A record crowd of 867 fans were on hand at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center and Bartzen Varsity Courts to watch No. 47 TCU’s match against No. 14 Texas A&M, but the Aggies shut out the Frogs 7-0 to give TCU its fourth-straight loss.
TCU (2-4) also dropped its home record against the Aggies to 12-6 all-time, while Texas A&M (7-3) won its second match in a row.
“I thought we fought really hard, I thought we lost to a better team today, I thought we gave it everything we had, I couldn’t be more proud as a TCU tennis alumni to see the kind of support we got from the crowd today,” head tennis coach David Roditi said. “To me that’s the best crowd I’ve ever seen, especially just for a regular match. If we continue to do this, this program is going to do very well. “
Even though the Aggies swept the Frogs in doubles, junior Emanuel Brighiu and senior Christopher Price stayed competitive against Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek 8212; the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the nation. Brighiu and Price bested Dadamo and Krajicek last season, but the top-ranked tandem knocked off Brighiu and Price, 8-5, Wednesday.
“It was a great match, I really think we had our chances, I think they just came up with some big shots,” Price said.
“Austin (Krajicek) hit one of the best shots I’ve ever seen. I mean, good players come up with big shots, and it was just their day.”
Senior Zach Nichols and junior Daniel Sanchez fell to the No. 57 doubles team in the nation, Alberto Bautista and Colin Hoover, 9-8, while Frogs’ junior Slah Mbarek and senior Cameron Nash lost, 8-5, to Junior Ore and Alexey Grigorov on the No. 2 court.
“There was just one point here or there, it just turns out that way,” Price said, when reflecting on his doubles match. “It’s all right, I mean they played well. They are number one in the country. “
In singles play, A&M’S No. 29-ranked Krajicek defeated Brighiu on the No. 1 court, 6-2, 6-4. A&M’s Dadamo, ranked No. 49 in singles, defeated Mbarek 6-4, 6-3. Nichols fell to 121st-ranked Alexis Klegou, 6-4, 7-5, in the No. 3 position, while Price fell to Grigorov, 6-2, 6-4.
“We can play doubles with anyone, it’s proven, I think we just need to improve our games in singles, but we think we battled hard. There were some really close matches,” Price said. “I think we are just going to keep getting better throughout the season.”
Sanchez couldn’t shake Bautista, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 5 court, while Nash rounded out the singles on the No. 6 court, falling to Naill Angus, 6-3, 6-3.
“That was so much fun, doubles especially, playing on the center court, I could just feel all the people yelling, it felt unreal,” said Price, while wearing a wide grin on his face after the match. “I didn’t really look up, but I could feel like it really helped a lot. You could tell A&M was feeling it, they were getting tight. Because at their home matches that’s what we feel like, everyone’s yelling at you. I thank the crowd for coming.”
Up next
TCU will continue play at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center and Bartzen Varsity Courts against Mississippi State Friday at 2 p.m.
Injury update
TCU sophomore Soren Goritzka was pulled before Wednesday’s match due to a shoulder injury. Roditi said he hopes Goritzka will be ready for Friday’s home match against Mississippi State.