Slideshow: TCU defeats Wichita State, travels to Arlington

The TCU men’s tennis team got solid production from the middle of the lineup Saturday, earning a 6-1 victory against Wichita State inside the indoor complex at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.

“It was nice to have some guys and step up today,” TCU head coach David Roditi said. “We were fortunate to win the doubles point. It was great that we were able to come back like that, but I was not happy with the way we played. Now we have a tough week ahead. I’m hoping that this will give us some confidence heading into some tough road matches at UTA and Texas A&M.”

TCU (3-5) had to battle back at the bottom two courts to seal the doubles point. After the Frogs’ dropped an 8-5 score from the top spot, the Purple and White team of senior Daniel Sanchez and sophomore Max Stevens picked up the slack at court No. 2, earning an 8-6 win over the Shockers’ Kester Black and Nestor Perez.

In the end, it was the freshman duo of Will Stein and Blake Wiggins that clinched the early 1-0 advantage, claiming a 9-8 (5) victory against WSU’s Tomislav Gregurovic and Erick Reyes. TCU was down 7-4 in the final match, but the tandem pushed it into a tiebreaker and earned the win.

The Frogs kept the pressure on in singles play as freshman Facundo Lugones gave TCU a 2-0 lead in the team score with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Reyes at the No. 4 position. Lugones, a product of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is now 3-3 in singles play this spring. Sanchez drove the Frogs’ lead to 3-0 with a convincing 7-6 (4), 6-3 decision against Gregurovic at the No. 3 court.

Freshman Nick Chappell, currently ranked No. 84 in the nation, clinched the team win for TCU at the top position earning a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win against No. 120 Matheus Pereira. The newcomer from Indianapolis, Ind., leads the Frogs with a 5-1 record this spring. 

After the team win was decided, the Frogs kept winning. Stein and Wiggins each earned their first singles wins of the spring Saturday. Stein, a native of Argyle, Texas, defeated the Shockers’ Juan Estenssoro by the score of 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 5 court, while Frisco, Texas product Wiggins won in straight sets at the No. 6 position, 6-4 7-5.

The Frogs now hit the road for a pair of matches at UT-Arlington (Feb. 21) and Texas A&M (Feb. 24). The next home match for TCU will be March 2 against Arizona.