TCU men’s tennis earned its second top-10 sweep of the weekend Sunday as the Horned Frogs took down No 6 Texas A&M in their final game of the ITA Indoor National Championship, 4-0.
The win gives TCU a 2-1 record on the weekend and its 40th all-time win over Texas A&M. TCU leads the all-time series, 40-16, including a run of seven straight that dates back to 2015.
“We came in after three tight losses, not playing our absolute best, and we had a choice,” head coach David Roditi said. “We were either going to rise up to the challenge, or not, and we did.”
For the third time this weekend, TCU started the match by winning the doubles point.
The Horned Frogs faced tough doubles matches as all three teams were behind a break after three games, but the team rallied back and claimed wins on courts two and three.
The No. 2 team of Sander Jong and Tadeas Paroulek buckled down and won their match 6-3. Luc Fomba and Bertus Kruger were behind on court three but broke back to hold serve and win 6-4.
Fomba and Kruger are now a team-best of 6-1 this season in doubles.
The No. 34 pair of Alastair Gray and Jacob Fearnley were behind 4-5 when play was suspended once the Frogs clinched the doubles point.
The effort from doubles play carried over into singles as the Horned Frogs claimed three straight wins.
Sander Jong was the first to finish at the No. 6 position with his third singles win of the weekend. He defeated the Aggie’s Guido Marson 6-3, 6-2. Jong is now 4-2 on the season.
Fomba continued his hot play on the weekend as he defeated No. 34 Juan Carolos Aguilar 6-0, 7-6(5). One point into the second set (6-0, 1-0), Fomba had won 19 of his last 20 games dating back to his match against NC State.
The match was clinched on court three where Jacob Fearnley showed mental toughness to battle back from losing the first set 1-6, to defeat his opponent in the third set, 1-6, 6-2, 7-5.
“We learned this week about what works for us and the mindset that we need to give ourselves the best chance to win,” Roditi said. “Jacob Fearnley specifically won the match because of that mindset. I’m happy for him to get that feeling of clinching a big match.”
Kruger and Paroulek were also in third sets when play was suspended. Gray was also in the middle of his match against No. 14 Hady Babib in the second set.
“I’m excited to get back on the practice courts and get ready for the outdoor season,” Roditi said.
The Horned Frogs travel to Dallas to take on SMU, Saturday at 2 p.m.and return home to take on USF, Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
