College Feature
Horned Frogs Clinch Historic Indoor National Title Win
by Rhiannon Potkey, 22 February 2022
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TCU got its revenge with much more on the line.
The fourth-ranked Horned Frogs beat No. 3 Tennessee 4-1 on Monday at the ITA Team Indoor National Championship in Seattle, Washington to capture the first national title in program history.
Pedro Vives Secured the Clinching Win for TCU
© TCU Athletics
Freshman Pedro Vives rallied from an early break down in the third set to clinch the title with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 over Angel Diaz at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
Tennessee (11-2) handed the Horned Frogs (12-1) their only loss this season, beating them 4-3 in January on TCU’s home courts in Fort Worth.
"Special day,” TCU head coach David Roditi said. “Not just for our players, but our alumni, our Frog family. This title means a lot. I'm super excited that our players were actually able to get that title. I feel very fortunate as a coach and very thankful to be in this situation.”
The victory was TCU’s seventh straight over a ranked opponent, the longest winning streak against ranked opponents since 2018. Eight of TCU's 12 victories this season have come against top 20-ranked programs, including four against top 5-ranked opponents.
The Horned Frogs won the doubles point with wins from the top two pairings: No. 1 Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley and No. 2 Sander Jong and Lui Maxted. Jong and Maxted secured a break to go in front 4-2 before holding serve to win their match. After Tennessee won the match at No. 3, Fomba and Fearnley broke at 5-4 and served out the point-clinching victory.
In singles, TCU won four first sets. Fearnley finished off his match at No. 5 by beating Shunsuke Mitsui 6-1, 6-3 to put TCU up 2-0, and Jong increased the lead with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Emile Hudd.
The Vols got their lone win from Johannus Monday at No. 2 as he beat Juan Carlos Aguilar 6-4, 6-1. But it was only a brief moment of hope for Tennessee as Vives closed out the historical win for the Horned Frogs to set off a celebration.
“It took a true team effort, not just today, but all weekend long,” Roditi said. “... and for our freshman, Pedro, to get it done on this stage shows a lot about his mental toughness and experience as a tennis player. This one's for Coach (Tut) Bartzen. This one is for all the coaches and all the alumni that have put their blood, sweat and tears into our program for us to get to this moment. I'm ecstatic.”
Doubles Results
1. Jake Fearnley/Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #13 Shunsuke Mitsui/Emile Hudd (TENN) 6-4
2. Sander Jong/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Pat Harper/Adam Walton (TENN) 6-3
3. Johannus Monday/Mark Wallner (TENN) def. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Tim Ruehl (TCU) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles Results
1. #44 Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. #21 Adam Walton (TENN) 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 3-0, unfinished
2. #10 Johannus Monday (TENN) def. #15 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TCU) 6-4, 6-1
3. #109 Sander Jong (TCU) def. #110 Emile Hudd (TENN) 6-2, 6-4
4. Pedro Vives (TCU) def. #122 Angel Diaz (TENN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. #52 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #114 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) 6-1, 6-3
6. Lui Maxted (TCU) vs. Conor Gannon (TENN) 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 0-2, unfinished
Order of finish – 5, 3, 2, 4
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About Rhiannon Potkey
Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two
decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many
sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories.
Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national
events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches.
Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You
can reach Rhiannon by email at
[email protected].
