Saturday, April 22
Lawrence, KS
9 AM
TCU
4
vs
0
#47 Oklahoma State
TCU Rolls over Oklahoma State and Into Big 12 Championship Final
4/22/2023 2:51:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Horned Frogs move on to face No. 1 Texas at 1 p.m. on Sunday
LAWRENCE, Kan. – No. 3 wasted little time in punching its second straight ticket to the Big 12 Championship final, overpowering No. 47 Oklahoma State 4-0 in a semifinal dual on Saturday at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
The Horned Frogs – seeded second in the tournament – hung a pair of 6-1 doubles victories on the sixth-seeded Cowboys in the second and third flights to go on top 2-0. TCU then clinched the match with consecutive singles sweeps on courts three, six and two.
Temperatures in Lawrence hovered around 40 degrees ahead of first serve, shifting the match indoors.
"The guys got it done indoors against Oklahoma State," head coach David Roditi said. "We're in the finals of the Big 12 Championship. We got off to a great start in doubles and then JPJ, Jack Pinnington, just put on a clinic. He played so well against a very good player at No. 3. Lui Maxted stepped up at six, and then we just needed one more match. Our guys did a great job getting back in some matches and then Fomba with his 'Bomba ace' to win it."
"More importantly," Roditi continued, "we're in the finals. We were here last year, same exact spot, and we weren't able to find that fourth point. I promise you the guys will be ready to play tomorrow. It will be an absolute battle. The boys will be ready."
The performance sent TCU to its sixth Big 12 Championship final in 11 years of conference membership. The Horned Frogs face No. 1 Texas at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the fourth meeting between the programs this season and third with title implications. Texas defeated TCU 5-2 in Austin on Apr. 15 to win the Big 12 regular season championship. TCU captured the ITA Indoor National title via a 4-0 rout of the Longhorns on Feb. 20.
TCU also extended its program record and nation-leading streak of indoor victories to 25.
Doubles Rundown
Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives got off the court first, as they downed Oklahoma State's Isaac Becroft and Alex Garcia 6-1.
Sander Jong and Lui Maxted, the No. 18 ITA doubles tandem, followed suit with an identical score in the third flight vs. Alessio Basile and Carl Roothman.
Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba led 4-2 over Chase Ferguson and Tyler Zink at the time of the clinch.
TCU wrested control of all three courts within minutes of the coin toss. All three Horned Frog pairs built 3-1 leads. Both Gorzny and Vives and Jong and Maxted closed out their sets by winning five straight games.
The Horned Frogs have now won 17 straight indoor doubles point, dating back to the quarterfinals of their 2022 ITA Indoor National Championship run.
TCU notched its seventh straight doubles point in 2023 as well, improving its season record in doubles to 20-2. Court by court, the Horned Frogs are now 11-5 on court one, 13-6 on court two and 17-1 on court three. Collectively, TCU is 41-12 overall.
The Horned Frogs have won 18-of-19 matches when winning the first doubles frame.
Gorzny and Vives' earned their team-leading 15th victory together. Saturday's triumph was their second straight and fifth this season on court two.
Jong and Maxted, the national fall runners-up, have now joined forces in three of TCU's last four outings. They have now notched 35 doubles wins together since 2022 – more than any other TCU tandem.
Fearnley and Fomba, No. 2 in the ITA doubles rankings, maintained their 11-2 season record.
Doubles Results
Singles Rundown
The end result was never in jeopardy, as TCU won nine-of-11 completed singles sets and took four courts in the opening frame.
Jack Pinnington breezed past Garcia 6-1, 6-3 in the third flight to up the Horned Frogs' edge to 2-0. The freshman raced out to a 5-0 lead in set one. He again separated from Garcia quickly in the second set, winning three straight games to snap a 2-2 tie and assume a three-point edge.
The No. 88 ITA singles player, Pinnington halted a two-match singles skid and swelled his spring singles record to 7-4. Six of Pinnington's wins have been in straight sets.
