior Jacob Martin said the team’s two most recent victories provided the Frogs with the confidence they needed to remain undefeated.
“Having big wins over Texas A&M and Florida State gave us a lot of momentum coming into today’s match,” Martin said. “It’s given us a lot of confidence.”
The Frogs won all three doubles matches as Hector Almada and Jacopo Tezza rallied to clinch a 9-7 win over South Alabama’s Evan Fowler and Clinton Jacobs.
“I was nervous coming into today’s match because I’ve been battling a back injury,” Almada said. “I really wanted to get back after it and prove myself against South Alabama.”
Alex Menichini, ranked 22nd in singles play by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, fell to Franticek Babej 3-6, 2-6.
Fabrizio Sestini won the first set of his singles match in a tie breaker before continuing on to a 7-6, 6-3 win over Jacobs.
This coming weekend the Frogs will head into the Conference USA Shootout with a perfect record. The tournament will take place at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, but the team will not play until Saturday due to earning a first round bye.
Assistant coach Cory Hubbard says this weekend’s tournament will give TCU the chance to prove they are the team to beat this year in C-USA.
“We’ve had a good week and everyone’s hitting well,” Hubbard said. “Our goal is to stay healthy, keep improving and be ready to play.”
The team said they see this weekend as an opportunity to view how the rest of C-USA is performing.
“This is a chance for us to get some conference wins, as well as prepare us for the next road trip we have coming up,” Martin said.
Even with their current momentum, Almada said the team plans to stay focused and work hard.
“With this next tournament we’ll be able to see where we are in C-USA and can continue to improve and hopefully continue playing the way we are,” he said.
