Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
TCU
Tech drops hard-fought match to No. 2 TCU
April 08, 2023 | Men's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – It was a battle on Senior Day as the No. 37 Texas Tech Red Raiders and the No. 2 TCU Horned Frogs totaled five tiebreakers and three third-set matches, however TCU would come out on top as they outlasted Tech, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at the McLeod Tennis Center.
The match began with some wild doubles matches as TCU (20-1, 4-0 Big 12) would take the point on a tiebreak match against the Red Raiders (12-9, 0-3 Big 12). The Horned Frogs had the slight advantage when their duo of Luc Fomba and Lui Maxted posted a 6-1 victory over No. 77 Piotr Pawlak and Franco Ribero at court two.
Tech evened the contest when No. 80 Dimitrios Azoidis and Reed Collier won the match against Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives at the top of the lineup. Both teams traded punches until they eventually played in a tiebreaker. That was when the Red Raiders put their foot on the gas and never looked back. Azoidis and Collier took a 5-0 lead in the breaker, then won two of the next three points to win it, 7-6 (1).
All eyes went to court three as Isaac Arevalo and Olle Wallin were facing their first ranked opponent together of No. 76 Sander Jong and Jack Pinnington. All tied at 4-4, Arevalo and Wallin were down 40-love before winning four-consecutive points to take a 5-4 lead. The TCU pair would tie it up again, then force a breaker. Going down 2-0 in the tiebreak, the Red Raiders would have a 3-2 advantage after winning three-straight points. Then, Tech went up 6-4, but the Horned Frogs fought back to win it 7-6 (6) and claim the doubles point.
TCU was able to take a 3-0 lead after winning two-straight singles matches. At court five, Vives defeated Lorenzo Esquici, 6-2, 6-4, then No. 63 Gorzny took down Collier, 7-6 (2), 6-2, to extend the lead.
The Red Raiders answered back at court one when No. 58 Wallin overtook No. 73 Pinnington in straight sets. Wallin breezed through the first set, winning it by a 6-2 score. Pinnington took a 4-1 lead in set two, but Wallin fought back to tie it at 5-5, then won the remaining two games and finish off the Horned Frog for his seventh ranked singles win of the year, 6-2, 7-5.
With TCU holding a 3-1 lead, Tech would need to win all three remaining courts to clinch the match as the three seniors were left competing on Senior Day.
Over at court six, Azoidis was locked in a battle with Maxted as the two played three hard-fought sets. Azoidis took the lead when he claimed the first set by a 7-5 score, but Maxted evened the match with a 6-4 set two. The Horned Frog continued to use his momentum as he would win set three, 6-2, to clinch the match for TCU.
When the match ended, both Ribero and Arevalo were playing a third set against their respective opponents. At court two, Ribero was able to win set one against No. 24 Fomba, 7-5, before falling in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (3), in the following set. Ribero and Fomba were tied 2-2 when play went unfinished.
In similar fashion, Arevalo also took the lead on No. 42 Jong at court three when he won the first set by a 6-2 score. Jong went up 5-2 in the second set, but Arevalo rallied back to tie things up and force a breaker, before falling 7-6 (6). Like Ribero at court two, Arevalo would even things up at 2-2 in the third set when play concluded.
Up next, the Red Raiders head to Oklahoma for contests against Oklahoma State on Friday, April 14 and then another match against the Sooners on Sunday, April 16.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #58 Olle Wallin (TTU) def. #73 Jack Pinnington (TCU) 6-2, 7-5
2. Franco Ribero (TTU) vs. #24 Luc Fomba (TCU) 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 2-2, unfinished
3. Isaac Arevalo (TTU) vs. #42 Sander Jong (TCU) 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 2-2, unfinished
4. #63 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Reed Collier (TTU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
5. Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Lorenzo Esquici (TTU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Dimitrios Azoidis (TTU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. #80 Dimitrios Azoidis/Reed Collier (TTU) def. Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives (TCU) 7-6 (7-1)
2. Luc Fomba/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. #77 Piotr Pawlak/Franco Ribero (TTU) 6-1
3. #76 Sander Jong/Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. Isaac Arevalo/Olle Wallin (TTU) 7-6 (8-6)
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (5, 4, 1, 6)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,4,1,6
Players Mentioned
