TCU Takes Down Oklahoma

Sunday, April 11

Fort Worth, Texas

1 PM

TCU

Oklahoma

4/11/2021 5:54:00 PM | Men's Tennis

TCU defeats OU 5-2 to remain perfect in conference play

FORT WORTH – No. 6 TCU men's tennis (14-5, 3-0) pushed its winning streak to four with a 5-2 victory over No. 21 Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth. Three Horned Frogs posted 2-0 performances: Jake Fearnley, Alastair Gray and Luc Fomba as TCU collects its eighth ranked victory of the season.

The win gives TCU a sooner state sweep, defeating Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the same weekend for the fifth time in a row. The Horned Frogs have not lost to either Oklahoma school

"Another Big 12 match and another absolute battle," head coach David Roditi said. "I know that people might look at the score and think it was easy but it wasn't. It came down to the very end. I'm so proud of Alastair Gray, our captain. He had a lot of opportunities to win that match sooner but his maturity to stay with the match, keep fighting and get the win, I couldn't be prouder of him and I'm not surprised, given the type of leader he has been. A very good day for Jake Fearnley winning in both singles and doubles. Max Kurzban had another great performance as well. Jake won his singles match in straight sets, really quick. When you're at home and you win doubles then get a quick point like that in singles, it's really hard for the road team to cope with that, so credit to OU for not giving in. It's great to see Jirousek back in the lineup, after missing the last two weeks, and getting the clincher against a guy that we have a lot of respect for in Nathan Han. Overall, I'm very proud. It's not easy to win matches in the Big 12. Everyone is ranked in the Top 25 and we appreciate every win. Thank you to the fans for coming and supporting us. It was a beautiful day at our facility. We're off to Lubbock for a tough match. It could be our toughest test yet. We'll be ready mentally and be ready for an absolute war. I'll make sure my hat is very tight to deal with the wind and we'll be ready to battle. Go Frogs!"

The Horned Frogs continued their strong run of form in doubles play, winning the doubles point for the fourth dual in a row without dropping a match. TCU's newest doubles team of Max Kurzban and Fearnley continue to collect wins, they are now 4-0 since joining forces at Stanford and have won a match in each of the last four duals. Fomba and Gray set the tone for the day a No. 1 doubles, collecting the 6-2 win to put the Frogs in front, 1-0.

For the second straight match, TCU took advantage of the momentum from doubles to get a quick victory at No. 5 singles. Today, it was Fearnley who delivered the blow, 6-0, 6-2. He finishes the weekend with four wins in singles and doubles, the only 4-0 record of the weekend for TCU.

After battling through a hard-fought first set, Fomba flexed his muscles in the second, grabbing a break to go in front, 3-1, and adding another late to claim a 6-2 win. Fomba's victory put TCU in front, 3-1 with three matches still in play.

The Sooners got a point to pull within one, 3-2, before Tomas Jirousek came through with a late break to cinch the match at No. 4. Jirousek battled through a difficult match, with long rallies and strong defensive play. When the pressure was at its highest, Jirousek elevated his game, hitting winners with a devastating back hand to bring the home crowd to its feet and secure the victory.

With the win in hand, Gray did his job beautifully, grabbing a late break of his own to turn a 5-5 third set into the Frogs' fifth point of the afternoon. Gray dominated his opening set, 6-0, only to suffer a loss in the second. He regrouped into the third and battled his way to the win.

DOUBLES QUICK HITS

TCU won the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3.
Fomba and Gray won the first point of the day at No. 1, breaking their opponents twice to win running away, 6-2.
Fomba/Gray improve to 10-5 on the season and 6-4 against ranked opponents. They are 2-0 in Big 12 play.
Fearnley and Kurzban recorded the clinching victory on court three, 6-2.
It was their fourth victory in their fourth match together.
TCU has won all four doubles points since Fearnley/Kurzban have paired up. The duo has contributed wins in all four matches.
Fearnley improves to 9-3 in doubles competition this season while Kurzban jumps up to 6-2.
Fearnley/Kurzban have now cinched doubles points in all four of their appearances together.
The Horned Frogs clinched the doubles point without dropping a match for the fourth match in a row and the eighth time this season.
TCU is now 29-18 in doubles matches this season and 6-0 in conference play.

Doubles Results
1. #11 Luc Fomba/Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #28 Alex Martinez/Nathan Han (OU) 6-2
2. Sander Jong/Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) vs. Mark Mandlik/Max Stewart (OU) 5-3, unfinished
3. Max Kurzban/Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. Mason Beiler/Welsh Hotard (OU) 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 3

SINGLES QUICK HITS

Fearnley dominated his match at No. 5, 6-0, 6-2.
He improves to 5-2 this dual season and 2-0 at the No. 5 spot.
This was his third straight set singles win of the season, all three coming at home.
Today was Fearnley's first 6-0 set as a Horned Frog.
Fomba scored the next point for TCU at No. 1 singles.
He improves to 11-5 in singles matches this dual season and 5-2 at the No. 1 spot.
This was his fifth win of the season over a ranked opponent, a new career-best.
Jirousek clinched the match at No. 4 after missing the last two weeks with an injury.
He improves to 6-4 this season and 5-2 at the No. 4 spot.
This was his fourth straight set victory of the season.
Gray clinched the match with yet another ranked victory in three sets.
He is now 12-5 this season with an 9-4 mark against ranked opponents.
He stands alone as the only Horned Frog with a perfect, 3-0 record in Big 12 action.
TCU is now 55-36 in singles matches this dual season and 10-5 in Big 12 play.

Singles Results
1. #18 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #108 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-4, 6-2
2. #10 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #111 Mason Beiler (OU) 6-0, 3-6, 7-5
3. Alex Martinez (OU) def. #47 Sander Jong (TCU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
4. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) def. Nathan Han (OU) 6-2, 7-5
5. #99 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. Mark Mandlik (OU) 6-0, 6-2
6. Welsh Hotard (OU) def. Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 1, 3, 4, 2

Up Next
The Horned Frogs travel to Lubbock for their final road match of the regular season against No. 19 Texas Tech. That match will be at 6 p.m. on Friday, April 16.

For more information on TCU men's tennis, visit gofrogs.com and follow the team on social media: @TCUMensTennis on twitter, Facebook and the all new men's tennis Instagram.