FORT WORTH, TEXAS ( June 1, 2009) Four members of the TCU men’s tennis team were included in the season’s final release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) national rankings, combining for five total entries. The Horned Frogs, which reached NCAA Regional play for the 18th time in 19 years, concluded the season at No. 38 in the national team rankings.
TCU’s final team rating marked the third time in the last four seasons that the squad finished 38th or higher. The four individuals and five entries marked the program’s highest season-ending totals in each category since 2000, when the Frogs finished with six each.
Senior Kriegler Brink, who concluded his career during TCU’s NCAA opening-round loss to Tulsa, finished the season as the highest-rated Frog in singles at No. 77. He posted a team-best 24-9 overall record in 2008-09, including 19-5 in spring dual matches, and went 12-1 when playing at his usual position of No. 3 singles.
Freshman Slah Mbarek finished his first season at TCU rated No. 93 in singles after spending much of the spring filling the top position of the Frog lineup. He posted a 12-10 record in dual-match play after joining the squad at semester. The native of Tunisia climbed as high as No. 61 in the national singles rankings, the highwater mark for any TCU player this season.
Brink and Mbarek also ranked 44th in the final ITA doubles rankings. The pair went 16-2 while playing together and played so successfully that it took over the team’s top doubles position. The duo did not lose a beat once it climbed into the No. 1 spot, going 10-1 down the final stretch of the season for the Frogs.
Brink and Mbarek each earned spots on both the All-Mountain West Conference Singles and Doubles Teams. Brink concluded his TCU career with respective singles and doubles records of 82-35 and 80-31.
Sophomore Emanuel Brighiu and junior Adrian Simon finished the campaign as TCU’s
top-rated doubles tandem at No. 36. The duo represented the Frogs at the NCAA Individual Championships and concluded the season with a 19-13 overall record. A 3-1 mark in conference play tied the squad for the team lead in MWC wins while earning it a spot on the All-MWC Doubles Team.
Brighiu also finished the year in the ITA singles ratings at No. 115. He opened the year as the Frogs’ No. 1 player, but was forced out of the lineup for a period of time while dealing with a nagging elbow injury. The injury plagued him throughout the season, but he returned to help TCU win the MWC regular season championship by recording a 4-2 record in league play. He finished the season 15-14 overall and 8-11 in dual matches, also earning All-MWC singles status.
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