clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Tennis Frogs win their fifth and sixth straight in dominant fashion

The Frogs took care of No. 14 Ole Miss and No. 8 Stanford

Alastair Gray celebrates during his singles victory against Axel Geller of Stanford.
photo courtesy of www.gofrogs.com

Wins in TCU Athletics have been few and far between as of late; however, this past weekend was one for the books if you’re a Frog fan. Not only did TCU basketball take care of No. 2 Baylor and TCU Baseball sweep Cal, but the TCU men’s tennis team took care of not one but two ranked opponents in a span of 72 hours.

No. 14 Ole Miss becomes Frogs’ third sweep victim in last two weeks

Thanks to strong play from sophomore Luc Fomba and junior Bertus Kruger, TCU started the weekend of strong with an utter domination of the 14th-ranked Rebels on Friday.

Not only was the match the fifth-straight victory for the Frogs, but it was their fourth sweep in that span, three of which were over ranked opponents.

Fomba and Kruger obliterated their doubles matchup in the No. 3 spot, winning the final four games to finish with a resounding 6-2 victory.

As if that wasn’t enough, the pair each won their singles game to both finish 2-0 on the day.

They weren’t alone though, as Sander Jong and Tadeas Paroulek took care of their competition as well in the No. 2 doubles spot. The duo had show massive resiliency, coming back from a 2-5 deficit to win 7-6 (5) and give TCU the doubles victory.

Alistair Gray joined Fomba and Kruger with a victory on the singles end. The 50th-ranked senior got the crowd going with a handling of No. 55 Tim Sandkaulen in straight sets.

“Today’s match was a battle, and I’m proud of the way our guys fought in every spot,” head coach David Roditi said.

The Frogs were certainly on a roll, but the win over the Rebels wouldn’t be their last on the weekend.

TCU takes down yet another top ten opponent in sixth straight win

It wasn’t a sweep, but TCU extended their win streak to six with a comfortable 4-1 win over No. 8 Stanford. The Frogs have been lights-out against ranked opponents, winning six of their nine such match ups, three of which have been teams in the top ten.

For the second time in three days, the Frogs won the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles spots to take the point.

Sander Jong and Tadeas Paroulek rank No. 57, and they showed why against the Cardinal. After a tight start, the pair dominated their opponents to win 6-1.

Stanford would win the No. 1 spot, but Luc Fomba and Bertus Kruger finished the No. 3 spot with a 6-4 victory to win the doubles point for TCU. Fomba finished the match with a nasty ace to advance the duo to a team-best 10-1 on the year.

The intensity shot up in the singles matches. With every good play the Frogs’ made, the Cardinal would match it. Each of the six first sets were tied at 4-4. After the teams tied the first set 3-3, TCU took a lead they wouldn’t lose thanks to Alistair Gray.

The Twickenham, England, native won eight of the last 10 games to win his match over No. 29 Axel Geller. His fifth win over a ranked opponent this season even brought the crowd at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center to their feet.

“If there is a game ball, I got to give it to Alastair Gray, getting a win like that against such a great player,” head coach David Roditi said. “I’m really happy for him and proud of him. Nobody works harder.”

Jong and Paroulek also collected wins in the singles matches to lock down the win for TCU.

Paroulek had won in straight sets over No. 75 Sangeet Sridhar to earn his first clinching victory of the year.

TCU will look to continue their recent dominance this weekend as they remain home to face Tulsa on Friday and Tulane on Sunday.