The TCU men’s tennis blanked Mountain West Conference for Utah by the score of 7-0 Sunday at the Eccles Tennis Center. The shutout was the first in conference play for the Horned Frogs since 2008.
TCU jumped all over the Utes from the outset of the match, sweeping all three doubles matches. Senior Zach Nichols and junior Daniel Sanchez picked up the first win of the day, dismantling the team of Devin Lane and Matt Cowley, 8-4. The 34th-ranked senior tandem of Emanuel Brighiu and Christopher Price sealed the doubles point with an 8-6 victory over Benito Suriano and Alehandro Medinilla, snapping the Utah pairing’s five-match winning streak.
Junior Paul Chappell and senior Cameron Nash also teamed up to earn a doubles win against Garrett LaBarre and Dmytro Mamedov, 8-6. The TCU duo picked up their third-straight win in MWC play.
The Frogs rolled through all six wins in straight sets. Brighiu got the action started with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Suriano, followed by Nichols taking down Mamedov, 6-2, 6-2. Sophomore Soren Goritzka clinched the win for TCU with a convincing 6-2, 6-3 win against Cowley at the No. 5 position.
After the match was in hand for the Purple and White, Price defeated Medinilla at the No. 4 court, 6-4, 6-1, while junior Slah Mbarek cruised past Lane, 6-3, 6-3. Sanchez rounded out the evening with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Ben Tasevac from the No. 6 position.
TCU (8-12, 3-1 MWC) will return to the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center to host New Mexico on April 8.
No. 74 TCU (8-12, 3-1 MWC) def. Utah (6-10, 0-1 MWC), 7-0
Eccles Tennis Center | Salt Lake City, Utah
SINGLES
1. #78 Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) def. Benito Suriano (UU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Zach Nichols (TCU) def. Dmytro Mamedov (UU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Slah Mbarek (TCU) def. Devin Lane (UU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Christopher Price (TCU) def. Alejandro Medinilla (UU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Soren Goritzka (TCU) def. Matt Cowley (UU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Daniel Sanchez (TCU) def. Ben Tasevac (UU) 6-4, 6-1
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 5*, 4, 3, 6
DOUBLES
1. #34 Emanuel Brighiu/Christopher Price (TCU) def. Benito Suriano/Alejandro Medinilla (UU) 8-6
2. Paul Chappell/Cameron Nash (TCU) def. Garrett LaBarre/Dmytro Mamedov (UU) 8-6
3. Zach Nichols/Daniel Sanchez (TCU) def. Devin Lane/Matt Cowley (UU) 8-4
Order of Finish: 3, 1*, 2