TCU
Middle Tennessee State
Horned Frogs Slip Past MTSU, 4-3
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
FORT WORTH, Texas - Facing numerous obstacles, the No. 13 TCU men's tennis team picked up a 4-3 victory over Middle Tennessee in its first stop on its spring break road trip in Murfresboro, Tenn., on Friday afternoon.
The Horned Frogs (9-4, 0-1) had key victories in doubles action against the Blue Raiders (7-5) to pick up the doubles point before securing wins on three singles courts to take the team victory.
"I thought today was one of those just tough road wins," head coach David Roditi said. "Everything was set up for us to lose this match today. The script was perfect for us to get upset. With how the weather has been, travel changes and flying the morning of the match, we had limited hits before the match. It was just a tough, tough set up. Middle Tennessee is an unranked team with good players and I am sure they saw this as a good opportunity. I am proud of our guys for staying calm and getting the `W.'"
Hudson Blake and Facundo Lugones started TCU off in doubles with a win, as the duo paired up for the first time in a dual match this season for a 6-4 victory at No. 3 singles. MTSU evened up the doubles battle, as Ettore Zito and Victor Hoang upset No. 20 Nick Chappell and Will Stein, 6-4, at No. 1 singles.
For the fourth straight doubles battle, the decision would come down to the No. 2 doubles court as Cameron Norrie and Guillermo Nuñez found themselves down a break to Gian Issa and Yannick Born. The duo battled back and came out victories with a 7-5 win to clinch the doubles point for TCU.
"The doubles point was critical," Roditi said. "I was proud of Guillermo and Cameron for coming back down a break to win the point. They have been in that situation and to be able to come through today makes me happy for them. We also had our best performance all year at No. 3 doubles with Facundo and Hudson. They were done quick and that was a quick win."
No. 48 Chappell would propel the Frogs to a 2-0 lead in the match, as the senior notched his 12th win of the season with a 6-3, 6-2 win on court two. The Blue Raiders kept the fight going and secured wins at No. 1 and No. 4 singles to even up the match at 2-2.
Nuñez put TCU back on its winning ways and continued his winning streak by storming back after dropping the first set to Hoang on court three to claim the next two sets 6-2, 6-1 to put the Frogs back on top in the match, 3-2. Nuñez now has 15 wins on the season and is currently riding a 12-match winning streak.
No. 110 Lugones was the clincher for TCU, as he battled a tiebreaker in his first set, before dominating Issa, 6-2, in the second set to secure the four points for the Frogs for the victory.
"I felt that Nick Chappell did amazing today and to be able to get a win at No.2 singles so quickly was at a time when we were losing on the other three courts was very important to get us closer to that fourth point," Roditi said. "Facundo and Guillermo both won their singles and doubles today and were our MVPs. It was a dogfight and a tough situation on the road. Bottom line, we knew we were going to put our guys in a tough situation to see how they react and they went out and got the win."
TCU will continue its spring break road trip by traveling to Winston-Salem, N.C., to take on No. 20 Wake Forest on Sunday, March 8 at 1 p.m., CT.
Tennis Match Results
TCU vs Middle Tennessee
Mar 06, 2015 at Murfresboro, Tenn.
(Buck Bouldin Tennis Complex)
#13 TCU 4, Middle Tennessee 3
Singles competition
1. Ettore Zito (MTSU) def. #28 Cameron Norrie (TCU) 6-1, 6-3
2. #48 Nick Chappell (TCU) def. Dima Zyhmantovich (MTSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. Victor Hoang (MTSU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
4. Yannick Born (MTSU) def. Arnau Dachs (TCU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-2)
5. #110 Facundo Lugones (TCU) def. Gian Issa (MTSU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-2
6. Robin Riethmueller (MTSU) def. Trey Daniel (TCU) 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-3)
Doubles competition
1. Ettore Zito/Victor Hoang (MTSU) def. #20 Nick Chappell/Will Stein (TCU) 6-4
2. Cameron Norrie/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. Gian Issa/Yannick Born (MTSU) 7-5
3. Hudson Blake/Facundo Lugones (TCU) def. Robin Riethmueller/Miguel Fernandez (MTSU) 6-4
Match Notes:
TCU 9-4; National ranking #13
Middle Tennessee 7-5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,4,3,5,6)
Official: Ron McKinney T-3:30 A-46
Players Mentioned
