Thursday, April 23, 2009

TCU MEN’S TENNIS EARN FIVE ALL-MWC SELECTIONS

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (April 23, 2009) TCU received five selections on the All-Mountain West Conference Men’s Tennis Team, the league announced at its annual awards banquet Wednesday evening. The five selections were two more than those received by any other conference squad.

In addition to setting a high-water mark for the MWC this season, TCU also
notched a program-best in its four seasons as a member of the league. Frogs
previously earned four All-MWC honors in 2008 and three each in 2007 and 2006.

Three Frogs earned spots on the All-MWC Singles Team: senior Kriegler Brink,
sophomore Emanuel Brighiu and freshman Slah Mbarek. The tandems of Brink and
Mbarek and Brighiu and junior Adrian Simon were named to the All-MWC Doubles
Team.

Brink’s selection in singles marked his second straight appearance on the
All-MWC squad. The Gautang, South Africa, product leads the Frogs this spring
with a 16-3 overall record while playing primarily at the No. 3 singles
position. His 5-1 conference mark tied sophomore Christopher Price for the team
lead.

Brighiu was honored in singles for the second straight season after posting a
4-2 conference record. He is 9-8 overall this spring despite dealing with a
nagging injury that bumped him out of his usual No. 1 singles position for a
nine-match stretch midway through the season. Mbarek went 10-9 overall and 1-4
in MWC matches, and he filled in at the No. 1 position this spring during
Brighiu’s absence.

TCU’s two all-conference doubles tandems have helped give the squad a decided
advantage this season, pushing the team to the doubles point in 13 of 19
opportunities. Brink was named all-conference in doubles for the third straight
season, while the other three Frogs each earned their first such honors.

Brink and Mbarek lead the Frogs with a 13-2 record and are ranked No. 40
nationally, while Brighiu and Simon are the team’s highest-rated pairing at No.
29 with a 10-7 ledger. Both squads went 3-1 in MWC action this spring.

With the Mountain West Conference regular season championship already in hand,
TCU looks to complete a sweep of the league’s 2009 titles this weekend at the
MWC Championship in Albuquerque. The Frogs begin play as the tournament’s No. 1
seed in the semifinals Friday against the winner of Thursday’s BYU/San Diego
State quarterfinal match. The Frogs’ semifinals match begins at 11 a.m. CT.

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