It was seemingly “Día de los Muertos”, but TCU lives on.
Fifth-year senior Jake Fearnley launched the TCU men’s tennis team into a seemingly impossible home win against the No. 6-ranked University of Tennessee-Knoxville on Feb. 2.
Fearnley kept his match alive, winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-7, against Tennessee’s No. 20 Johannus Monday in a shootout that rocked the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
“What Jake Fearnley did to win that match was incredible,” said TCU men’s tennis coach David Roditi. “His resilience was amazing. He had so many opportunities to win the match early against one of the best players in the country – and for him to hang on to give us a chance was amazing.” (good quote; good placement of the quote; supports the lead!)
TCU was down 3-1 early after dropping the doubles point along with the matches featuring sophomore Jack Pinnington 4-6, 2-6 and junior Pedro Vives 6-7, 4-6.
In arguably one of the most heartfelt matches that TCU tennis has seen in a long time, Fearnley rallied back and forth against Monday and dug deep to secure the point for the Horned Frogs. Fearnley showed class and composure during his win, never letting panic settle in – his passionate heart was evident on his face the entire match.
Roditi, who kept faith alive throughout the entire match, knew that Fearnley winning meant life or death for TCU.
“It was an amazing win,” Roditi said. “It was Día de los Muertos. We were dead. The mountain looked so big down 1-3, just hanging on was incredible.”
Although Fearnley kept the Frogs alive, sophomore Sebastian Gorzny gave the Frogs their first point against Tennessee’s Filip Apltauer 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Grozny, with his powerful serves and phenomenal ball control, looked comfortable on the court and secured the victory with a smile.
“I wish I could’ve gotten it done in two sets,” said Grozny. “But a win’s a win.”
After Grozny’s and Fearnley’s victories, it was up to junior Lui Maxtead and fifth-year senior Tomas Jirousek to secure the match for TCU.
Maxtead had zero problems beating Tennessee’s Angel Diaz 6-3, 6-2. His signature one-handed backhand and quick feet carried TCU to a tie at 3-3, leaving the match in Jirousek’s hands.
Backed by a packed house, Jirousek went back and forth against Tennessee’s Chris Li. In the end, Jirousek pulled out the victory for TCU, 6-3, 6-2.
After that final point was scored by Jirousek, the volume skyrocketed in the tennis center. The crowd erupted in disbelief at TCU’s comeback, and the team jumped up and down in celebration.
“The crowd was incredible,” said Roditi. “If you weren’t here, too bad. That was a lot of fun.”
TCU travels to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take on the Michigan Wolverines on Feb. 13.
