TCU Shuts Out SMU For Third-Straight Win

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FORT WORTH – The No. 45 TCU women’s tennis team picked up its third-straight win Wednesday with a 7-0 dismantling of crosstown rival SMU under the lights of the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.

The Horned Frogs improved to 10-5 on the year, while winning for the first time in the last four tries against the Mustangs. SMU fell to 1-12 and lost for the sixth-straight time this spring. In the all-time series, TCU now holds a 27-20 advantage.

“This was the best focus we’ve had all year,” TCU coach Dave Borelli said. “This is also the healthiest we’ve been all year while playing a lot of tennis. We’ve got matches under our belts as a healthy team. I’m very proud of how they went out there and concentrated and played up to the level I know they can play. My hat is off to Stefanie Tan for winning again at No. 1. We feel a sense of urgency now and we’re playing to our abilities. It’s a good sign going into this weekend’s matches.”

TCU rolled through the doubles matches to open the match, picking up wins on all three of the courts. Once again, TCU’s No. 3 duo of Gaby Mastromarino and Simona Parajova was first to finish when they grabbed an 8-1 triumph at the expense of Perri Anderson and Ashley Turpin. The tandem moved to 4-0 this spring.

At No. 1 singles, 79th-ranked Millie Nichols and Olivia Smith returned to their winning ways with an 8-1 win of their own over Edyta Cieplucha and Heather Steinbauer. At No. 2, Federica Denti and Kelsey Sundaram were 8-2 winners over Elena Fayner and Kris Roberts.

Mastromarino pushed the Frog advantage to 2-0 when she dropped Anderson, 6-0, 6-1 at No. 6 singles. Soon after she was done, Smith made it 3-0 in favor of the home team with a 6-0, 6-3 downing of Steinbauer at No. 3 singles.

Denti clinched the match for TCU with her third-straight win, a 6-1, 6-0 bettering of Turpin on court No. 4. Parajova ran her singles winning streak to four and made it 5-0 for TCU after a 6-0, 6-3 win over Fayner at No. 2 singles. Nichols continued the Frog onslaught with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Roberts at No. 5.

After the match was well in hand for the Frogs, all eyes turned toward the matchup of top-70 ranked players at No. 1 singles. TCU freshman Stefanie Tan, ranked No. 67 in the nation, won the first set 6-2, but dropped the second set, 6-1, to No. 52 Cieplucha.

With the match clinched for TCU, the two players moved to a third-set super tiebreaker, which Tan handled from the start. The Bishan, Singapore, native won 10-6 in that set for a 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (6) win overall. It marked Tan’s eighth-straight win at the top singles court and gave TCU a 7-0 win over the Mustangs.

TCU returns to Mountain West action this weekend with two matches in Las Vegas. The Frogs face San Diego State on Saturday before battling UNLV on Sunday.

 

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