TCU
#10 UCLA
TCU Wraps Up Competition at ITA Indoors
2/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 17 TCU men's tennis team wrapped up competition at the 2015 ITA National Indoor Team Championship in Chicago, Ill., with a 4-1 loss to No. 10 UCLA on Sunday morning.
The Horned Frogs (5-3) were able to nab a singles win on the final day of competition against the Bruins (6-4) and will return home after facing three top-10 ranked opponents in three days at the tournament.
"I felt like today we went backwards in some ways and with some players, so that is disappointing," head coach David Roditi said. "It's hard enough to beat a top-10 team playing well and probably impossible unless the whole team shows up. Not everybody showed up today and I'm sure we will learn from it.
"I thought a couple of players had a very good day and I was very proud of Will Stein's fight and competitiveness in his singles match. Overall, it was a great experience for our team and now we know where we stand with top-10 teams and we have got to get a little better."
Hudson Blake and Trevor Johnson were the first pair to score a victory in doubles action, as the duo dominated on court three, 6-1, over Dennis Mkrtchian and Austin Rapp. TCU could not pull out victories on the final two courts and dropped the doubles point, as the Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the match.
UCLA was able to come away with straight-set wins on courts four and one to open singles action and quickly jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the match. TCU got its lone point of the match from Johnson, who grabbed his team-leading 16th victory of the season with a 6-2, 6-1 commanding win over Joseph Di Giulio at No. 6 singles.
With the rest of the singles matches headed to third sets, the match would come down to the very end, but UCLA would ultimately come out on top, as No. 44 Mrktchian upended No. 48 Nick Chappell, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to clinch the match for the Bruins.
TCU will next be in action on Feb. 22 when the Frogs travel to Rice to face the Owls in a Noon showdown in Houston, Texas.
Tennis Match Results
TCU vs UCLA
Feb 15, 2015 at Chicago, Ill.
(Midtown Athletic Club)
#10 UCLA 4, #17 TCU 1
Singles competition
1. #2 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) def. #18 Cameron Norrie (TCU) 6-2, 6-2
2. #44 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA) def. #48 Nick Chappell (TCU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Martin Redlicki (UCLA) vs. Will Stein (TCU) 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 5-4, unfinished
4. Karue Sell (UCLA) def. #85 Facundo Lugones (TCU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Austin Rapp (UCLA) vs. #112 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 3-4, unfinished
6. Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Joseph Di Giulio (UCLA) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #6 Mackenzie McDonald/Martin Redlicki (UCLA) def. #24 Will Stein/Nick Chappell (TCU) 6-3
2. Joseph Di Giulio/Karue Sell (UCLA) def. Guillermo Nuñez/Cameron Norrie (TCU) 6-4
3. Hudson Blake/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Dennis Mkrtchian/Austin Rapp (UCLA) 6-1
Match Notes:
TCU 5-3; National ranking #17
UCLA 6-4; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,1,6,2)
Players Mentioned
