The TCU men’s tennis team (23-4, 5-0) has not lost many doubles points throughout the season. Going into this Sunday’s finals at the Big 12 Men’s Tennis Championship, they only had three doubles points all season. On Sunday, Baylor was able to hand TCU their fourth doubles point loss of the season. That gave the Bears the momentum going into the singles matches, giving Baylor the upper hand with a championship title.
TCU faced Baylor for the third time this season. The two first met in Fort Worth on a non-conference matchup on March 25. Baylor won that dual 5-2. The Waco a couple of days later in a Big 12 conference play. TCU won that dual 4-3. TCU would sweep the Big 12 in the regular season, 5-0. Baylor would finish at 4-1 in the league, with TCU losing their only loss. Both teams have been in the top five nationally for most of the season. Headed into their dual this weekend, TCU was the No. 1 team nationally and Baylor the No. 4 team. Both had identical records of 23-3. All indications were that this would be a tight match. And it was. Had the Frogs won the doubles point, it would not have been such a hill to climb.
In the end, Baylor won the dual 4-2 to win the tournament championship title. TCU won the regular-season title. Both teams will now announce the national championship for next month.
The Big 12 Tennis Championship was held at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth. The Women’s Tour kicked off on Thursday, April 21. On Sunday, no. 2 seed Texas defeated No. The early match in the 1 seed Oklahoma. The men’s tournament began on Friday, April 22. Both TCU and Baylor had byes in the first round. Baylor defeated No. 3 seed Texas in the semifinal on Saturday. TCU defeated no. 5 seed Oklahoma on Saturday in their semifinal match.
“Tough loss today,” said Baylor with Sunday’s dual after TCU head coach David Roditi. “It is a great crowd of people here at home and in front of the championship. Baylor played well, and they won some critical matches. We could have played better in doubles, and I feel that we could improve our singles in some critical things.
“I would like to believe this loss will prepare us for better nationals. We have two weeks to prepare and prepare ourselves all the way through it – mentally, emotionally, and technically. There is no doubt in our minds that our players left it all out there, and Baylor played better today. Thank you to Big 12, our great fans, and all our staff and administrators. ”
Here is a recap of the Big 12 Men’s Tennis Championship in Oklahoma and Baylor with TCU’s two dual matches:
Semifinal: # 1 TCU 4 – # 5 Oklahoma 1 – April 25
TCU won its 23rd A win by the nation with doubles points. 2 ranked duo of Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley, Court at winning 1 6-4 and by Juan Carlos Aguilar and Pedro Vives on Court 3 6-4.
In singles matches, Vives gave TCU the next point to put them up 2-0 with his straight-set win. 5, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3). Oklahoma got on board with a win at No. 6. Fearnley, at no. 4, won 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to put Frogs up 3-1. When the dual was clinched, Aguilar won at his match number. 2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Final: # 2 Baylor – # 1 TCU 2 – April 24
All three doubles matches were close. And Baylor won the two they needed for each other within moments. Fomba and Fearnley, at No.1, lost 3-6, and Sander Jong and Luis Maxted, at No. 2, lost 4-6 to give Baylor the early advantage.
Baylor won the first two singles matches at no. 5 and No. Give them a 3-0 advantage. Fomba got TCU on board with an exciting win. 1, 6-4, 7-5. Fearnley was next as he battled back to power the third set and then maintained a slight edge to win 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, thanks to a double fault by Baylor’s Finn Bass.
With the score now 3-2, TCU could not lose either of the remaining matches. Jong won his first set at No. 3 but lost his second set. That match was on serve 3-2. On No. 2, Aguilar fought back in the first set to win it 7-6 but lost his second set. He was just about to start the third set. Then Mother Nature came into play. Play was suspended due to lightning. Most of the crowd left. Play reserved less than an hour later in the indoor courts, but TCU lost the moment they were going. Aguilar lost his third set 3-6, which clinched Baylor for the championship.
Next up: The NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship on Tuesday, May 3, for the teams that will travel to Champaign, Illinois, May 19-29. TCU will learn the national championship for competing against the teams they will be on.
2022 Men’s Tennis Schedule / Results
January 12 vs. UTRGV – Won 6-1
January 14 vs. Florida – Won 4-3
January 16 vs. Tennessee – Lost 3-4
January 27 vs. Abilene Christian – Won 4-1
January 29 vs. Portland – Won 4-0
January 30 vs. Tulsa – Won 4-0
February 6 vs. Ole Miss – Won 4-3
Feb. 11 at Mississippi State – Won 6-1
February 13 vs. Virginia – Won 4-1
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February 18-21 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Indoor Nationals Championship
February 18 vs. Virginia – Won 4-2
February 19 vs. Texas – Won 4-0
February 20 vs. Ohio State – Won 4-3
February 21 vs. Tennessee – Won 4-1
March 2 vs. Michigan – Lost 4-1
March 5 at Illinois – Won 4-2 *
March 10 at UCLA – Won 4-2
March 19 vs. USF – Won 6-1
March 21 at SMU – Won 4-1 *
March 25 vs. Baylor – Lost 2-5
March 27 at Tulane – Won 7-0
April 1 vs. Texas Tech – Won 6-1
April 3 at Baylor – Won 4-3
April 9 vs. Texas – Won 4-1
April 14 at Oklahoma State – Won 5-1
April 16 at Oklahoma – Won 5-2
April 23-24 Big 12 Championship
April 23 vs. 5-seed Oklahoma – Won 4-1
April 24 vs. 2-seed Baylor – Lost 2-4
May 19 NCAA Championship – Champaign, IL
* Match played indoors due to weather
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