TCU
Texas Tech
Frogs Fall in Home Opener to Texas Tech
2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2010
FORT WORTH—The TCU men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to Texas Tech in its home opener Friday afternoon at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The match marked the first competition for the Horned Frogs in 18 days.
The loss dropped the Frogs' season record to 3-2, while Texas Tech improved to 6-1.
TCU earned both of its team points in the day's final two singles decisions, as sophomore Slah Mbarek and junior Zach Nichols posted respective wins at the Nos. 3 and No. 5 positions. Nichols closed out a straight-sets victory over Tech's Vitor Manzini, 6-3, 7-5, while Mbarek rallied to win in the super tiebreaker over Rafael Garcia, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4). Both Frogs improved to 4-1 in singles this season.
The Red Raiders opened the afternoon by sweeping the three doubles matches to go up 1-0, then took each of the first four singles matches. Gonzalo Escobar, the nation's 41st-rated player, closed out the team victory with a win at No. 2 singles over Frog junior Emanuel Brighiu, 6-1, 6-2. Tech's other ranked player, No. 63 Raony Carvalho, posted a 6-0, 6-2 win over freshman Marius Cirstea at the top spot to open the singles competition.
In addition to the wins by its two ranked players, Texas Tech also posted singles wins in straight sets at the Nos. 4 and 6 slots. TCU freshman Sören Goritzka fell to Andre Stabile at No. 4 singles, 6-3, 7-6(1), after a 6-1, 6-0 victory by Raphael Pfister over junior Christopher Price at the No. 6 position, 6-1, 6-0.
TCU had its chances to take the doubles point, but dropped a pair of close matches after Escobar and Stabile, ranked 16th nationally for Tech, downed Goritzka and Mbarek at the No. 2 position to open play, 8-3. Manzini and Pfister clinched the point at No. 3 doubles with a 9-7 win over Nichols and junior Cameron Nash. Brighiu and Price fell in a tiebreaker at the No. 1 slot to Carvalho and Garcia, 8-7(3).
"Texas Tech played really well today," TCU head coach Dave Borelli said. "They are a good, grinding, slow-court team. We didn't play well coming out in the first sets of singles, but we were a little better in the second sets. In doubles we had opportunities, but they just played better than we did. I think Tech will do well this season. They are a well-coached team.
"We'll be okay. We just need to play more matches and continue to improve. We had 18 days off, and that's a long stretch to go without playing. We just need to focus harder in our practice sets so that we are more prepared in match play. I think our guys learned a lesson about that today."
TCU returns to the courts Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup against Wichita State.
Results
No. 41 Texas Tech 5, No. 40 TCU 2
Feb. 19, 2010
Fort Worth, Texas
(Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center/Bernard "Tut" Bartzen Varsity Courts)
Doubles
1. R. Carvalho/R. Garcia (TTU) def. C. Price/E. Brighiu (TCU) 8-7(3)
2. #16 G. Escobar/A. Stabile (TTU) def. S. Goritzka/S. Mbarek (TCU) 8-3
3. V. Manzini/R. Pfister (TTU) def. C. Nash/Z. Nichols (TCU) 9-7
Singles
1. #63 Raony Carvalho (TTU) def. Marius Cirstea (TCU) 6-0, 6-2
2. *#41 Gonzalo Escobar (TTU) def. Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Slah Mbarek (TCU) def. Rafael Garcia (TTU) 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(4)
4. Andre Stabile (TTU) def. Sören Goritzka (TCU) 6-3, 7-6(1)
5. Zach Nichols (TCU) def. Vitor Manzini (TTU) 6-3, 7-5
6. Raphael Pfister (TTU) def. Christopher Price (TCU) 6-1, 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,6,2,4,3,5)
*-clinched team victory
Players Mentioned
