TCU Tennis Opens Conference Play With 5-2 Win
FORT WORTH, Texas – The TCU men’s tennis team picked up a 5-2 win over San Diego State Monday to begin the Mountain West Conference schedule at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
“I’m proud of the guys,” TCU head coach David Roditi said. “That was the best win we’ve had at home this year. We kept our cool and fought through some tough first sets. With the team that we have, we will have to compete every single time in order to win this conference.
San Diego State got the best of the Horned Frogs in the doubles action, defeating TCU on all three courts. After the Aztecs cruised to an 8-1 win on the middle court, SDSU’s team of Andre Feliz and Shiva Sangwan took down the Frogs’ duo of Paul Chappell and Cameron Nash by the score of 9-7 to clinch the early 1-0 advantage in the team scoring.
The Purple and White bounced back during the singles portion, taking the first two matches to jump to a 2-1 team lead. TCU senior Emanuel Brighiu toppled the Aztecs’ Giovanni Vaglietti at the No. 1 court, 6-2, 7-5. The Frogs’ Slah Mbarek followed with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Tim Schulz van Edert at the No. 2 position.
After SDSU knotted the team tally at 2-2 with a win on the No. 3 court, sophomore Soren Goritzka put TCU back on top, 3-2, with a three-set victory at the fourth position. After falling in the opening frame, Goritzka battled back to take down the Aztecs’ Hunter Nicholas, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Junior Daniel Sanchez delivered the clinching victory for the Frogs, dismantling his
opponent, Juan Florez, from the No. 6 court. After taking the opening set, the Monterrey, Mexico, product had to fight through a back-and-forth tiebreaker to win, 6-4, 7-6 (6). Senior Christopher Price added a late win to round out the day for the Frogs, defeating Javier Pulgar, 7-5, 7-6 (5).
TCU will take to the road for their next match, traveling to the United States Air Force Academy Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Frogs and Falcons will toss up the first serve at 11 a.m. CT.
No. 74 TCU (6-11, 1-0 MWC) def. San Diego State (2-12, 0-1 MWC), 5-2
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center | Fort Worth, Texas
SINGLES
1. #74 Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) def. Giovanni Vaglietti (SDSU), 6-2, 7-5
2. Slah Mbarek (TCU) def. Tim Schulz van Edert (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Javier Pulgar (SDSU) def. Zach Nichols (TCU), 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. Christopher Price (TCU) def. Javier Pulgar (SDSU), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
5. Soren Goritzka (TCU) def. Hunter Nicholas (SDSU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Daniel Sanchez (TCU) def. Juan Florez (SDSU), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6*, 4
DOUBLES
1. Nicholas/Vaglietti (SDSU) def. #44 Brighiu/Price (TCU), 8-7 (2)
2. Pulgar/Schulz van Edert (SDSU) def. Mbarek/Nichols (TCU), 8-1
3. Feliz/Sangwan (SDSU) def. Chappell/Nash (TCU), 9-7
Order of Finish: 2, 3*, 1