Maxted was perhaps even more dominant than Pinnington in his match on court six. He swelled TCU's lead to 3-0 behind consecutive 6-1 frames vs. Roothman. Maxted and Roothman split the first pair of games. Maxted then caught fire, winning 10 straight to close the first set and build a 5-0 advantage in set two.
The Worthing, England native remains undefeated in singles play this spring at 8-0. Saturday's performance marked the sixth shutout in his sophomore season.
Fomba, No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings, garnered the match clincher via a 6-4, 6-4 sweep of the 91st-ranked Becroft.
The Frenchman's serve was particularly lethal with the transition to the indoor courts. Fomba, whose serve speed tops out at 140 miles per hour, strung seven aces together in his final two games on serve in set one. All four of his points in the decisive game were aces. Fomba then took a deuce point on serve to even his second set vs. Becroft at 4-4. He took the lead for good on receive, then clinched his match and the Horned Frog win with an ace in the ensuing game.
TCU was positioned for a 7-0 shutout had the match not been contested as clinch.
Jong outlasted Ferguson on court four in a marathon first set that resulted in a 13-11 tiebreaker in his favor. The fifth year senior trailed 5-6 and staved off set point three times after sending the frame to the tiebreaker. With Ferguson unable to capitalize, Jong, No. 42 nationally in singles, eased his way to a 4-0 lead in set two before play was halted.
Fearnley and Gorzny rallied from opening frame setbacks to flip their courts. Fearnley faced Zink in the No. 1 post. He fell in set one 3-6 but rallied for a 6-3 win in set two and was ahead 2-1 in the third. Gorzny battled Basile on court five. Basile claimed the firest frame 6-4, only for Gorzny – 13-1 in singles this spring – to even the score with a 6-3 result in set two. Gorzny was in front 4-3 in set three at the time of the clinch.
Singles Results
The Horned Frogs – seeded second in the tournament – hung a pair of 6-1 doubles victories on the sixth-seeded Cowboys in the second and third flights to go on top 2-0. TCU then clinched the match with consecutive singles sweeps on courts three, six and two.
Temperatures in Lawrence hovered around 40 degrees ahead of first serve, shifting the match indoors.
"The guys got it done indoors against Oklahoma State," head coach David Roditi said. "We're in the finals of the Big 12 Championship. We got off to a great start in doubles and then JPJ, Jack Pinnington, just put on a clinic. He played so well against a very good player at No. 3. Lui Maxted stepped up at six, and then we just needed one more match. Our guys did a great job getting back in some matches and then Fomba with his 'Bomba ace' to win it."
"More importantly," Roditi continued, "we're in the finals. We were here last year, same exact spot, and we weren't able to find that fourth point. I promise you the guys will be ready to play tomorrow. It will be an absolute battle. The boys will be ready."
The performance sent TCU to its sixth Big 12 Championship final in 11 years of conference membership. The Horned Frogs face No. 1 Texas at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the fourth meeting between the programs this season and third with title implications. Texas defeated TCU 5-2 in Austin on Apr. 15 to win the Big 12 regular season championship. TCU captured the ITA Indoor National title via a 4-0 rout of the Longhorns on Feb. 20.
TCU also extended its program record and nation-leading streak of indoor victories to 25.
Doubles Rundown
Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives got off the court first, as they downed Oklahoma State's Isaac Becroft and Alex Garcia 6-1.
Sander Jong and Lui Maxted, the No. 18 ITA doubles tandem, followed suit with an identical score in the third flight vs. Alessio Basile and Carl Roothman.
Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba led 4-2 over Chase Ferguson and Tyler Zink at the time of the clinch.
TCU wrested control of all three courts within minutes of the coin toss. All three Horned Frog pairs built 3-1 leads. Both Gorzny and Vives and Jong and Maxted closed out their sets by winning five straight games.
The Horned Frogs have now won 17 straight indoor doubles point, dating back to the quarterfinals of their 2022 ITA Indoor National Championship run.
