TCU sails past BYU to improve to 17-3.
The TCU Horned Frogs swept the BYU Cougars on Thursday afternoon.
Surrounded and supported by a loud crowd on a sunny afternoon at the Bayard H. Freeman Tennis Center, the No. 3-ranked Horned Frogs needed this win after losing fifth-year senior Jake Fearnley and sophomore Sebastian Grozny to injury.
The atmosphere was live. Children had their faces painted, fans were taking pictures and junior Luke Swan was, as usual, shouting chants for fans to hear.
The Frogs leapt to an early lead after the doubles matches. Freshman Duncan Chan and junior Lui Maxtead beat BYU’s Jack Barnett and Redd Owen 6-2 to give the Frogs the upper hand.
After sophomore Jack Pinnignton and junior Pedro Vives dropped their match 4-6 against BYU’s Zach Fuchs and Wally Thayne, the point came down to fifth-year senior Tomas Jirousek and freshman Kaj Quirijns.
“I still have a lot of work to do,” Quirijns said. “I want to work as hard as I can now. Being on court and being home with the fans has been a blast, but I look forward to more.”
Jirousek and Quirijns – having only played two doubles matches together before this – came out victorious with a 6-3 win, putting the overall score at 1-0 with the Frogs on top.
With the doubles point under their belt, the Frogs steamrolled the Cougars in each of their singles matches.
Maxtead beat Fuchs 6-2, 6-4 in a calm fashion to give the Frogs their second point. Maxtead has been a consistent bright point for TCU this year, showcasing his one-handed backswing and its reliability on many occasions.
The Frogs earned their third point after Vives beat Thayne 6-2, 7-5. Vives’ hustle was crucial to secure the second set, ultimately firing himself up to push himself to victory in the second set.
Chan earned the fourth and match-securing point for the Frogs after he beat Tygen Goldammer 6-3, 6-3. As a freshman, Chan is making the most of his court time, as he is now seeing the singles side and capitalizing on his new opportunity to make his mark.
“The freshmen are doing exactly what I hoped as a coach, and it’s fun to watch them grow,” said head coach David Roditi. “It’s like watching a tulip blossom – their attitude could not be better.”
TCU added an extra point on the scoreboard after Pinnington beat Barnett 6-4, 6-1. Pinnington has an extraordinary ability to keep points alive when stacked against him. This led him to win his set, locking in TCU’s 5-0 victory.
Head coach David Roditi is so proud of the way his team has handled the adversity they’ve recently faced.
“Each player plays a role on the team, and these roles may change throughout the season,” said Roditi. “The leadership we’ve had from Lui, Jack and Pedro – they know that they’re the core of this team. With the other part of their core gone, it puts more pressure on them, but they’ve done a great job of embracing it and taking on more responsibility.”
The Frogs play their next match at home against Texas Tech.
