TCU and SMU Clash in Men's Tennis Action Wednesday

April 12, 2005

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MATCH #18:

#49 TCU (5-12) vs. #46 SMU (13-10)
April 13, 2005 • Fort Worth, Texas • 2 p.m. CDT

ABOUT THE MATCH
The No. 49 TCU men's tennis team faces crosstown-rival No. 46 SMU Wednesday, April 13, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. CDT on the Bernard J. "Tut" Bartzen Varsity Tennis Courts. The Horned Frogs (5-12) are looking to end a string of 11 consecutive losses, seven of which have come against teams currently ranked among the top 10 nationally. The Mustangs (13-10) had a three-match unbeaten streak snapped in their last outing with No. 1 Baylor, which the Bears won 6-1. Before travelling to Waco, Texas, SMU knocked off Notre Dame, Texas-Arlington and Colorado in Dallas. SMU holds a 25-23 advantage over TCU in the series dating back to 1974. The Frogs, though, have won four of the past five meetings and beat the Mustangs 4-0 in the last match-up in Fort Worth in March 2004. SMU has no players or doubles teams that are ranked.

LIVE MATCH SCORING AT HOME
Live match scoring for home matches via the Internet is back for a second season this spring. It is featured on the official Web site of TCU athletics, www.GoFrogs.com. Updates from the match are given periodically as the players progress and the order of finish, along with match notes, are also available on the page.

A RICH NCAA HISTORY
The Horned Frogs have a rich tradition of excellence in the NCAA Tournament. TCU has made 19 appearances in the event since the current team format was adopted in 1977. TCU has been in every tourney since 1991 and made 17 of the past 18 NCAAs. The Purple and White owns a record of 25-19 in the tournament and has made three appearances (1989, 1996, 2001) in the national semifinals. TCU has also reached at least the NCAA quarterfinals on seven occasions (1982, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001). In the individual championships, TCU had a string of 27 consecutive appearances from 1975 to 2001. During that span, TCU won one doubles title, coming in 1981 with Karl Richter and David Pate. In 1996, Ashley Fisher and Jason Weir-Smith finished as the runner-ups. Several Horned Frogs reached the round of 16 in singles, but Esteban Carril is the only one to advance to the quarterfinals. Carril made the run his sophomore year in 1999.

HORNED FROGS IN THE RANKINGS
Fabrizio Sestini is the lone Horned Frog among the current singles rankings, coming in at 31st. He is also listed in the doubles ratings at No. 11 with Rafael Abreu. Sestini has been ranked as high as 20th in singles, while he and Abreu have been as high as eighth in doubles.

RIVE RECORD BREAKDOWN
Head coach Joey Rivé is in his fifth season with TCU, boasting a 74-44 (.627) record with the Horned Frogs. In his five years, the Frogs have gone 48-13 (.787) in home matches, 9-23 (.281) in away matches and 17-8 (.680) when playing on neutral ground.

C-USA PRAISE THIS SEASON
TCU is once again cleaning up on the Conference USA awards this season. Fabrizio Sestini won at least a share of Player of the Month honors for September, October and November. He shared the honor with his doubles partner, Rafael Abreu, in November. Sestini took home the first Player of the Week accolade in January as well.

Schedule