TCU notched its seventh straight doubles point in 2023 as well, improving its season record in doubles to 20-2. Court by court, the Horned Frogs are now 11-5 on court one, 13-6 on court two and 17-1 on court three. Collectively, TCU is 41-12 overall.
The Horned Frogs have won 18-of-19 matches when winning the first doubles frame.
Gorzny and Vives' earned their team-leading 15th victory together. Saturday's triumph was their second straight and fifth this season on court two.
Jong and Maxted, the national fall runners-up, have now joined forces in three of TCU's last four outings. They have now notched 35 doubles wins together since 2022 – more than any other TCU tandem.
Fearnley and Fomba, No. 2 in the ITA doubles rankings, maintained their 11-2 season record.
Doubles Results
- #2 Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. Chase Ferguson / Tyler Zink (OSU): 4-2
- Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Isaac Becroft / Alex Garcia (OSU): 6-1
- #18 Sander Jong / Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Alessio Basile / Carl Roothman (OSU): 6-1
Singles Rundown
The end result was never in jeopardy, as TCU won nine-of-11 completed singles sets and took four courts in the opening frame.
Jack Pinnington breezed past Garcia 6-1, 6-3 in the third flight to up the Horned Frogs' edge to 2-0. The freshman raced out to a 5-0 lead in set one. He again separated from Garcia quickly in the second set, winning three straight games to snap a 2-2 tie and assume a three-point edge.
The No. 88 ITA singles player, Pinnington halted a two-match singles skid and swelled his spring singles record to 7-4. Six of Pinnington's wins have been in straight sets.
Maxted was perhaps even more dominant than Pinnington in his match on court six. He swelled TCU's lead to 3-0 behind consecutive 6-1 frames vs. Roothman. Maxted and Roothman split the first pair of games. Maxted then caught fire, winning 10 straight to close the first set and build a 5-0 advantage in set two.
The Worthing, England native remains undefeated in singles play this spring at 8-0. Saturday's performance marked the sixth shutout in his sophomore season.
Fomba, No. 26 in the ITA singles rankings, garnered the match clincher via a 6-4, 6-4 sweep of the 91st-ranked Becroft.
The Frenchman's serve was particularly lethal with the transition to the indoor courts. Fomba, whose serve speed tops out at 140 miles per hour, strung seven aces together in his final two games on serve in set one. All four of his points in the decisive game were aces. Fomba then took a deuce point on serve to even his second set vs. Becroft at 4-4. He took the lead for good on receive, then clinched his match and the Horned Frog win with an ace in the ensuing game.
TCU was positioned for a 7-0 shutout had the match not been contested as clinch.
Jong outlasted Ferguson on court four in a marathon first set that resulted in a 13-11 tiebreaker in his favor. The fifth year senior trailed 5-6 and staved off set point three times after sending the frame to the tiebreaker. With Ferguson unable to capitalize, Jong, No. 42 nationally in singles, eased his way to a 4-0 lead in set two before play was halted.
Fearnley and Gorzny rallied from opening frame setbacks to flip their courts. Fearnley faced Zink in the No. 1 post. He fell in set one 3-6 but rallied for a 6-3 win in set two and was ahead 2-1 in the third. Gorzny battled Basile on court five. Basile claimed the firest frame 6-4, only for Gorzny – 13-1 in singles this spring – to even the score with a 6-3 result in set two. Gorzny was in front 4-3 in set three at the time of the clinch.
Singles Results
- #18 Jake Fearnley (TCU) vs. Tyler Zink (OSU): 3-6, 6-3, 2-1
- #26 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #91 Isaac Becroft (OSU): 6-4, 6-4
- #88 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Alex Garcia (OSU): 6-1, 6-3
- #42 Sander Jong (TCU) vs. Chase Ferguson (OSU): 7-6 [13-11], 4-0
- #87 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) vs. Alessio Basile (OSU): 4-6, 6-3, 4-3
- Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Carl Roothman (OSU): 6-1, 6-1
Players Mentioned
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