FROGS JUMP TO NO. 32, FACE MORE RANKED TEAMS THIS WEEK

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (February 24, 2009) TCU made the leap to No. 32, a season-high position, Tuesday in the latest release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) national team rankings.

The national rankings are decided by a vote of national coaches early in the season until moving to a computerized system later in the spring when more results become available.
The Frogs, which were ranked 39th last week, posted an upset victory on the road Saturday over then-No. 17 Tulsa to help improve their national ranking. The win marked the highest-rated opponent the squad has defeated in third-year Head Coach Dave Borelli's tenure.

TCU, currently 2-5 on the season, is in the midst of a brutal stretch of 11 straight matches to start the spring against squads currently ranked among the ITA's top-56 teams.

"I'm happy where we are based on the schedule we have played and the fact that we are 2-5," Borelli said. "That indicates the understanding the coaches have of our schedule. We may drop a bit once the rankings become computerized, but I'm not worried about that because we will continue to get wins once the season moves along."

One area where Borelli has seen marked improvement already in the opening weeks of the spring are from his team's doubles units.

"I'm very pleased where our doubles are at," Borelli said. "We won the doubles point against three top-20 teams in our last three matches. If we continue to improve, I think we'll be in good shape the rest of the year."

TCU’s difficult schedule continues this week with two more matches against highly rated foes in No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 29 Texas Tech. The Frogs and Rebels square off Thursday in a 1 p.m. neutral-site match in Waco, Texas, with the squad thentraveling to Lubbock, Texas, Saturday for a 1 p.m. match against the Red Raiders.

Ole Miss enters Thursday’s match with a 6-1 record after posting a 2-1 showing at the National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago two weeks ago. The squad’s lone loss came at the hands of USC, which is currently ranked No. 4.

The Rebels field a loaded lineup featuring four nationally ranked singles players in No. 32 Kalle Norberg, No. 39 Jonas Berg, No. 40 Devin Britton and No. 79 Bram tenBerge. Jonas Berg and Bram tenBerge pair up as the ITA’s fourth-ranked doubles tandem.

Texas Tech is 2-3 so far this spring with both wins coming over ranked teams in No. 52 Denver and No. 53 San Diego. Freshman Raony Carvalho is the Raiders’ top-ranked singles player at No. 34. Carvalho teams with teammate Christian Rojmar in doubles as the nation’s No. 17 duo.