The TCU men’s tennis team will return to action this Friday when the team plays Mountain West Conference opponent Air Force. The Frogs played their last match 10 days ago, dropping the contest to No. 45 Wisconsin, 5-2.
Head coach Dave Borelli said the time off was needed and has helped the players get ready for the third part of the season.
“We needed to take the time off to get fresh legs,” Borelli said. “It’s been a long year, and now the guys have been able to focus on school.”
Chris Biro and Radu Barbu have helped TCU go 5-3 in their last eight matches. Biro has a singles record of 7-1, which include upsets of No. 92 Christian Groh of San Diego State and No. 111 Jeremy Sonkin of Wisconsin. Barbu also holds a 7-1 record in singles play including a win that helped the Frogs claim a conference victory over BYU.
The Frogs have lost a few close matches including a conference heartbreaker to SDSU two weeks ago, but Borelli said he is pleased with how the team has been playing.
“I think we’re due for things to go our way,” Borelli said. “I’ve been preaching to the guys that they need to enjoy the experience and build off of momentum because it’s not just talent, but attitude as well.”
The Frogs have also received help in doubles matches from the No. 36 duo of Cosmin Cotet and Kriegler Brink. The Cotet and Brink team went undefeated in five matches before losing to No. 17 Markus Dickhardt and Christian Groh of SDSU. Cotet and Brink redeemed themselves claiming victory over Wisconsin’s Moritz Baumann and Lachezar Kasarov last week.
The match opens a conference weekend series giving the Frogs a final tune-up before heading to Colorado for the MWC Championships in two weeks. Brink said the team is excited and wants to be playing well going into the championship tournament.
Air Force has lost their last five matches including a conference sweep last weekend.
The Frogs will play UNLV on Saturday evening, and complete their weekend Sunday afternoon when they go up against No. 46 New Mexico. New Mexico is 0-6 in road matches this season. The Lobos are tied with TCU for second in the Mountain West.
The Sunday home match is not only important for the conference tournament seeding, but it is also Senior Day.
“It’s neat as a team to be playing on Senior Day,” Brink said. “For the two seniors, it means even more to be playing in their last matches at home.