FORT WORTH, TEXAS (April 26, 2008) The TCU men’s tennis team rallied to defeat New Mexico by a score of 4-3 on Saturday to capture the Mountain West Conference Championship at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The Horned Frogs notched their 20th win of the year, doubling their win total from last season.
“We had a great effort from the kids today,” said TCU head coach Dave Borelli. “New Mexico played really well and we were fortunate to get the win. This past week we talked about how to deal with the highs and lows and keeping their focus, and they were able to do that today.”
The Frogs kicked off the match with two dominating doubles victories to jump out to the 1-0 lead. The TCU duo of Zach Nichols and Jack Seider led off with an 8-3 win over Graeme Kassautzki and Joe Wood at the No. 3 position, while Cosmin Cotet and Adrian Simon clinched the point with an 8-2 defeat of Chris and Johnny Parkes at the No. 2 slot.
TCU had a shaky start in singles, dropping matches at the No. 2, 4 and 5
positions to trail 3-1, while also dropping first sets in two other contests.
Miles Bugby put the Lobos on the board with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Zach Nichols, while Chris Parkes followed with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Simon at the No. 5 position. Johnny Parkes put Mexico up 3-1 over the Frogs after defeating Emanu Brighiu by a score of 7-6(6), 6-4 at the No. 2 slot.
Casey Powers, one of TCU’s four freshmen in the lineup, began the rally with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Kamil Pajkowksi at the No. 6 position.
Cotet, ranked No. 36 nationally, defeated his 11th ranked opponent of the 2007-08 season with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over No. 69 Jones at the top spot to even the match at 3-3. Cotet improved to 21-6 at the top position this spring with the win.
With the league title on the line, TCU’s Brink delivered with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory over Kassautzki to seal the match. Brink, a junior from Gauteng, South Africa, improved to 23-2 in dual matches this season.
The Frogs (20-7) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with Saturday’s victory. TCU claimed its second MWC tournament title in the last three years.
No. 1 TCU (20-7) def. No. 2 New Mexico (20-8), 4-3
SINGLES
1. No. 36 Cosmin Cotet (TCU) def. No. 69 Max Jones (UNM) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Johnny Parkes (UNM) def. Emanu Brighiu (TCU) 7-6(6), 6-4
3. Kriegler Brink (TCU) def. Graeme Kassautzki (UNM) 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
4. Miles Bugby (UNM) def. Zach Nichols (TCU) 6-0, 7-5
5. Chris Parkes (UNM) def. Adrian Simon (TCU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Casey Powers (TCU) def. Kamil Pajkowski (UNM) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 4, 5, 2, 6, 1, 3*
DOUBLES
1. Brink/Brigiu (TCU) vs. Jones/Pajkowski (UNM) 6-5, unf.
2. Cotet/Simon (TCU) def. Parkes/Parkes (UNM) 8-2
3. Nichols/Seider (TCU) def. Kassautzki/Wood (UNM) 8-3
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
*Clinching point
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