TCU Men's Tennis Ready for NCAA Regionals

May 11, 2005

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2005 NCAA MEN'S TENNIS REGIONALS

May 14-15 • McLeod Tennis Complex • Lubbock, Texas
#45 TCU (8-14) vs. #17 Wake Forest (16-6) • 3 p.m. CDT

ABOUT THE NCAA REGIONALS
Sixteen teams from across the nation will host four-team NCAA Men's Tennis Regionals over May 13-15. The No. 45 TCU Horned Frogs (8-14) travel to Lubbock, Texas, for their first-round match-up with the No. 17 Wake Forest Demon Deacons (16-6) on Saturday, May 14, at 3 p.m. CDT. The host and 15th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders (23-3) play the Army Black Knights (21-4) in an earlier match at noon at McLeod Tennis Complex. The winners meet at 1 p.m. the following day for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championship, which begins Saturday, May 21, in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center serves as the venue.

NCAA INDIVIDUAL SELECTIONS
Fabrizio Sestini and Rafael Abreu earned a spot in the NCAA Doubles Championship for this season, and Sestini will compete in the Singles Championship as well. It marks the first time since 2001 that TCU received bids for both tournaments in the same year. Sixty-four players compete in the singles tournament, while 32 doubles teams compete for the title.

A RICH NCAA HISTORY
The Horned Frogs have a rich tradition of excellence in the NCAA Tournament. This year, TCU is making its 20th appearance in the event since the current team format was adopted in 1977. TCU has been in every tourney since 1991 and made 18 of the past 19 NCAAs. The Purple and White owns a record of 25-19 in the tournament and has made three appearances in the national semifinals (1989, 1996, 2001). TCU has also reached at least the NCAA quarterfinals on seven occasions (1982, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001). In the singles and doubles championships, TCU had a string of 27 consecutive appearances in at least one of the events 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 29th. He is also listed in the doubles ratings at No. 13 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. Sestini's current rankings are tops among all C-USA players.

RIVE RECORD BREAKDOWN
Head coach Joey Rivé is in his fifth season with TCU, boasting a 77-46 (.626) record with the Horned Frogs. In his five years, the Frogs have gone 50-14 (.781) in home matches, 9-24 (.273) in away matches and 18-8 (.692) when playing on neutral ground.

C-USA PRAISE IN 2004-05
TCU picked up several postseason Conference USA awards this season. Fabrizio Sestini was chosen as the 2005 Player of the Year and selected to the All-Conference First Team. His doubles partner Rafael Abreu was selected to the All-Conference Third Team. Sestini was a second-team honoree the previous three years, while Abreu was recognized on an all-league team for the first time.

TWO FOR THE DECADE
Alex Menichini and Fabrizio Sestini were both named to the C-USA All-Decade Team on Tuesday, April 19. Menichini played at TCU for three seasons after spending the 2000-01 academic year at Fresno State. He was selected to the C-USA First Team in 2003 and 2004. Sestini was C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2002 and a member of the All-Conference Second Team in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Schedule